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Home My WebLink About1999 [08] Aug 02 ß/5L1e ~5/€'c:::hcr-?'-- . CITY OF ST. JOSEPH .1 First Avenue NW .0. Box 668, t. Joseph, MN 56374 320) 363-7201 'ax: 363-0342 ~ St. Joseph Planning Commission ãQI=.. City Hall - August 2, 1999 ilAYOR 7:00 p.m. (enneth J. Hiemenz 1. 7:00 P.M. Multi-Unit Student Housing Proposal- Jeff and David Drown ::LERK! . .DMINISTRATOR 2. 7:45 P.M. Lee's Ace Hardware - Sign Ordinance Interpretation for Product Signs {achel Stapleton 3. 8:15 P.M. Approval of Minutes ::OUNCILORS a. July 6, 1999 30b Loso ::ory Ehlert 4. 8:20 P.M. Other Business: -tvit ........ .-liedenfuer a. Casey's General Store Update b. Road Corridor Preservation - Northland Drive c. The State versus Sprawl d. St. Joseph Area Housing Study 5. 8:45 P.M. Other Announcements 6. Adjourn . . ~ CITY OF ST. JOSEPH MEMORANDUM 1 First Avenue NW .0. Box 668, To: Planning Commission Members t.Joseph, MN 5637from: Chad A. Carlson, Planning Commission Secretary 320) 363-7201 Date: July 29, 1999 'a~: 363-0342 RE: Background Infonnation for the August 2, 1999 Meeting mr", Multi-Unit Student Housin~ Develoþment: 1100 '" Jeff and David Drown will be presenting a proposal to develop 24 units of student housing on the . ~ Krebsbach lot located on Minnesota Street. The property is zoned General Business and a multi- vlAYOR unit residence would require a Special Use Pennit. However, the revision ofthe Zoning -:enneth J. Hiemenz Ordinance now requires 50% of the gross floor area must be used for retail of commercial purposes for multi-unit residential developments in the General Business District. ::LERK! The Drowns have three options: . .DMINISTRATOR 1) Construct a facility with 50% of the gross floor area dedicated to retail or commercial hchel Stapleton purposes, 2) Request a variance to the 50% requirement, or ::OUNCILORS 3) Request the property be re-zoned to R-3 Multi-Family Residential 30b Loso ::ory Ehlert I have asked the Drowns to present their proposal to you so they have an understanding of the [it issues from the Planning Commission. They will also be presenting the same information to the ~ 8iedenfuer City Council on August 5, 1999. No action is needed for this agenda item. Lee's Ace Hardware: Lee's Ace Hardware is requesting an interpretation by the Planning Commission regarding the placement of product signs on the front of the facility. Our current Ordinance does not reference product signs. I have contacted the City Attorney to get his opinion and will present the findings at the meeting. Other Business: Casey's General Stores: I will be presenting an update to the Casey's project and address your concerns brought up at the July 6th Planning Commission meeting. I will be bringing original site plans and construction material infonnation that the Planning Commission and City Council reviewed and approved. Road Corridor Preservation - Northland Addition: The APO has provided the process and rational for road corridor preservation. The State versus Sprawl: Mayor Hiemenz has requested that the Planning Commission read this article for your information. The Joseph Area Housing Study: A copy of the housing reference has been provided to you for reference as additional housing . developments come before the Planning Commission. If you have any questions, please give me a call at 363-7201. . - TH I RD FLOOR . 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June 21, 1999 To: Chad (EDA) director And St. Joseph Planning Commission From: Lee's Ace Hardware 213 East Cedar Street St. Joseph, MN 56374 Dear Chad: Weare finishing the painting of our building, and would like to go to phase 2 of our project. This phase would consist of placing signs on the building. I have a photo copy of what we would like to do, but it would involve a variance. I have searched and found no ordinance containing to product signs. We need to discuss this, I would like it to be on the next planning meeting agenda. . Th2 /~ Gary Utsch ( NIP^, ¡4. (,~~ J . I I ! I \ i '" i ~ ¡ . :x i 0; i I i I 8 I 0 0 i \0 w i ~ .....0'\ :.< ! So ...- tf.) ~ I 00,0 .~ to"Tj 00 ~ Io:j~ Õ >< ~IJ: Z ~ ! ooc:::: ~ D ~ . ~8 ...... ð2 ......... w ~ C/} trJO 0 t"" 'Tj 0 ~ ~ 0 0 tr.I :::ø z ~ ~ . N ......... W ~ ~ .\ ~ ~ . .\. - ~ ", Unofficial Minutes . Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the Planning Commission for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Tuesday, July 6, 1999 at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Chair Hub Klein. Commissioners S. Kathleen Kalinowski, Marge Lesnick, Gary Utsch, Kurt Schneider, Jim Graeve. Council Liaison Cory Ehlert. Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens. Others Present: Gene Boysen, Fred Mehr, Tom Carlsop, S. Mari Terese Woida, S. Thomasette, S. Ingrid Anderson, S. Marlene Meierhofer, Richard Helgeson, Kim Freemoe. St. Joe - Cold Spring Veterinary Clinic - Special Use Request: Chair Klein opened the hearing at 7:00 p.m. and stated the purpose of the hearing is to consider a Special Use Permit to allow for the construction of new equestrian medical facility for the St. Joe-Cold Spring Veterinary Clinic. The property is currently zoned Industrial and St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.21 Subd 2 states: all industrial uses shall require a Special Use Permit. The property is legally described as: The Southeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of Section Ten, Township One Hundred Twenty Four, Range Twenty-Nine West. The request for special use has been submitted by the St. Joe-Cold Spring Veterinary Clinic, Rick Bohlman, 809 County Road 75 East, St. Joseph MN 56374. Dr. Gene Boysen spoke on behalf of the clinic. He stated three reasons for the expansion: 1. Equestrian Medical Facility . 