For 14 years, James Harris has been waiting to cash in on his retirement investment -- a 100-acre farm just north of Westminster that he bought with hopes of building four- and five-bedroom homes.

But Harris' plans are on hold indefinitely. His problems began in the 1980s, when local officials barred him from breaking ground as they debated the alignment of the long-planned Westminster bypass with state officials. The highway would slice through his property.

Then Gov. Parris N. Glendening decided in January to pull the plug on state funding for the $200 million road. But even that won't help Harris. Carroll County officials are fighting to keep the project alive.

"For some reason, the local powers that be have the mind-set that this bypass is the cure-all for Westminster's growth," says an angry Harris. "For 14 years, I've been held hostage to that way of thinking. I'm fed up."

Over the years, no fewer than eight routes have been discussed, Harris says.

The most recent proposal showed the road running through the southern edge of his property, cutting it into two parcels.

"That road has been on and off the books so many times, I've lost count," says Harris, 57, a landscape contractor. "The question is who's going to make a decision and win? When does the bickering end? It's ridiculous. If I ran my business the way they run this county, I would have been out of business a long time ago."

Frustrated by the feuding and indecision, Harris ran last year for county commissioner, promising voters that he would protect their property rights. He was defeated in the primary.

Harris bought the old Hillside Acres farm in 1985 for $100,000. The property had been approved for subdivision.

At the time, his vision was to carve the gently sloping hills into 46 lots of varying sizes. He's spent more than $30,000 on preliminary plans.

An engineer's drawings show the Hillside Acres development nestled in rolling hills, with several homes near a tree-lined pond.

Those drawings remain locked away in a dusty cabinet, tightly rolled and held by rubber bands. The fields are leased to a neighboring farmer, "at a cost that doesn't begin to cover the taxes we have to pay on the land," Harris says.

"We didn't buy this land to farm it," says Frances Harris, his wife of 37 years. "There's no money in farming anymore. We bought it strictly as an investment. I guess you could say it's our 401(k)."

Many Carroll residents view their land in the same light. In this rural county, where land is often a family's only retirement asset, residents tend to embrace property rights with the kind of passion many Americans reserve for football.

The Landowners Association, a countywide property rights lobby founded two years ago by a Woodbine farmer, claims more than 5,000 members -- roughly 4 percent of the county's population.

For years, the county has protected land for planned roads by banning development of property they would cross.

Now, after years of pleas from property rights activists, the Board of County Commissioners might be ready to address the issue.

"I think Jim has legitimate concerns," says Commissioner Donald I. Dell, a strong proponent of property rights. "But how we resolve them, I don't know. I have reservations about the county buying land for a state road that might never be built."

Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier adds: "This is an issue we as a board are going to look into. Right now, we're studying the legalities of what we have to do. We'll have to look at the issue more comprehensively after we finish with the budget" in May.

For Harris, a promise to study the issue is no longer enough. Weary of his long battle, he has put his land up for sale and is hoping to retire in North Carolina.

"When the government violates property rights because the leaders can't make a decision and stick to it, it's a sad state of affairs," Harris says. "After 14 years of trying to get answers I think I deserve, I don't care anymore. I'm so disgusted with the government, I'm ready to leave."

Pub Date: 3/09/99