A Timonium-area residents group is fighting a developer's plan to build 33 attached homes for people 55 and older, claiming the proposal runs afoul of county rules and would harm the neighborhood of grand houses, sprawling lawns and stone gateways.
Established last fall to fight an earlier version of the project along Pot Spring Road near Old Bosley Road, the group, SavePotSpring.Org, is mustering forces for a meeting scheduled Monday evening with Baltimore County's District 3 councilman, Todd Huff, and the developer, Jeffrey C. Kirby of J. Kirby Development, LLC, of Catonsville.
Residents have complained about the number of houses Kirby is planning, but the developer said homes for older people have less impact on their neighborhood because the residents don't have children living at home and many are retired. Kirby has specialized in building homes for older people, including Patapsco Overlook in Catonsville.
Paul Apostolo, a member of the group, said he expected 50 to 100 people at the 7 p.m. gathering at Warren Elementary School. He said 303 people have lent their names to an online letter to Huff detailing 10 objections to the proposal and urging the councilman to oppose it.
The group was hoping to persuade Huff not to submit the proposal to the County Council for consideration. The council's OK is required as the first of several steps toward approval under the rules for so-called "planned unit developments," which can permit developers to build more homes than the zoning for an area allows.
Huff submitted the plan as a resolution Jan. 3, with discussion expected at a work session Feb. 1, and a vote on Feb. 7. The resolution can be amended or withdrawn before the council votes on it, Huff said.
"I want to have a sit-down with all the parties involved," Huff said. "I am keeping an open mind."
Noting concerns about traffic, visitor parking, environmental impact, lack of detail in the plan and violations of the intentions of the zoning, the group's letter to Huff called the project "completely unacceptable to our residents and neighborhoods in its current form."
Apostolo, an orthopedic surgeon, said Kirby has changed the proposal in a number of ways that have made it more acceptable to the neighbors, but he said the plan would still have to shrink to less than half the proposed size to put all objections to rest.
"The group is not opposed to development of any type. This is not an unreasonable tree-hugging group," Apostolo said, adding that the group is looking for a project that suits the area. "The density is much too high," he said, adding that the group would be happy with 13 homes, the number allowed by the zoning.
At least, Apostolo said, the neighbors would like the homes limited to no more than two stories high, and to have no homes built on the portion of the property that lies in an environmentally sensitive resource conservation zone, which is just over three acres.
Under "PUD" rules, developers can build higher numbers of homes in exchange for a "community benefit." That benefit could take the form of a new community park, buildings designed to meet high environmental standards, or housing for older residents.
Huff's resolution mentions the senior housing as the community benefit, as the homes would be sold only to those 55 and older.
"You can't look strictly at density. You have to look at impact," Kirby said, adding that the impact on the neighborhood of his project would be "much less intense than 13 single-family homes."
A previous version of the plan included four, four-story buildings with 64 condominium units on 101/4 acres, or nearly five times the number of homes allowed under the zoning. The current proposal calls for 33 attached homes, each up to twice the size of those in the earlier version. The buildings would be 11/2 to two stories, but the number of buildings has not been determined, Kirby said. He said the prices jumped from up to $350,000 in the earlier proposal to starting at $600,000 and, depending on options, rising to about $750,000.
Apostolo said the neighbors hope to have their objections to the project resolved before the plan is approved by the council, beginning the several steps toward approval that also include review by the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections, environmental review, and a public hearing. Once the approval process begins, Apostolo said he fears the neighbors won't have the resources to fight for changes every step of the way.