Cherry Hill Farm in Havre de Grace is, as they say in "The Wizard of Oz," "really, most sincerely dead."
It's not surprising since its development has been in the works for quite some time after the City of Havre de Grace approved it. Some years back, the place fell into disrepair and what had been a showplace worthy of admiration from passersby on Chapel Road became just another ramshackle parcel waiting for a developer to convince Havre de Grace what a great idea if this 20-some acres were turned into nearly 100 townhouses. Times changed, ideas changed and plans changed for the site. It's now expected to become 84 single family houses.
With those houses undoubtedly comes the promise of more fool's gold that will save Havre de Grace and, more importantly, its taxpayers from having to pay more to keep the city government afloat. Intellectually, nearly all elected officials should know what then Harford County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann knew some 20 years ago: Residential development is a losing proposition. It's a loser for the government that approves it, it's a loser for Harford County Public Schools and, most importantly, it's a loser for the taxpayers it's supposed to save.
But yet the elected officials can't help themselves. When developers come along with the next greatest thing, many elected officials still fall all over themselves to clear the way to make it happen.
Many years ago, when the Dallas Cowboys were about to play in a Super Bowl, Duane Thomas, the team's star running back and a bit of a character, posed this question: "If this is the ultimate game, then how come they're playing it again next year?" That mind-set applies to residential development. If this residential development is going to make such a difference for the taxpayers, then why didn't the one before it, and the on before that and the one before that make this one unnecessary?
The truth is, adding residential developments is the same as what centuries ago was the plantation mentality: The only way to keep the plantation going was to add more and more acres and more and more hands to work them. Without never-ending expansion, plantations were doomed to failure.
Even in Aberdeen, where a few years ago the city said a loud "NO" to an annexation that would have cleared the way for a huge residential development, it was the hard-working citizens, not their elected officials, who rejected the plan. The citizens did what they thought was their duty, if not their civic responsibility, getting enough signatures in a petition drive that forced the annexation/development issue before the voters.
The voters, by about a 2-1 margin, yelled loudly that they didn't want the annexation. The voters also got rid of the elected officials most responsible for not only advancing the proposal, but also showed unsurpassed arrogance by disrespecting and ridiculing those citizens as the worked the system to do what their elected officials should have done.
In a piecemeal sort of way, that massive housing proposal is coming back as Clark Turner is asking Aberdeen to annex 38 acres so he can build about 50 houses. After his request, there are certain to be others. His attorney, John Gessner, in a recent public information meeting vowed as much, letting those in the audience opposed to what was commonly referred to as the Wetlands annexation, that it was coming back.
What's lost in the return of this development issue is that Aberdeen has been getting along just fine without the riches it was supposed to bring the city's coffers. But that's always the way it's been. Development generally only benefits the pockets of those doing the developing. It's that get rich quick and let the others be damned mind-set that has this country in the fine mess it's in.
Phony mortgages were approved for countless folks who couldn't afford them which led many on Wall Street to get filthy rich, while the taxpaying class got stuck with a morass that will last years.
As the proposed Harford County Master Plan calls for changes to allow more development where it's not allowed now between Havre de Grace and Aberdeen, remember that lovely place that used to be Cherry Hill Farm. And wait for the windfall your elected officials will try to convince will be coming with each new house built and sold.