The plan for a new subdivision of 35 single family houses to be called Cromwell Ridge has pitted the Cromwood-Coventry Community Association against a Glen Burnie-based developer.
Association board member Carol Manfredo said she has come away from her dealings with Craftsmen Developers with "the feeling of being stepped on by the huge work boots of a developer who couldn't care less about the negative impact of his development on our property values and lives."
But after more than five months of negotiations and meetings, Craftsmen attorney John Gontrum said that's simply not true.
"Craftsmen's corporate template is sustainable development, and to really work hard with communities to be good neighbors," he said. "I think we have put in an incredible amount of time researching the issues raised at the community input meeting, trying to get an understanding of the issues as they relate to traffic and the environment.
"Our plan is a work in progress as we respond to community and county issues," he said.
'Solitude and atmosphere'
Four years ago, after raising four children, Manfredo and her husband, Leonard, decided it was time to downsize and leave their Dulaney Valley Road home in Lutherville.
They found their ideal "retirement house" near the end of Rushley Road in Cromwood — not quite Towson, not quite Parkville — and less than three-fifths of a mile from the giant Jerry's Chevrolet complex on East Joppa Road.
Hidden from view from the busy traffic on Joppa Road by a steep hill, Cromwood is a step back in time, by all accounts.
"We bought our home here because of the solitude and atmosphere," Manfredo said. "We downsized for the peace and quiet."
"It's unique," said Ann Collier, who has lived in the neighborhood more than four years. "It was built in the 1950s in a park-like setting with tall shade trees, with no sidewalks and no streetlights. Not one house is alike.
"Neighbors walk their strollers and their dogs in the street," she said. "It's virtually crime free. Even the police have trouble finding it."
What was especially appealing to the Manfredos was the expanse of fields and mature trees at the end of their street. It was just one house away from their property, and they could see on the hill on the far side of the rolling fields the old stone farmhouse that overlooked them. With its pond and bucolic setting, it looked like it belonged in Vermont.
But now the Manfredos feel those fields have become an Achilles heel.
Craftsman has contracted to purchase 14 acres of fields and wooded area, as well as the house next to the Manfredos. If the company goes through with the purchase, the 1860s farmhouse eventually would overlook a subdivision of 35 single-family homes.
Craftsmen acquires, develops and sells residential and commercial properties in the mid-Atlantic region, according to the company website. In the past 30 years, the firm has developed more than 3,000 lots in 57 communities.
At Cromwood, the $400,000 houses would be built as they sell, according to Gontrum. Buyers would have a choice of approved patterns, and construction would be expected to take three years.
The company submitted its concept plan to Baltimore County development review officials on April 15. The Manfredos and Collier learned about the plan at the community input meeting hosted by the county on June 8, which 65 residents attended.
"I am distressed and distraught," Manfredo said last week."We now feel faced with the threat of noise and light pollution, a view of ongoing construction with all of its negative attributes, and a lack of natural habitat for the wildlife we have come to appreciate on a daily basis."
Collier said the development would fundamentally change the character of their neighborhood.
"Residents of the new development won't be able to get in or out of their neighborhood without going through our community," she said, "and the county is going to widen Rushley Road by taking its 10-foot right of way."
Collier recalled times spent sitting on the porch with the owner of the farmhouse, 83-year-old Lorraine Jacobs, who still lives there, watching the deer and the foxes that frequent the pond. She said no one can assure her the storm water management ponds required by the county and the proposed grading won't have an impact on the farmhouse pond.
"This project is going to affect us all for the rest of our lives," Monfredo said. "We just don't want it."
Hearing likely in early 2012
Monfredo questioned how Craftsmen can be considered a "green builder" when the firm is proposing to take down trees and grade the property to provide the right topography for the new houses.
But Gontrum said Craftsman will replace each tree with two. In addition, he said, the company would pay the county about $160,000 to waive the open space requirement. The firm is willing to earmark it for a project that would be advantageous to the existing Cromwood community, he said.
Craftsman hasn't settled on the property yet — but the final development plan should be ready by next month, Gontrum said.
"We think we have met the county standards," he said. "We don't need zoning relief or variances or anything from an environmental standpoint — we're doing a lot of planting."
He anticipated the public hearing on the plan will be held sometime after the first of the year, and a county administrative law judge will issue a ruling after that.
The judge could approve or reject the plan, or approve it with changes. Regardless of that, the ruling could be appealed.
"We wouldn't start work until the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013, " Gontrum said. "Houses wouldn't be ready for occupancy until later that year."
Cromwood-Coventry Community Association President Mike Began is not pleased with Craftsmen's existing plan.
"The developer is telling us they have the right to build," he said, "but I think they have an obligation to respect the community that is already there. The lots are too small."
"It's sad. Considering the economy, I wonder how long the model home is going to just sit there."