2. Storage space, currently space is rented from Schroeder Sports. 3. Office Space. The building will be a structural steel building with rockfaced colored concrete block on the west lower section, facing County Road 75. The upper portion of the building will be prefinished metal siding to match the existing clinic. The middle of the building will be two stories in height to accommodate the equme. Graeve questioned the use of the north driveway. Boysen stated that the NW end of the building will be the equine center with the north driveway providing access. The equine center will have 4 - 6 stalls and will have the capability to house the animals overnight. Boysen clarified that no change will be made to the existing facility. Kalinowski questioned how the waste will be disposed of. Boysen stated that they have not determined if the material will be composted or hauled out. Ehlert questioned if any part of the area will be fenced. Boysen stated the northern section of there property will be fenced so that the horses can be outdoors. Further, some treatment will be performed outside while the animal is walking. Upon being questioned about landscaping, Boysen indicated that they are willing to plant shrubbery and install landscape rock around the building. There being no further questions, the hearing was closed at 7:30 p.m. . Lesnick made a motion recommending the Council accept the following findings of the Planning Commission regarding the Special Use Permit request ofthe St. Joe-Cold Spring Veterinary Clinic. I July 6, 1999 Page I of 5 Unofficial Minutes RESOLUTION OF FINDING · The request of the St. Joe-Cold Spring Veterinary Clinic for a Special Use Permit came before the Planning Commission at a public hearing held on July 7,1999. The purpose of the hearing was to consider issuance of a Special Use Permit. The permit is being requested to allow the construction of a new equestrian medical facility. St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.21 subd 2 states that all Industrial uses shall require a Special Use Permit. The property is legally described as: The Southeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of Section Ten, Township One Hundred Twenty Four, Range Twenty-Nine West. The request for special use has been submitted by the St. Joe-Cold Spring Veterinary Clinic, Rick Bohlman, 809 County Road 75 East, St. Joseph MN 56374. Notice of this matter was duly served and published. In consideration of the information presented to the Planning Commission and its application to the Comprehensive Plan and Ordinances of the City of St. Joseph, the Planning Commission makes the following findings: The proposed use is consistent with the standards for a Special Use Permit as stated in St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.8 subd 4 (a-k). · Therefore, based on the above findings, the Planning Commission recommends the City Council approve the Special Use Permit as requested. Commissioner Schneider arrived at 7:20 p.m. Liaison Reports Ehlert reported on the following City Council activity: 0 The City Council will be reviewing the revised draft Zoning Ordinances on August 5, 1999. 0 The Highway 75 Zoning District, B-2, boundary was approved by the Council on July 15, 1999. 0 The following projects have been approved by the Council: 1) Reconstruction of Joseph Street to include utilities and curb and gutter; 2) Northland Drive from Gumtree StTeet East to CSAH 75; 3) extension of utilities to the St. Joseph Business Park. 0 The City will be interviewing architects for the remodeling of the First State Bank building and the City Hall. Before remodeling can begin the City must finalize the purchase agreement with the First State Bank of St. Joseph. 0 The Council has narrowed the candidate search for the position of Clerk! Administrator to three. Hopefully within a week a candidate will be selected Casev's Store - Building Concerns: Lesnick questioned the layout of Casey's Store and why the side facing CSAH 75 is not brick as is the rest of the building. Commissioners agreed and stated it was their · understanding that the site plan submitted to the Planning Commission and Council indicated the building side facing CSAH 75 would be brick faced. Ehlert stated that he discussed the matter with EDA Director Chad Carlson who stated that the site plan had to be modified slightly as required by the Pollution ContTol July 6, 1999 Page 2 of 5 , " Unofficial Minutes . Agency. According to Carlson, had the City notified Casey's Store earlier the design could have been changed. At this time the only resolution is to plant trees along the backside. Utsch questioned what step was missed and how this type of error can be prevented in the future. He stated it was his understanding that once the City approves a she plan, it cannot be changed. Kalinowski concurred and requested the Building Official be contacted todetennine if the site plan has been changed. Ehlert stated that he can forward the concerns of the Planning Commission to the Mayor and the Building Official. Graeve made a motion to strongly encourage Casey's General Store to finish the West Side of the building in a similar design as the other three sides. The motion was seconded by Ehlert. Discussion: The request is based on the number of complaints the City Council and Planning Commission have