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Panel backs plan for homes By MARGOT MOHSBERG, Staff Writer mmohsberg@capitalgazette.com The Queen Anne's County Planning Commission has nudged plans for 750 homes on Kent Island one step closer to reality. After a public hearing Thursday that drew about 100 people, the commission approved plans for Gibson's Grant, recommending that the county Board of Commissioners amend the county water and sewer plan to provide wastewater for the project. The commission also recommended that the county commissioners approve the developer's request to reduce the buffer along the Chester River shore from 300 to 100 feet. John Wilson, a member of the development group, White's Heritage Partnership, said he was "thrilled" by the commission's decision. "We think it's a great project," he said. Mr. Wilson, who also owns the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, said he believes the Planning Commission voted in favor of the project because it's a "traditional residential village," which calls for clustering homes, and is in a designated growth area. Sue Ann Hyer-Morgan, the county planner who's advising the developer on the project, said, "It's safe to say the development model is consistent with the the county's community development plan." However, she added that before granting final approval the county will expect the developer to show specific plans for a "very high-quality project." "We will want to see what building materials the developer plans to use, its architectural designs and its community amenities," she said. The community of single-family homes, townhouses and condominiums would cover 140 acres of farmland bounded by the Chester River, Macum Creek and Route 50. The homes will be built close together, the cars will be parked in alleys, and the size the yards is reduced in favor of large public parks, Mr. Wilson said. Homes will range in price from $125,000 to $750,000. The developer needs the Planning Commission to recommend approval for "growth allocation," or redesignate 12.41 acres in the Critical Area to allow intense development. Then the plan would go before the county Board of Commissioners for preliminary approval, then to the state Critical Area Commission, and then back to the county commissioners for final approval. Gibson's Grant is one of two large projects planned along Macum Creek. The other is the even more controversial age-restricted Four Seasons project, which calls for 1,350 homes straddling Stevensville and Chester.
Published January 15,
2002,
The
Capital, Annapolis, Md.
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