Over 120 concerned Highland residents packed St. Mark's Church to express their opposition toward a new zoning designation with the Howard County Council Wednesday evening during a special community meeting sponsored by the Greater Highland Crossroads Association.
In July 2013, the council passed a comprehensive zoning package that approved zoning primarily in western and southern areas of the county, including the new business-rural crossroads, or BRX, zoning.
Under BRX, light commercial properties, such as restaurants and convenience stores, are allowed in rural and residential areas. BRX is classified as a floating zone, so no piece of land is automatically given the designation, leaving developers to apply for the designation by submitting a proposal to the Zoning Board.
After residents filled the main hall, eventually moving to the church, President Susan Scheidt of the G.H.C.A. introduced Chairwoman Mary Kay Sigaty of District 4, District 5 Councilman Greg Fox, District 2 Councilman Calvin Ball and District 3 Councilwoman Jen Terrasa and quickly addressed the issue at hand.
"On April 9, 2015, Great Highlands Crossroads Association voted unanimously to request the County Council to remove Highland from the BRX Zoning District," Scheidt said. "Then, on June 18, we had a special citizen's meeting, where 24 people attending voted unanimously to ask the County Council to remove Highland from the BRX Zoning District and return it to the Traditional Zoning Regulations for changing properties from residential to commercial."
Scheidt also listed several problems residents have with the zoning designation, including zero citizen input from the council, underutilized existing commercial property and traffic flow issues.
"We're not in need of new commercial business," she said, followed by cheers from the crowd. "We have a lot of empty commercial space already. If we have all of this new commercial district, it will overwhelm the look of our community. We're not against commercial, but we like to have input and fit it into our community."
Preservation Howard County President Fred Dorsey said the organization has considered Highland to be on the endangered list since 2007 based on community concerns with zoning issues.
"For nine years, Preservation Howard County has kept an eye on your area," Dorsey said. "We've worked with your association, planning and zoning and what accommodations would be better for the community. With BRX, I know that Preservation Howard County is considering that Highland might become a commercial bookend."
Later in the evening, Highland homeowner Jill Messier addressed the County Council, sharing the issues her family has already faced with commercialization near her property.
"Our property is being destroyed by community flooding at this point," Messier said. "There are massive amounts of water flowing into our yard and it smells like sewage. … Our property is destroyed, our quality of life is destroyed and we've lived there for 16 years."
Messier's husband, Don, said the commercial properties nearby have increased runoff with future properties possibly continuing to surround their property under BRX zoning.
"If it keeps on coming, [more commercial properties] could end up going behind us and beside us," he said.
Seventeen-year Highland residents Warren and Helen Matzen said they knew they had about 15 or 20 years before commercialization began to sweep their hometown. Now, they're fighting to keep it rural.
"We like the country effect," Helen Matzen said. "That's why we moved here. We just want it quiet. We moved here so that we weren't going to be citified and crowded."
"We're not against change, but we want change in the right way," Warren Matzen said.
Listening to the residents' issues, Fox said he understands how and why commercial properties are overwhelming for a place that prides itself on its rural atmosphere and that the council is grateful for the community's response.
"We're not digging our heels in," Fox said. "We just want to make sure what people understand is accurate."
Sigaty said BRX was created to allow commercial properties at the crossroads with the criteria that would allow the community to be engaged.
"That was the intent, but clearly the community doesn't think our intent was real good," Sigaty said. "When we heard that there were issues that we missed, we were very willing to take on relooking at things. I think that going out here, [residents] can be ensured that we will relook at this and relook at this very carefully."
Ball agreed.
"Often times, we come before a community and there's an impending issue and there's a great deal of anger coming our way," Ball said. "To come here when there really isn't an impending issue, more of a concern, and the community cares about the future and wants to ensure that historic and rural nature is respected, I think that's a phenomenal thing. We've heard them, we're going to take this back, see what we can do and try to address some of the concerns."