A lengthy public hearing Tuesday ended with the Calvert County commissioners voting 4–1 accept county government staff’s recommendation to continue to study the future of the Prince Frederick Town Center’s sewer system.
The board also directed staff to take steps to codify the adequate public facilities ordinance to include a sewer component. The later issue was previously called for in the county’s 2019 update of the comprehensive plan.
The commissioners previously expressed concerns with the additional residential growth in Prince Frederick, particularly the recent proliferation of apartments. Revelations earlier this year that the town’s public sewer system was in peril heightened those concerns.
“It’s a countywide problem,” declared Commissioner Mike Hart (R), who had called on his fellow board members to consider a one-year moratorium for development in the town center. “We can’t wait to ‘wait and see.’”
During a public works department presentation, which was part of the hearing, Director Kerry Dull reported the town’s two wastewater treatment plants “are at 68% capacity based on measured flows from calendar year 2021. The Prince Frederick service area has 12% capacity remaining before reaching the 80% design requirement threshold.”
Data from county government shows that just over 50 projects being followed by local government could push the capacity beyond the equivalent dwelling unit flows that would reach the 80% threshold.
Mary Beth Cook, director of planning and zoning, stated a lack of sewer taps would halt the permitting process for a project.
“To me, there’s still some urgency,” said Commissioner Christopher J. Gadway (R).
An ongoing study of the system has unveiled expansion problems in the Prince Frederick area.
Amy Parrish, a geologist with Baltimore-based consultants Barton and Loguidice, stated during the hearing that land in the Prince Frederick area lacks the soil texture needed for rapid infiltration basins and isn’t appropriate for spray irrigation. More suitable land, said Parrish, is located south of Prince Frederick.
“We’ve looked at these properties,” she said, adding that a more detailed evaluation would need to be done.
Hart indicated that the length of time it would take for the evaluation, with no guarantees of a solution, paired with the development projects in the pipeline still warranted a halt to development in Prince Frederick.
A number of speakers concurred with Hart.
“There should be no expansion in Prince Frederick until these issues are addressed,” said Greg Bowen, a former planning and zoning director.
Huntingtown resident and county commissioner candidate Myra Gowans had a more drastic proposal.
“The county did not provide adequate information of the comprehensive plan,” she said. “We need to stop and remand the comprehensive plan and everything that’s attached to it back to the citizens and the new board of county commissioners.”
Gowans and Susan Dzurec of Calvert Citizens United both took local developers to task for the situation.
Gowans said the builders’ fine work in home construction did not give them the right to “slice and dice up this county.”
Dzurec read a letter she said had been written by the late Bernie Fowler, the former commissioner and state senator, that was sent to various environmental groups. Dzurec stated the letter expressed Fowler’s concern about the “threat of overdevelopment” and its adverse impact on the region’s waterways. The letter supposedly written by Fowler also relayed his frustration with the approval by the board of the 2019 comprehensive plan update.
Later, during his commissioners’ report, Commissioner Kelly D. McConkey (R), who has been embroiled in litigation with Calvert Citizens United, requested the group honor the request of Fowler’s family to not use his name or words to advance their agenda.
“I would appreciate it if they did not come to our meetings and do that,” McConkey said.
Several members of the development and business community spoke in person and via Zoom asking the board not to impose a moratorium.
“There has been an effort to make Calvert more business friendly,” said realtor Mark Frisco, the current chair of the county chamber of commerce’s board of directors. “This conversation is well in advance of where it needs to be.”
Engineer Dan Kelsh pointed out that Prince Frederick “was designed to be the most intense” location for residential and commercial development. Kelsh commended the public works department for planning well ahead of the sewer system reaching its maximum capacity.
Commissioner President Earl F. “Buddy” Hance (R) indicated that staff’s assurances convinced him a one-year moratorium was not needed.
“They are not going to approve a project that puts us over the limit,” he said.
“We’re at a crossroads,” Hart said in explaining why he couldn’t vote with the other commissioners to not put a halt to the project approval process. “A timeline has to be there.”
Twitter: @MartySoMdNews
