Citizens furious at Chaney vote

County OKs Hughesville tract commercial rezoning on 4-0 vote

Friday, June 19, 2009

A group of Hughesville residents noisily stormed out of the commissioners' meeting room Wednesday after the board voted to approve an amendment that rezones 150 acres on Route 231 from agricultural conservation to community commercial.

The amendment will allow for zoning that supports retail, commercial and office use.

Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D) was absent due to his participation abroad in the International Paris Air Show this week.

"An open and transparent process? I think not," said Hughesville resident Donna Cave, as she stood up in the audience after the vote and publicly scolded the commissioners for what she felt was poor communication with citizens.

"I do feel that people in question here have not read everything [and] have not taken everything into consideration … you're very ill-informed," Cave shouted at the commissioners as Charles County commissioners' President F. Wayne Cooper (D) sternly reminded Cave she was out of order and had had plenty of opportunities to speak during past public hearings. "[The record has] been open but we've got no questions answered. That's the problem: there's been no interaction at all," Cave continued.

Some would argue there have been more instances of altercation than interaction when it comes to the property that lies west of the Hughesville Post Office and the Brookleigh Woods subdivision on Prince Frederick Road.

"There was no harm intended in the decision today," Cooper said. "There have been major changes to Hughesville in the last 20 years. We hope this will help … revitalize Hughesville and enhance what is already there."

For the past year, Hughesville residents have come out en masse to fight Chaney Enterprises Inc.'s efforts to rezone a portion of their village. The initial amendment was to change the agricultural conservation zoning to a zone that would allow heavy industrial use.

Only a few months ago, the construction company offered a change to the amendment, this time requesting the more neighborhood-friendly community commercial.

"We did listen," said William Childs, president and CEO of Chaney Enterprises, of the change in zoning during the May public hearing. "We want to be welcome members of the community."

But in both cases, the proposals were met with strong opposition from residents. Besides the many speakers who stood against the appeals, there have been hundreds of letters submitted for the record.

Ignoring the village center, increasing traffic and inviting the possibility of big-box stores are worries included in many of the residents' testimonies.

The commissioners argue there have been more than enough chances for the public to have its say.

"This is a prime example of allowing tremendous public input in the legislative process," said Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D).

"Some of the questions we asked today were based on the letters written in," said Commissioner Samuel N. Graves Jr. (D).

Charles County Attorney Roger Fink said because of the nature of the legal process for judging amendments, there are limits the commissioners and staff must abide by when it comes to talking with the applicants and general public.

While typical legislative issues invite both sides to plead their case to the commissioners, because the five members are acting in a quasi-judicial role for zoning amendments, they are confined to the public record.

"We do everything we possibly can to educate residents," Fink said. "But part of my job is to protect the record and keep the commissioners out of the loop."

"What about the hundreds of letters that oppose this?" asked Cave after the Wednesday meeting. "I see them left out."

During the work session, the commissioners asked about the original Chaney plans to set aside property for nonprofit and educational use.

A representative for the company said the College of Southern Maryland had been interested in the community commercial zone, but had had to lease another property for its vocational-technology facility because the amendment proceedings were taking too long, and the school risked losing a grant.

"The expectation is to work with Chaney," said Bradley M. Gottfried, CSM's president. "We're convinced Hughesville is the best place for [the vocational technology] facility because it's so centrally located."

The American Red Cross had been interested in having a facility on Chaney property as well, and the representative said its arrival would be earlier than the college's.

Commissioners' Vice President Edith J. Patterson (D) asked whether offers like these could be written into the rezoning agreement to ensure land use in the coming years.

Fink said the county could not use the action of rezoning to promise use of property to particular tenants, but the community commercial zoning anticipated that the land would allow for either the college or nonprofit.

The county attorney said those projects would help to jumpstart the village of Hughesville in terms of economic development, because there was a need to update some of the area's infrastructure, and the only way to do that was by introducing new businesses to downtown Hughesville.

"The county commissioners are seriously dedicated to helping to improve Hughesville," Fink said.

msomers@somdnews.com