Developer granted exception to Critical Area law
Franklin Point Associates has received a special exception to build a planned unit development of 158 single-family homes on 477 acres near Shady Side.
The site is bordered by Shady Side and Columbia Beach roads, Deep Creek and the Chesapeake Bay. Although mostly wooded, it includes several large agricultural fields and Deep Creek Airport.
More than half of the property lies within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area, a 1,000-foot-wide protected buffer along the shore.
In a Nov. 12 ruling, Temporary Administrative Hearing Officer Thomas G. Ross granted the developer a zoning variance to build roads across tidal and non-tidal wetlands where construction would have been limited by the Critical Area law.
He noted that the developers had reduced the size of the proposed development from 275 town houses and single-family houses.
Although the Shady Side Improvement Association endorsed the planned unit development, the Columbia Beach Improvement Association expressed concern about its effect on roads, schools and police and fire services.
"It is my conclusion that the impact on neighboring properties has been minimized by the PUD plans, and . . . design has modified to a great extent to minimize environmental impact," Mr. Ross said.
The decision gives the developer 18 months to apply for final subdivision approval from the county Office of Planning and Zoning.
Annapolis man, 22, says 2 men beat him
An Annapolis man told police he was abducted from his home early Sunday, driven to Clay and West Washington streets and beaten up, police said.
John Henderson, 22, of the 1600 block of Colbert Road, told police two men he didn't know, pulled up to his home in a Jeep Cherokee at about 3 a.m. When he went outside to investigate, they grabbed him and drove him to the street corner, where they beat him up and threatened him with a gun, police said.
The two were between 18 and their mid-20s, he said.
The man was treated for a bloody nose and other minor injuries at Anne Arundel Medical Center and released.
Drugs, weapons seized as three are arrested
County police have charged three people with narcotic violations after raiding a home in Annapolis early Friday morning.
Police said they raided a home in the 1300 block of Harbor Road at 2:55 a.m. and seized handguns, rifles, $700 and 1 1/2 ounces of cocaine.
The raid concluded a four-month investigation during which undercover officers were offered 6 ounces cocaine for sale, police said.
George Phelps, 37, of the first block of East Joyce Lane in Arnold, was charged with three counts of distribution of cocaine and three counts of possession of cocaine.
Alvin Alexander Brown, 37, and Larry D. Brown, 32, both of the 1300 block of Harbor Road, were charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession of cocaine.
Academy band begins fall concert series
The Naval Academy Band's fall concert series includes a Thanksgiving Concert Friday in Mitscher Hall, and a Happy Holidays concert Dec. 11 in Alumni Hall. Both are at 8 p.m.
A child's Christmas matinee, Christmas Trek, is scheduled for 2 p.m. Dec. 12 in Alumni Hall.
All concerts are free and open to the public.