| The commissioners approved
a resolution Tuesday that extends the time limit for negotiating a developer's
rights and responsibilities agreement from early April until Nov. 21, 2002.
Under an ordinance approved Aug. 21, 2001, the commissioners granted the
growth allocation for the Four Seasons at Kent Island project, provided
the DRRA agreement was completed six months from the time the ordinance
took effect (Oct. 5, 2001).
Four Seasons would consist
of an age restricted community of about 1,350 homes - a mixture of single-family
homes and townhouses - in the Stevensville and Chester areas, north of
U.S. Route 50. The 562-acre development site is located on both sides of
Cox Creek and Castle Marina Road and the site borders Macum Creek and the
communities of Castle Marina, Bayside and Queens Landing.
Under Maryland's Critical
Area law, growth allocation is the mechanism that allows more intense development
within 1,000 feet of the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The growth
allocation would change the Critical Area designation on the Four Seasons
site for 372 acres: from Resource Conservation Area to Intense Development
Area for 293 acres; and from Limited Development Area to IDA for 79.5 acres.
The commissioners approved
a resolution April 10, 2001 which specified 36 conditions - 24 conditions
required by the county and 10 conditions required by the Chesapeake Bay
Critical Area Commission - that Hovnanian would have to meet to receive
the growth allocation. Conditions include: incorporating a cluster design
for the homes; adding an 80-bed assisted living facility to the development;
and designating 27.5 acres of park land for the county. One condition also
required the DRRA.
A public hearing will be
held before the DRRA can be approved.
©The
Star Democrat 2002
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