Engineer Robert Vogel told the Zoning Board Wednesday night that a new development next to Marriottsville's Chapelgate Presbyterian Church would be a boon to both the church and the surrounding community.
Vogel was the first witness to speak in a zoning case that began last year but has faced delays after neighboring residents charged the zoning approval process was not being followed correctly.
The Chapelgate congregation is asking to rezone the church property, a triangular shaped plot of land that sits between Marriottsville Road, Route 40 and Interstate 70, as part of a new process designed to allow zoning changes outside of the once-a-decade comprehensive zoning review. In exchange, the development must offer community amenities that exceed the usual requirements.
Plans for the Chapelgate development have changed a bit since they were first presented to the Zoning Board, which is made up of the five members of the County Council acting in a quasi-judicial capacity to rule on land-use matters, in March 2014.
The layout of the 134-townhouse neighborhood is slightly rearranged, and a proposed community commercial plot at the northeastern corner of the property, near the Turf Valley resort, has been scaled back after residents of the Albeth Heights neighborhood next door said they were concerned about the commotion it could create.
The church had initially hoped to build a 2,400-square foot building at the corner, which they envisioned as a spot for both the congregation and the community to hold bake sales and small events. Now, Vogel said, the proposed commercial site would consist only of a grasscrete lot with parking for 12 cars, and any event held there would have to be approved by 12 of the 15 households in Albeth Heights.
The church also hopes to relocate its entrance and exit to a signalized intersection at Albeth Road that's already used by the Albeth Heights community. Vogel said the property's current exit on Marriottsville Road, which is used both by the congregation and by the students and staff at Chapelgate Christian Academy, has grown dangerous and impractical as traffic in the area continues to grow.
Albeth Heights residents counter that adding traffic from the church, the academy and 134 new townhouses will create congestion as they enter and exit their neighborhood.
Other plans in the zoning proposal include a one-mile-long path loop that would be open to the public and a sanctuary for the church. Currently, Chapelgate Presbyterian holds worship services in a multipurpose room, which Vogel said was inadequate for hosting special events such as weddings and funerals.
Councilmembers and some Albeth Heights residents opposing the project asked why the church couldn't develop housing on the property under its current zoning, R-20, which allows for two residential units per acre.
"To me," Vogel said, the CEF zone allows for "much better design.
"This plan is much more consolidated; it provides for the retention and the ability for the public to utilize the ball fields and other recreational facilities that are out there, in addition to preserving the woods," he said. The church's current zoning only allows them to develop single family homes, which could not be consolidated like townhouses.
Of the 134 townhouses proposed, 21 would be moderate income housing units, a number that exceeds the 10 percent MIHU requirement. Moderate income housing units are residences that are sold or rented at a rate that's affordable to people making 80 percent of Howard County's median income.
Vogel said the additional moderate income units, as well as the public pathways and planned pedestrian connections across Marriottsville Road would be added benefits to the community.
"A lot of thought went into the design of this project," he said.
Several Albeth Heights residents are contesting the project. They say the new development would worsen traffic and the pathways could create safety issues near their neighborhood.
"This is not about the church, it's not about the parishioners," said Stu Kohn, who serves as president of the Howard County Citizens Association and is assisting Albeth Heights residents with their case. "This is about the people who live in Albeth, the 15 homes. What are they going to get?"
Kohn and the Albeth Heights neighbors have also been critical of lapses in the zoning process. When the county's Planning Board reviewed the proposal, recommendations from the county's Design Advisory Panel -- which had suggested some tweaks to the project -- were not included in the documents the board reviewed, even though they were required to be there.
The Planning Board revisited the proposal in April, and voted unanimously that having the DAP's recommendations in front of them would not have changed their recommendation that the project be approved.
Testimony on Chapelgate will continue; the Zoning Board will announce the date of the next hearing once it has been set.