Davis Farms Housing Project Halted By Baltimore County Council

CATONSVILLE, MD — The Baltimore County Council voted 7-0 this week to stop the Davis Farms housing project, which is a proposed 19-home subdivision located off Maple Avenue that's drawn ire from area residents. The vote supports the county's master plan that aims to promote open space.

The resolution is not binding, Thomas Bostwick, the council’s legislative attorney and secretary, told the Baltimore Sun. The case will return to Administrative Law Judge Paul Mayhew's desk for approval.

“In this case (Mayhew) made the decision to deny approval and when the case goes back to him … he will ultimately be tasked with making that decision again or at least issuing a revised order,” Bostwick said.

Mayhew denied the developer's proposal to construct the homes along a narrow dead-end road in Catonsville after hearing concerns from residents about people's safety along the street, as well as an expected drastic increase in traffic.

Residents have made no bones about their opposition to this project. In 2019, an estimated 100 residents attended a community input meeting about the development that originally called for 18 single-family homes to be built on a 21.7-acre section of land at 106 Maple Avenue. Two of the three existing structures on the site would be demolished and one would be left, resulting in a 19-home development.

Maple Avenue resident Al Cunniff told Patch the plan to develop the area has been in the works for several years.

"The developer got negative input from our community at a meeting they held at Catonsville Public Library a couple of years ago, but they ignored our concerns. Our chief concern was safety. Because our narrow, dead-end street has no sidewalks, all pedestrians, school children, pet walkers and bicyclists who visit a park at the end of our road share Maple Avenue with vehicular traffic. We also had serious concerns about environmental and infrastructure problems that this development would have introduced," Cunniff said.

Cunniff and other neighbors teamed up to express a myriad of concerns, including 30 children living on the street, many of whom must walk in the road to a bus stop at the end of their narrow road as there are no sidewalks.

The residents attended meetings and lodged protests. They reached out for help from local politicians and held a few brainstorming meetings, exhibiting safety precautions during a pandemic. Numerous residents testified during what ended up being a six-hour virtual hearing before the judge after experts witnesses for the developer testified.

Mark Keeley with Traffic Concepts Inc. testified for the developer. He pegged the estimated traffic load increase at 190 additional trips per day, something he described as not having a "significant impact" on existing neighbors.

Developer William Holland noted during the virtual hearing that the existing public sewer doesn't extend to the 19 proposed homes, so a low pressure sewer line would be installed and the homes would use grinder pumps to connect. But the judge expressed concern about the sewer main supporting the development because it is "a terra cotta pipe installed in 1930."

He said Baltimore County's sewer system has been described as "antiquated and in dire need of repair."

Maple Avenue resident Christy Katz expressed concern about the new development contributing to overcrowding in Baltimore County Public Schools along with the overdevelopment of land close to Patapsco State Park and potential damage from common heavy rainstorms. Many people park nearby and walk on Maple Avenue to the park, which would be unsafe with the development, neighbors argued.

"Extreme rainfall events are not rare anymore and our street is already prone to flooding," she said.

Several county department representatives testified the development's plan met their individual requirements, but ultimately, the judge ruled the overall safety of the development proved to be too much.

He wrote in his ruling that while the issues raised by the community on their own were not enough to justify him denying the plan, but combined with other factors, it became clear what his ruling would be.

The location of the plat concerned the judge, as it is near a 100-year flood plain and next to Patapsco State Park.

"The devastating flood damage in Ellicott City is a cautionary tale because it has been attributed in large part to the overdevelopment and the resulting loss of forest buffer along the perimeter of that historic town," he wrote.

Also, the judge pointed out that the proposed development failed to incorporate several requirements, such as designing a linked network of natural and landscaped open areas connected by pedestrian/bike trails and providing on-street parking.

Maple Avenue resident Monica Simonsen told Patch residents are "relieved" that the judge denied the plan, although they understand that the developer may appeal or submit another plan.

"Our little street is extremely narrow and because of the condition of the street and lack of sidewalks, the 'functional' width is even less. Our kids have to walk the length of the street to the bus stop and it is already extremely dangerous. The intersection is a nightmare- and can't handle the 50 percent increase in traffic. I am so grateful that the judge looked at the impact of the development on the neighborhood as a whole and considered the environmental impact," she said. "Within days of the hearing, we collected more than 2,000 community member signatures on a petition so I think there is a collective and cautiously optimistic sigh of relief."

Read more at the Baltimore Sun and Patch