Hours before a court date with a developer, the Queen Anne's County Board of Commissioners yesterday reopened the door to the proposed 171-home Ellendale community in Stevensville. 

In June, the board halted any development planned for areas not slated for sewer expansion until the outcome of its appeal over the planned Kent Island Wal-Mart. 

The decision affected only one project -- Ellendale-- and yesterday the commissioners backtracked after developer John Dixon modified his plans to move some of the houses away from the shoreline. 

Board President George O'Donnell, D-Queenstown, said Mr. Dixon and county planning officials over the past two months made changes to the project that encouraged the county commissioners to push it through. 

"The changes make for a better project and it also saves the cost of litigation," Mr. O'Donnell said. 

Ellendale attorney Michael R. Foster of Stevensville said he expects the lawsuits to be dropped and credited the commissioners for working with Mr. Dixon. 

"What they came up with, my clients are totally agreeable to do," he said. 

He just wished the collaboration had happened sooner. 

"We wish the commissioners had a way to be in on it from the start," he said. "But I guess the commissioners need something to work with first." 

The project was derailed not only by the June decision but another in October, when the commissioners denied Mr. Dixon a recommendation for growth allocation. That stopped the project from going before the state Critical Area Commission. 

Mr. Dixon had asked to redesignate 34.14 acres of Critical Area from Resource Conservation to Intense Development. The commissioners argued that the proposed increase in development wasn't warranted. 

County Administrator Mark Belton at the time said the developers could still move forward by reducing the number of homes in the Critical Area of the 90-acre property and clustering them elsewhere on the 90-acre site behind Kmart along Thompson Creek. 

Instead, Mr. Dixon filed three lawsuits against the county in Circuit Court, appealing its decision to deny sewer and water service and growth allocation. A hearing was scheduled yesterday afternoon in Centreville. 

Both sides now believe they've reached an agreement. Under the agreement, Mr. Dixon will: 

Increase the shoreline buffer from 100 feet to 300 feet, reducing the amount of land to be developed in the Critical Area. 

Maintain 20 acres of open space in the area of the property below the Bay Bridge Airport flight path. 

Create a public road connecting the project to Thompson Creek Road and Thompson Creek Mall. 

Make a financial contribution to the county for community, recreation or cultural facilities. An amount has not yet been determined. 

Include affordable housing. 

Mr. O'Donnell said the commissioners reopened the door to development because Wal-Mart agreed last month to a 120-day postponement of its trial. 

"We didn't think it was fair to continue the policy since we've agreed to an extension," he said. 

In the meantime, the commissioners hope Wal-Mart will come up with a different location for its store. Wal-Mart officials have made no public promises.

mmohsberg@capitalgazette.com 
 

Published January 16, 2002, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2002 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

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