The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously yesterday against a proposed extension of Placid Drive near Strawbridge Estates, a plan that residents said would turn the winding street into a thoroughfare between Route 32 and Hodges Road.
Critics said they were surprised but pleased at the ruling.
"Officials are finally realizing they are elected and people have the power to make changes," said Walter Ernst, a longtime resident of Placid Drive, which serves as an outlet to Route 32 (Sykesville Road) for the 80 or so homes in Strawbridge Estates. "The decision not to extend shows they are more people-oriented."
An extension of Placid Drive would have traversed a heavily wooded watershed area to link with Stone Manor, a proposed 89-home development, just west of the 30-year-old Strawbridge Estates community.
"We are not just whining citizens, who can't marshal facts," said Edward M. Overton of Placid Drive. "We were lucky, but we also had the wherewithal to convey our concerns in an appropriate manner."
Several residents attended the meeting prepared to argue about increased traffic, safety issues and environmental impact of the road extension, and handed in a petition with the signatures of 140 people opposed to the proposal.
"You are preaching to the choir," said Robert H. Lennon, planning commissioner. "I don't think there is much sentiment on this board for the extension."
Mr. Lennon said the extension proposal should be removed from the county master plan for South Carroll, which was formulated in 1977.
The extension would have provided access to Route 32 for several hundred new homes along Hodges Road, which, like Placid Drive, is a dead-end street. Without the extension, Hodges Road residents will have to use Johnsville or Bartholow roads to reach Route 26 (Liberty Road).
County planners revived the extension proposal when Macks Homes Inc. announced plans for Stone Manor. The developer would have been responsible for building the road.
Lawrence M. Macks, president of the Owings Mills company, also opposed the extension.
He proposed an alternate plan, with another access to Hodges Road from the proposed Stone Manor development.
"There is no real purpose to be served by the disruption to forestation and a stream area," Mr. Macks said. "Adding any more traffic [on Placid Drive] would also exacerbate an already dangerous situation."
The five-member commission granted the application to develop the 57-acre Stone Manor site, provided the Mack company builds another access road to Hodges Road and completes a traffic study.
County planners argued for the Placid Road extension because they say Hodges Road is not adequate to handle emergency vehicles.
"The commission must consider the adequacy of Hodges Road," said Bruce Waldron, county development reviewer. "Hodges intersects Bartholow Road at an angle which limits visibility."
Mr. Macks said the intersection now "performs at level A," the highest rating given by the State Highway Administration. The designation means motorists can pass through the intersection with minimal delay. But the rating may drop to a C level, when the number of homeowners triples with future developments.
"Ultimately, we are talking about 300 homes with a single access off Hodges Road," said Zeno M. Fisher Jr., planning commissioner.
The county also plans to build several ball fields on Hodges Road within a year.
"Our most important concern from here on is whether Hodges is OK," said Edmund R. "Ned" Cueman, the county planning director. "When it builds out, will there be a problem?"
Mr. Waldron said the county should do its own traffic study of Hodges Road.
"We take traffic concerns seriously and want to make sure the road system works," Mr. Macks said. "I would be willing to put in a temporary emergency access."