received and the revised site plan not having Planning Commission approval. St. Benedict's Monastery - Arts/Heritage Project: Representatives of the St. Benedict's Monastery appeared before the Commission to request authorization to make application for a building pennit to construct an Arts/Heritage Building. The Building will house a Benedictine museum, gift shop and gallery. S. Ingrid Anderson spoke on behalf of the Monastery'. Anderson stated that the Monastery considers the project an enhancement to the campus and will be available to the public. At this time the site plan has not been completed, but the architects are aware of the setback requirements and are confident they will all be met. Ehlert questioned if the adjoining property owners have been contacted regarding the project. Anderson . stated that they have not, but contact will be made before the project is started. Ehlert also questioned if the Monastery has a parking plan, to which Anderson stated it, is not yet complete. Anderson stated that the Monastery does not anticipate much traffic, but the site will have parking available. Ehlert stated that he would like to see a parking plan and make sure the adjoining property owners are aware of the plans before allowing the Monastery to make application for a building pennit. Kalinowski stated that the property is zoned as Educational and Ecclesiastical and as such a parking plan is not required and there are not setback requirements unless the property abuts a residential neighborhood. Ehlert stated that he is not trying to delay the project, rather make sure that all property owners are held to the same standard. Anderson stated that the Art/Heritage Building will have a minimum of 25 to 30 parking spaces and will be outlined when the architect completes the site plan. Ehlert made a motion authorizing the Monastery of St. Benedict to make application for a building permit for the construction of the Art/Heritage Building contingent upon the approval of the Fire Chief and Building Official. The motion was seconded by Lesnick and passed unanimously by those present. Discussion: Ehlert encouraged the Monastery of St. Benedict to submit a parking plan with the application for a building permit. Kalinowski again stated that since the Zoning District does not require such the Planning Commission cannot require submission of a parking plan. Arlington Place - SÜm Pennit Request: Alrington Place owner Richard Helgeson appeared before the Commission to request authorization to make application to secure a Sign Pennit. Helgeson stated he would like to construct a 29 square foot sign to identify Arlington Place. . Weyrens clarified that St. Joseph Code of Ordinances 52.13 subd 9(a) states: One (1) identification sign not exceeding thirty-five (35) square feet in area for the following uses: church. school, hospital. parks and recreation areas or similar uses, Such signs shall be solely for the name and of the use and its activities and may be illuminated but not flashing The Commission needs to detennine of the Assisted Living Facility falls under the above Ordinance. July 6, 1999 Page 3 of 5 Unofficial Minutes . Utsch made a motion authorizing Arlington Place to make application for a sign permit based on the Ordinance stated above, the Assisted Living Facility is perceived as being similar in nature to a hospital. The motion was seconded by Graeve and passed unanimously. St. Joseph Auto Sales - Kim Freemoe: Kim Freemoe, St. Joseph Auto Sales, appeared before the Commission to discuss installing a fence on the southern property line. After reviewing the Fence Ordinance the Planning Commission determined that the fence could be eight feet in height as the property is zoned Commercial. The Planning Commission encouraged Freemoe to consider a shorter fence and discuss the matter with the neighbor. Weyrens reminded Freemoe that the west properly line abuts a County Road and as such the County must be contacted for setback information. Further, if the County setback is greater than the City setback, the County setback requirements prevail. Commissioner Graeve left the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Northland Drive: Ehlert reported that the City Council has approved the construction of Northland Drive from CSAH 75 to Gumtree Street East in the Northland Addition. At the public hearing many residents expressed the need to develop a second east/west road to relieve traffic on Gumtree. Residents stated it is their opinion that if an additional access is not created Gumtree will become a major roadway and pose safety concerns. The Council spent considerable time discussing alternative road connections including redesigning the new phase of Northland and extending Fir Street to the east to create another connection. However, the City Engineer discouraged the Council from changing the design as the road could become a maintenance . headache due to the steep grade. Therefore, the Council has referred the matter to the Planning Commission for review and consideration. Ehlert further stated that some residents were unaware when purchasing their homes that Gumtree would eventually be a major roadway. Ehlert presented the following proposal for consideration: Extend 4th Avenue NE to the South, through the Rothfork property and then gradually curve the road to construct an east/west connection through the Brandenburger estate. Ehlert stated that this proposal would relieve traffic rrom Gumtree Street, provide an additional east/west access, and provide access to the Brandenburger and