Plans to subdivide a 62-acre Joppa property into eight residential lots is raising concerns with neighbors about there wells and more traffic in the rural residential neighborhood west of Route 152.
Discussion of the planned subdivision lands of Rozier L. Steinbach Jr., which is located on the west side of Old Joppa Road and north of Jomat Drive, brought out several nearby residents to Wednesday morning's meeting of the Harford County Development Advisory Committee inBel Air.
The residents asked questions about the possible impacts the subdivision of the property and subsequent construction of houses will have on their own wells and septic systems, as well as on traffic on the neighborhood's roads, which some speakers said are already congested.
Bob Wilson of Wilson Deegan and Associates in Fallston, whose company is the engineer for the project, said the proposed plan is to create eight residential lots. Lots one and two are for family conveyances to Steinbach's daughter, Mary Steinbach Waller, and son, Rozier L. Steinbach III.
Tom Capella, of the 800 block of Old Joppa Road, asked Len Walinski, with the health department, if there should be a concern with the number of wells that would be drilled, possibly up to six.
Walinski said it isn't a concern and there should not be any adverse effects to wells on nearby existing residential properties.
Spiros Prapas, also of the 800 block of Old Joppa Road, also wanted to know what would happen to his well water if a much deeper well were to be dug next to his property. Prapas said all wells in that area, including his own, are 40 feet deep, which is fairly shallow.
"A hand-dug well is a bad well by today's standards," Walinski responded. The deeper wells, such as one going 300 feet deep, don't use the same aquifers. The 40-foot wells use more surface water, he said.
Prapas also expressed concern about the likelihood of increased traffic on Old Joppa Road after more homes are built in the neighborhood, saying, "From 4-6 p.m., you can't get out of your driveway."
He said the problem is the same during morning hours.
Christie Brown, of the 800 block of Old Joppa Road, said she is concerned about drivers who speed on nearby Mountain Road and asked if something could be done about it.
Rich Zeller, of the State Highway Administration, said speed humps couldn't be installed because Mountain Road is a collector road, a road that collects and distributes traffic between main roads.
"Someone's going to die on that road and maybe then we'll get speed bumps," Brown said.
Jane Davis, of the 700 block of Old Joppa Road, wanted to know how the property would affect the wetlands behind her home.
Wilson said the wetlands wouldn't be touched as they are protected.
The Development Advisory Committee Wednesday also reviewed plans for the land of Earl and Deborah Preston, on the east side of Federal Hill Road (Route 165) and north of Old Federal Hill Road in Jarrettsville.
Wilson, whose firm also represents the Prestons, explained the plan is to construct a small service office building on half an acre. The building area would be 3,000 square feet.
An existing old dwelling on the property will be razed, Wilson said, and the new building could accommodate up to three business tenants.