More than 550 acres of mostly steep, forested terrain that is part of the state psychiatric hospital in Crownsville will be preserved as open space, Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced yesterday.

The decision is welcome news for area residents, who have pressured state officials to preserve the land since a Laurel-based developer expressed interest in it a year ago.

"We think it's the right decision, absolutely the right decision," said Don J. Yeskey, chairman of Anne Arundel County's Crownsville Small Area Planning Committee.

"The council has supported making the land open space," he said, suggesting that it be used for hiking trails or ball fields.

Yeskey also is president of the Generals Highway Council of Civic Associations, which represents 23 communities.

Glendening said his action is in line with his Smart Growth policies, which aim to direct state money to existing communities and prevent suburban sprawl.

"This is not an area where the county wants growth to occur and a large portion of the land is environmentally sensitive," he said.

Glendening's decision comes as the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene considers whether to shift more patients from state hospitals into residential treatment programs or close one or more of the hospitals. The department must decide by July 1.

State officials say the governor's move is unrelated to the facility's future as a psychiatric hospital.

"I'm aware of no connection whatsoever," said Don H. Vandrey, an assistant press secretary for Glendening. "This is unused open space acreage, unrelated to the operation of the hospital."

Crownsville Hospital Center, which houses about 211 patients a day, is one of the three largest public psychiatric hospitals in Central Maryland.

Twice in the past 12 years, commissions have called for closing one of the facilities, as patient caseloads have consistently declined since deinstitutionalization in the 1970s. The other hospitals are Spring Grove Hospital Center in Catonsville and Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville.

Scott Graham, director of Revisions, a community mental health provider in Baltimore and Howard counties, said he doesn't think any connection exists between the governor's decision and the possible closing of a state hospital.

From a public health standpoint, however, Graham said it might have been better to sell the property.

The money would have gone to a trust fund established a year ago to provide more community services to the mentally ill.

"By ensuring that the land won't be developed by anybody, that money won't be going to community mental health services in the future," Graham said.

The 1,600-acre Crownsville Hospital Center property is split by Interstate 97. The hospital campus occupies about 100 acres on the east side of the highway, and the remaining land is mostly fields and forests.

Superintendent Ronald R.J. Hendler said he had no plans to use the 550 acres that have been declared open space.

"It was never used for hospital purposes; that is the only issue I have," Hendler said. "It's a beautiful piece of property; we open it up for the Boy Scouts to go camping. It's really nice for that kind of activity."

Ten acres of the preserved land is a cemetery dating to 1911 that includes unmarked graves of hospital patients.

The Michael T. Rose Consulting Co. proposed a development plan for the Crownsville property to the state last April. The developer wanted to build homes on large lots on 212 acres of the property and put the remaining 352 acres in an environmental trust that would prevent future development.

State health officials declared the Crownsville land excess after Rose's company expressed interest in the property.

If a sale had been approved, it would have been one of the largest pieces of state land to be sold in this decade.

But the state health department and the Department of Natural Resources recommended that the property remain in state hands. Anne Arundel County and the DNR had indicated interest in the land after it was identified as surplus.

Over the next couple of months, the DNR will conduct an environmental analysis of the site, looking at topography and ecological features, said John E. Surrick, a department spokesman. He said state environmental officials will work with representatives from the health department and Anne Arundel county to ensure protection of important natural resources.

"I don't think it will be clear until after we've done our review what options there are," Surrick said. "Clearly, some areas [of the Crownsville property] aren't suitable for anything but woods."

Potential uses for the land, which is largely woods, steep hillsides and streams, are limited. A large portion of the property is sprayed with effluent from the hospital's sewage treatment plant and access is difficult. The land includes one flat 25- to 35-acre section that may be suitable for recreational use, Yeskey said.

"There is the potential for ball fields," he said. "But that needs to be studied very closely because of environmental issues and accessibility to the area."

Pub Date: 3/16/99