Rothfork properties. Utsch stated it is his understanding that the role of the Planning Commission is to plan for the future. With that in mind, Utsch stated it is his opinion that a road north of the existing development is more important than an additional east/west road south of the development. As St. Cloud provides alternative routes to St. Cloud, residents will avoid driving CSAH 75 and head north to connect to an east/west connector to St. Cloud. Further, it is his understanding that the original plat of Northland included Gumtree as a major roadway serving the development. Lesnick stated it is her opinion that the majority of residents in Northland will not use Northland Drive to access CSAH 75 as the intersection is not regulated by a traffic light. Morning and evening traffic on CSAH 75 is not conducive to left turning traffic. Schneider spoke in support of creating an additional east/west access. Schneider stated that he lives on Gumtree Street and if Gumtree is the only access to Northland Drive it will become a safety issue. Further, Schneider stated that he disagrees with the City Engineer regarding the grade of the road if Fir Street were extended to Northland Drive. Schneider stated that the grade of the road would be . comparable to the slope at 12th Avenue SE and Baker Street East. July 6, 1999 Page 4 of 5 ". Unofficial Minutes . Kalinowski requested that the Planning Commission Members receive a copy of the proposed road along with infonnation on corridor preservation. Weyrens stated that she will forward the infonnation to the Planning Commission. Adiourn: Lesnick made a motion to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.; seconded by Utsch and passed unanimously. Ot(df~ Judy Weyrens Deputy Clerk . . July 6, 1999 Page 5 of 5 ~~'~ \f ~VJ\)\~ <N~ ~~~ PLANNING ~ . ,. ~ . SPEND FIVE MINUTES BY THE SIDE elsewhere: commuters going home to one of the road, and you will understand why of the developments carved out of the Manchester, Maryland, is a desperate fields of surrounding CalToll County; town. Manchester's main street is also workers who've taken advantage of Maryland has launched state Route 30, which winds from the cheaper housing across the state line in Pennsylvania border down to the outskirts Pennsylvania; truckers ferrying goods to a bold experiment in ofBaltimore. On the map, Route 30 has all and from Hanover, Pennsylvania, which the slender innocence of a country lane, the Utz potato chip and Snyder's pretzel growth control. It is and indeed there are long stretches where companies are rapidly transforrning into it passes rolling fields ......................................................... the snack-food capital of planted to com and [Ii ROB GURWITT the mid-Atlantic. being watched closely beans, parallels time- ........................................................- All of this growth in worn, single-track rail lines and fronts other places has imposed itself on Man- all over the country. white frame fannhouses and orderly chester. "This once-quiet little farming . patches of woodland. Manchester itself is community is no more, at least on Main But will it work? . just a speck of a town, with the low-slung, Street," says David Warner, the recently drowsy mien ofa farm hanùet. retired town manager. "Now you take your Unless, that is, you happen to pull over life into your hands just to back up." and park there. Then Manchester is trans- Homeowners don't live on Main Street fonned, revealed as a congested and unap- these davs-it's too noisv-so the venera- pealing vehicular doonnat. Trucks thun- ble brick fronts wear the neglected look of downscale rentals. It's hard to find a restau- .-rant open past lunchtime, since there is no real point to serving dinner if no one can cross the street to get to you. And shop- keepers worry openly about how long they'll be able to stay in business, because fewer and fewer locals want to visit and rush-hour passers-by wouldn't dream of losing their place in the stream of cars. It was precisely to get a handle on prob- lems such as Manchester's--to find a way of reducing the fallout from untrammeled development-that Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening proposed "Smart Growth" and pushed it through the legisla- ture. The idea was appealingly sb"aigl1tfor- ward: steer the state's in:6:astrucurre dollars in such a way as to discourage sprawl and encourage development or redevelopment in already settled communities. Under the measure-actually a series of laws-the Rush hour in Manchester: Only the der by. Late-model sport utility vehicles state no longer provides funding for infra- brave dare cross the street. elbow their way in and out of town. And, structure projects outside specificallv des- ................................................................................. .if it happens to be rush hour, an impossi- ignated growth areas, which are for the most bly long, impatient line of cars makes the part in existing communities. Enacted in thought of trying to get out on the driver's 1997 and put into force last year, Smart Æide laughable.