A proposal for a subdivision on the site of a 100-acre farm in Howard County near the Patapsco River has some neighbors voicing opposition to what they see as a project that is out of character with their community and potentially harmful to the environment.
Francesca Galbani said the plan for Plantation Pleasure Place "disregards the river, our water and our water quality. It's really, really upsetting."
Gilliece Family LLC is seeking to build 35 single-family homes on the property near Route 32 and River Road in Sykesville, near the Carroll County line.
At a community meeting Tuesday attended by about 120 people, Gilliece Family attorney Bill Erskine said the development probably would be split into northern and southern portions separated by a ravine and stream valley.
"The two sides of the community are not easily connected," Erskine said, though he added that architects are considering trails or a path across the ravine "because it would be nice to have the connection."
He said the development is named after the plantation pleasure walking horse, a breed common in the Southeast and a favorite of the Gilliece family, who have owned the farm for decades.
Initially, the project was to have 46 units, according to an environmental concept plan submitted to Howard County's Department of Planning and Zoning. But the development at that density failed percolation tests, which measure soil absorption to determine whether a property can support septic systems.
Plantation Pleasure Place is outside the county's public water and sewer access, so homes would have their own septic systems.
Each house would be on its own lot of about an acre, Erskine said, except for one that would be on a 35-acre preservation parcel.
Some nearby residents have expressed concern that the proposed development would create traffic safety problems, harm the environment and be out of character for the largely rural area.
They note the average lot size of surrounding properties is about three acres.
Galbani and Bernie Rauscher have lived in the area for about five years and have a 15-acre property on Howard Lodge Drive. The couple worry that the project would hurt the environment and have concerns about traffic from the development using Howard Lodge Drive, a private road they say they pay to maintain.
The land, which is zoned under a rural residential designation with the option of a "density exchange," has a base density allowing 23 units. The exchange, an option created by the county to encourage developers to import density from the rural west, brings the number of potential units allowed on the property to 47.
Plantation Pleasure Place falls outside the area the county Planning and Zoning Department hopes to protect through the density exchange and does not require special approvals, Erskine said.
"Importing density is exactly what our county officials want us to do," he said.
Erskine said the company hopes to submit concept plans to the county over the next month.