Forest Hill residents are concerned about traffic safety and angry over public water access with a new 25 single-family home development in their community.
The 25 residential lots on 11.65 acres would be on the northeast corner of Rock Spring Road (Route 24) and North Forest Drive in Forest Hill and will have to be designed in coordination with the village, according to plans presented to the Harford County Development Advisory Committee Wednesday.
Rowan Glidden, with George W. Stephens Jr. and Associates, told the committee that an unconstructed section of Isaac's Way, which is owned by the county, would be extended.
Darryl Ivins, with the division of water and sewer, said Maryland American Water company will be serving the development, which is higher in elevation compared to homes that are hooked up to Harford County's water system.
A bypass lane on Route 24 at North Forest Drive would be upgraded to the county's standards, Rich Zeller, with the Maryland State Highway Administration, said. He added that a traffic analysis for the development is under review.
Elizabeth Larson, of the first block of North Forest Drive, said she is frustrated the development would be receiving public water while the nearby Forest Hill Elementary and fire station do not.
Larson said she "fought like heck" to get public water to the elementary school after it found trace amounts of MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), a gasoline additive, in 2005. According to a 2007 Baltimore Sun article, the levels rose to 13.6 parts per billion in the spring of 2006, which is still considered to be a safe level by federal standards. The school, however, took precautionary measures and began to use bottled water.
Recently, Larson and other parents of children at the school received a letter saying nitrates had been detected in the water, exceeding the state standards of 10 milliliters per liter at 10.4. The letter stated the water was still safe for drinking, but Larson and her husband remain concerned.
"Shouldn't this be the time to get public water to the school, then?" Larson asked. Ivins responded that the department found that the best way to get water to the school is still through a water filtration system. He added that Maryland American Water isn't able to expand and even relies on Harford County during droughts.
"I cringe at the thought of my children going to a water fountain," Larson said after the meeting.
Eric Reitz, of the 2000 block of Tory Way, is concerned with not having enough exits out of the development. He said he didn't understand why an entrance for Route 24 wasn't being considered as another exit, especially for emergency vehicles.
Reitz also wanted an explanation as to why the development's homeowners association "isn't forced to become part of North Forest's" association. He asked if the development should report or pay dues to North Forest.
Mo Davenport, DAC chairman, said Isaac's Way would serve the purpose of distributing traffic and it wasn't found necessary to add another access point off Route 24. Davenport added that the county "can't make them [the development] go into your [homeowners association]."
Reitz also asked about the look, size and pricing of the homes. He said he was told, though he didn't say by whom, that the yet-to-be-built homes wouldn't be in the same price range of the nearby houses. He also stated the developers wouldn't commit to brick front homes, which he said are mandatory in that area, as well as a size or a price range that is similar to those already there.
Davenport reassured Reitz that the homes would be similar "to the homes in your community," but later said "We, as a county, can't regulate the size or price of homes as long as they're up to code." The county has asked the developers, though, to "be sensitive to the village character of Forest Hill."
As for the price of the homes, Davenport simply said these homes are products and the developers are going to attempt to get "as much money for their products as they can."
Lawrence A. Richardson Jr., of the first block of North Forest Drive, was also worried about an increase in traffic and how that would impact people's safety, especially during the construction process.
Glidden said they could "look at requesting" a temporary access road, but it would be up to the state highway administration on where that road would be. Glidden was asked a similar question and gave the same answer during an Aug. 18 community input meeting.