· . Growth has been trumpeted nationally-by Some of this traffic comes from Man- environmentalists, planners, slow-growth chester itself, but most of it is on its way advocates, anti-sprawl enthusiasts and pro- 18 GOVERNING January 1999 Stme Barrtll photographs . Tractors and new houses rub against each other in Maryland's Howard County. It's the sort of development Smart Growth was meant to stop, ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... moters of regionalism-as one of the most frustrates many Manchester residents. "Its own. Glendening's Smart Growth policy compelling solutions yet devised by any full name is 'Smart Growth and Neighbor- has pretty much guaranteed that: In state for the inequities and public expenses hood Revitalization, '" says David Wamer. essence, it has made Maryland the first state created by sprawl. "Well, Main Street won't be revitalized until to lift the veû from the growth agenda of You might expect the citizens of a place there is a bypass." every town and county within its bound- such as :-'hnchester to have nothing but Maryland is not, of course, the only place aries. Where particular development issues kind thoughts about Smart Growth. Actu- in the country where conversations like this were once left to the counties to sort out ally, their feelings are a little more tangled. are taking place: Development and sprawl entirely on their own, Smart Growth has That is because the only way town lead- have become hot-button issues virtually made them an automatic state concern- ers can see to regain some of their lost everywhere. Two months ago, voters in every pro¡x>sed subdivision, every widened community life is to build a bypass that New Jersey approved a measure to spend road, every new school and sewer extension would redirect the traffic around them. It's $1 billion over the next 10 years on pre- and wastewater treatment expansion can a simple solution, and there was a time serving half of the state's remaining unde- now be examined not just for its impact on when Maryland's highway department veloped land. Arizonans agreed to spend the county it's located in but also its impact would have been happy to oblige. But not $220 million on open-space preservation. on neighboring counties and on the state as anymore. Projects such as this are now In Tennessee, the state legislature last year a whole. "In the past, things happened on a subject to Smart Growth considerations, required counties and municipalities to put piece-by-piece basis \vithout looking at the and bypasses often have the side effect of growth boundaries in place, as part of an whole framework," says Ron Young, deputy promoting new peripheral growth. innocuous-seeming measure to refonn the director of the state planning office. "What So while state officials haven't given state's annexation laws. At meetings \vith we're doing now is bringing the issues up \hmchester a flat "no," they haven't exactly other governors, Glendening invariably front where they have to be addressed, cmbraced the idea, either. "What I've been finds his growth ¡x>licies a leading topic of rather than hidden away. " saying is, 'You've got a problem, let's find a discussion. '1 believe sprawl will be one of In the process, though, Maryland has . solution in Manchester consistent with the ¡x>werful vote-moving issues of the next begun to demonstrate a somewhat ironic Smart Growth,' " says Jim Noonan, coordi- several elections," he says. "People are fact: Sprawl, it turns out, is much easier to nator of the Smart Growth Policv Team at focused, they're frustrated, and they're label an unambiguous ill when it's left the Maryland Office of Planning. "At least demanding change." abstract. Smart Gro\\'th has particularized look at options that are consistent with the Over the next few years, no state is likely it. By shining a light on all the little deci- concept ofSmrui: Growth." And this, in turn, to see more fennent on the matter than his sions that, together, can create or reverse January 1999 GOYERNING 19 . . . sprawl, it has revealed a landscape filled form promoting the revitalization of older ¡be, and it's millions of dollars at stake. This l with Manchesters, where arguments over communities and insisting that it made no is something we didn't have to do before." growth and development are laced with sense for the state to close down schools in To Smart Growth backers, on the othcr subtlety and complication. older areas and spend its resources on new hand, wbat Glendening wanted simply ones just a few miles away. made sense. "What we're talking aboll tare one measure of the impact Glenden- Once in office, Glendening found he state funds," says Democratic Senator ing's policy has had in a very short could shift school spending by executive Brian Frosh, who was one of tl1e senate's time is the degree to which the term order-roughly 80 percent of the state's lead negotiators on the matter. "Maryland "Smart Growth" has lost its meaning school funds now go to improve existing and most other states have funded shlpid around the country. It has become a handy facilities and 20 percent to build new ones, growth for decades. It is only common and inoffensive label-no one, after all, rather than the other way around. But for sense that if growth or sprawl is a problem, favors stupid growth-for anything con- the rest-roads, sewers, new state facili- that state funding for projects should be nected to growth management. Directing ties and the like-he needed to layout a targeted at areas where you want growth development away from drinking-water clearer vision. What made the idea politi- to occur and not where you don't want sources in Austin, Texas, is called "Smart cally attractive was its low up-front cost: growth." In the end, what Glendening got , Growth." So is Colorado's policy of pro- Smmt Gmwth did not ,"quire . uew &om 'ho legi'!.,u," w"' . compmmi,ej viding small financial awards to localities bureaucracy or big investments in new ~mart Growth passed, but it left great dis- for new efforts to manage growth. And so is money to achieve its goals; it was really cretion in the hands of the counties. Little Rock's decision not to annex land to just a new set of fiscal priorities. The heart of the policy lies in two mea- help a private school relocate, for fear of The chief opposition to the proposal sures. One created the so-called Rural contributing to sprawl. Even in Maryland, came not from the development commu- Legacy Program, which allows counties says Dru Schrriidt-Perkins, executive nity but from the Maryland Association of to apply for state funds to set aside and protect undeveloped and agricultural land; so far, the state has handed out $38, million to protect about 19,000 acres. The other created what are called "Priority Funding Areas," which are, simply put, where the state has agreed to put its money. Existing cities and towns automat- ically became Priority Funding Areas; so did all the areas inside the state's two belt- ways, around Baltimore and Washington, D.c. But the legislation also allowed coun- ties to designate whatever additional land they chose as Priority Funding Areas, with specific-but not especially restrictive- criteria for what might qualifY. This leeway given the counties, not sur- prisingly, is what has most worried envi- ronmentalists and other backers of growth management. Simply put, says Al Barry, a planning consultant and former assistant planning director in Baltimore, "the legis- lation, as high-minded as it is, is not going to be successful if the counties take the view that these Priority Funding Areas Growth that the state likes: a new mixed-use development should cover most of their land." at Worman's Mill in Frederick, Maryland. So far, at least, only some of them have ............................................................................................................................--.-...... taken that view. The counties' initial prior- director of the environmental group 1000 Counties. In Maryland, as in many other ity funding maps began coming in to the Friends of Maryland, 'The term is so com- states, planning is a local affair. The idea Maryland Office of Planning last fall, and promised now-because everyone is using of the state telling counties where and how they range widely, from narrow and care- it-that the folks working on it now use they could grow was simply anathema to. fully targeted plans for growth to just the - 'Smarter Growth' and the home builders county officials. "It scares the hell out of thing Barry feared-plans that essentially are using 'Sensible Growth.' " me and any planning director when you declare the entire county open for growth. - What Glendening had in mind, though, have to sit down with staff at the state level That is what Allegany County did, for was something quite specific: the idea that and convince them that something's the instance. Allegany sits near the end of state infÌastructUre spending should be used right thing to do," says Joe Rutter, plan- Maryland's mountainous western ann, and to shore up existing communities and limit ning director for Howard County, a fast- has seen little growth in recent decades. It the spread of development into greenfields. growing jurisdiction near Baltimore. "You wants to keep its options open, so that it can He ran for his first term in 1994 on a plat- never know what their answer is going to respond favorably to anyone who comes in 20 GOVERNING January 1999 Steve Barrell photograph , . pie in the pennitting process at the stall' J; le\'el said it \\',L~ the most ùlOrough applim- tion and one of best hmd-usc plans the~:d c\·cr seen, yet in Ùle [¡\C.'(' of slTong opposi- tion by some en\·ironmental groups, it's gone." says John Kortecamp. executive \i('(' president ofÙle Home Buûders A5so- ciation of .\Iaryland. "You get the feeling Ùlat everything's up for grabs, depending on Ùle politic,ù \\inds that blow." Charges such ,L<; this are bound to come up, gÌ\'~n the program's goals: Smart Growth is explicitly designed to favor older, already established communities- where the heart of the Democratic politi- cal base lies-at Ùle expense of undevel- oped suburban tenitory, \\·hich tends to be Republican. So, for instance, when the state cited Smart Growth in its decision not to shift the state police crime labora- tory from the older, Baltimore County suburb of Pikesville to Ùle newer, Can-oil County suburb of Sykesville, the Repub- lican leadership of Can-oil County con- tended the decision had nothing to do . ' \\ith sound growth policy. "With the state Everything depends on 'the poµtical winds that blow,' complains and its funding decisions, it's always polit- home builders' exe9utive John Kortecamp. icaL" says Benjamin Brown, who was a ..................................................... .......................... t········..···..···..···'·..····..············..······..···············..·······..··..· coun tv commissioner at the time. \\ith a development proposal. Other count . elections, Glendening replaced Ùle heads All'this is inescapable, not just because ties have been slightly more artful. Harford I of the state's transportation and housing development issues are always political, County, which sits right in the middle of . departments, in part, he says, because "I but because, at its heart, Smart Growth is the suburban Baltimore growth conidor! ¡ was not convinced they had taken the lead- about creating friction between competing chose to interpret Smart GrO\vth loosely¡ .. ership in promoting Smart Growth up and interestS-Dr, more precisely, about mak- contending that proposed development$ dO\\11 Ùle bureaucracy." ing clear where the points of friction lie. qualif)' as existing communities for the purt This is true for the big-ticket decisions poses of state funding. This did not sit espet One thing Smart Growth clearly \\ill not such as Chapman's Landing, but it is just cially well with the state planning office! do is make the politics of development as true for the mundane, day-to-day "Our \iew is the law meant the buût emit in .\faryland any less contentious. Not growth challenges where the policy \\ill, ronment and infilllots inside the buût emit long after Smart Gro\\th passed, Glenden- in Ùle long run, succeed or fail. ronment-that's 'existing community,' 't ing decided to cancel a long-proposed, con- You can get a sense of this by heading says Jim Noonan. "We don't consider area4 troversial development J-.llO\\11 as Chap- south from .\fanchester on Route 30, Ùlat don't actually have structures on then{ man's Landing in rural Charles County, through the somewhat larger town of to be 'existing.' \Ve hear what they're sayt along tlle Potomac River SOUÙl on Vash.ing- Hampstead-which is facing precisely the ing, but we can't accept that interpretatioq I ton, D.C. There were legitimate ~easons for ì same traffic problems-and into Balti- ,md still achieve anything consistent witH \ ,doing so: The project would have required more County. The area adjacent to the Ùle intent of the law." I bigger roads and more schools in the area, Carroll County line is astonishingly rural Despite the softening of tlle law in it$ and was to have been built in one of the for land so close to a major metropolitan final enactment, the state planning office d lar~t unbroken fo.@sts left in that part of area-small country churches, tiny settle- not entirely toothless in such casesl ~. "It became a matter of, if you ments of scattered housing, rickety :\Jthough it is required to accept any tenit really say you support Smart Growth, how bridges over creeks and rail lines and big tory a county wants to declare open tq can you allow Chapman's Landing to hap- stretches offannland and forest. All this is g¡'?wth, it can also "comment" when it pen?" says John Frece, Glendening's spe- tlle result of Baltimore County's decision . Ùunks counties have stepped over th~ cial assistant for Smart Growth. 20 years ago to create an urban growth bounds. Those comments are bound to hav~ But to those who favor development, boundary, beyond which it simply would an impact on other state agencies makin~ Glendening's actions on Chapman's Land- not provide much in the way of services. . critical decisions about siting and infrastruCjl ing represented something else altogether: ! 'The greatest conflict with an agricultural i ture. Legally, these agencies can ignore th .. a Democratic politician running for re- I area is a house," says the county's planning I planning office, just as the counties can. Bu election trying to shore up his base anlOng I' director, Pat Keller. "So if you live in a l Ùlat is not cun-enÙY a good way to win politt environmentalists. "The governor had rural area, we're not going to fix the roads, ic¡ù ~1\'or in Annapolis. After the Novembet lauded that project many times, and peo- ¡ we're not going to fix the bridges. The . n , . .olice response time will be 20 minutes, Carroll is a middle-class county, not one which means that it foresees a good chunk not two. The fire deparbnent will be vol- chockablock with high-end custom of it occurring around Manchester and unteer, and your house may well bum homes. But in order for the county to \ Hampstead-right up against Baltimore down. Take any service county govern- break even on services to a new home, the County's rural zone. As Baltimore County's ment provides, and the way the county house must be~~r!Þÿt leasL~220,000 aIld \ Pat Keller sums up the conflict in goals, "I provides the services will be very cli1ferent its residents pulling down about $100,000 see Route 30 and I see a country road. Car- in an urban area versus a rural area. " . in income--hardly something the county roll County sees it as a major arterial." The result, though, is exactlv what can guamntee. Moreover, it is a commut- Before Smart Growth went into effect, you'd expect: Over the past decad~J!Ilº a ing county; something on the order of 60 there was no way to foresee, let alone ease, half, residential ~owth has leapfrogg~d percent of its adults leave it each weekclaY such conflicting priorities. Now, at least, the ~ the Baitimor County rural zone and morning. With the county's pop~ priority funding process gives the state a into Carroll County. Once ahnost entirely projéêted to rise by about 55,000 people sense of how the counties' plans affect each -- over the next two decades, Carroll has, in other, and some ability to encourage the rural, Carroll has just eight towns, the largest of which, the county seat of West- the words of Philip Rovang, its planning counties to work out their cli1ferences--or minster, has managed to guard its small- director, "the makings of a very serious risk losing the possibility of state infrastruc- town feel and easily walkable Main Street traffic problem"-as if traffic on Route 30 ture funding~ As Keller says, "Smart Growth despite the presence not far away of a weren't already bad enough. provides a basis for conflict, and then it pro- large regional mall. But C?IToll is chang- All of this leaves Carroll County with vides for a process to sort it out" .J!:.g. Its southern end now houses com- o~y o~re~e,~hich is to grow its muters to both Baltimore and Washing- way out of its troubles.ßut it needs a dif- I n the end, of course, Smart Growth is ton, and people living in and around . ferent kind of growth than it has been get- about more than whether Manchester Westminster, Manchester and Hamp- ; ting. Rather than more residential subdivi- should get a bypass or whether Carroll stead commute to Baltimore and the bur- sions, it must afuact new employers who County needs help in attracting businesses. geoning edge city of Owings Mills, which .£an stabilize its tax base and keep its resi- Smart Growth is essentially a plan to is where the Baltimore subway ends. dents from having to commute elsewhere reorder how people live: By changing the And so Carroll has a couple of prob- for work. Adhering to Smart Growth priIl- way state government spends its resources, . lems. For one thing, it has to struggle to -ciples,' Carroll County wants that growth it asserts, we can reverse the past half cen- .ake thp. residential growth pay for itse~ to go in and around its existing towns, tury of development-we can make cities I' -;"~u~~·~·~~· _ ~!:;r~~~~-~: -~ _~""".....'~.~ .~~~ _ h_"___~":'U .¡ I :'.nd older suburbs, Ùle places that people fqr decades, by sa)ing that regardless of works if government has the backbone to . have been lea,ing for decades, attractive tl}e costs we'll be there to provide schools, stand up \\ith a developer against commu- :'gain. By fixing up schools, pU~J!}n r9ads, sewers and other community infra- nities that say, 'IfI have to spend one more ~he rigbt I2laces and funding wate~ sVucture support. That has impacted the cycle at the light, then I'm against that field sewer improvements strategically, Smart rrlarket tremendously over the decades. behind my house being developed: " says c;rowth says, the state can affect where pea- Smart Growth is really a return to a disci- John Col,in, a suburban Baltimore devel- pie live, work and create jobs. It can alter pline we'd gotten away from \\ith regard oper and member of the state planning not only the physical but also the political to decision-making on public resources- commission. "I don't think loc~ern- "::nvironment. "\ Ve want to create a political shared community resources. ment has figured out that the key compo- ~:òthos:' says Glendening, "where it becomes i What Maryland is about to discover- nent of Smart Growth is supporting appro- I one of the givens of the landscape." apd the rest of the country has an oppor- priate development against local opposition I This is untrod ground, and plenty of t1;Inity to watch-is just how politically from people who Just anived anC1\vant to critics believe that Smart Growth will cbmplicated that discipline can be. As pull up the drawbridge behlnd ~ lail-that it cannot change a market that John Frece admits, "These aren't easy Both sides agree that It's entirely too has generally favored movement outward, decisions. There \\ill always be those gray soon to jump to any conclusions about the to\vard less densely settled areas. ''Those areas: One person's sprawl is another per- policy' 05 impact-too much has yet to hap- plans," says Sam Staley of the market-ori- son's eëõñõíllic development.': ~ pen before anyone can decide what Smart ented Reason Public Policy Institute, "are Developers have noticed, for instance, Growth will do to the Maryland landscape. based on certain assumptions and fore- tJ;¡at while the state is essentially calling for "What has been done in Maryland at this casts about population, household size and d,enser living, neither it nor the counties point," says Ron Young, "is not the answer preferences for transportation. But we s~em entirely comfortable \\ith the idea. If to sprawl, it's not the savior alone of the don't !mow enough about the way people yþu want some areas to be protected, the cities or the final protector of open space. It move or what they want to do to be able d,evelopment community has begun to is a real big step in the direction of doing all to make those kinds of forecasts in the way argue, then you have to accept the flip side: those things, but it's just a beginning. Has that Maryland's plans presume." Other areas \\ill have to take denser devel- it solved every problem? No. Is every Ron Kreitner, the state planning direc- opment. But that will mean facing down problem solvable? ~vlavbe not. But because lor, thinks the critics are wrong. "Look," opposition from residents who don't want some bad things happen, is the program he says, "we've been affecting the market their communities to change. "All of this going to be a fuilure? No." ill , "'-1 ........- -.. --......-., Mnt10ned right of way line 1421.86 feat to the w~St u.ne 01- .......... --~ -.-- ..--- .- . ·...t Quarter of Section 11; thence North 00 degree$ 00 minut~$ 13 seconds West on last u. ctøaed v~.t line 832.74 feet to 5a1d $outherly right of way line of County Road Number 1 tbaftce South 84 degrees 09 minu~e8 00 seconds Ea&t on last mentioned right fo ~y line 5 f..t¡ thence South 05 degree$ 51 minutes 00 seconds West 13~.04 feet; thence South 84 de 09 ~nute8 00 ·seconds East 199.00 feet; thence North 05 degrees 51 minutes 00 seconds E£ 136.ð4 feet to last mentioned r1ght·of way line; thence South 84 degrees 09 minutes 00 f e..t on last mentioned right of \Jay line 577.62 feet to the point of beginning. Contail 63~S1 .cres. ~re or less. Subject to and tog~ther with easements of record. 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