Election Candidates Discuss Residential Development

 approached  with 11 topics of citizen concern, and we've compiled their responses for your consideration.

For more on the election, read here.

Below is their take on residential development in Havre de Grace, with incumbents listed first and challengers listed second, in alphabetical order:

Residential development hasn’t come close to the capacity the city is prepared for, Cullum said.

“Realistically, when we did the expansion of the wastewater plant, it was with the presumption that we would have 3,000 homes built in various developments in the city,” he said. “Realistically, if all those 3,000 occur, we’ll almost be back to our capacity of our wastewater plant again.”

Aside from completing the projects already in motion, Cullum is in favor of annexing in different pockets along the city’s boundaries.

“I’d like to see us close up some areas that are not in the city that are surrounded by the city: Shawnee Brooke and those,” he said. “I still want to work on getting those areas into the city. There are probably some areas that are interested in annexing in, but we haven’t had any formal requests yet. There are some areas up around Bulle Rock Parkway that would like to come into the city at some point.”

Martin said residential development begins and ends with Bulle Rock.

“There’s no bigger proponent of Bulle Rock being developed than me,” he said. “A built-out Bulle Rock is what would be most beneficial to the citizens of Bulle Rock and to the City of Havre de Grace.”

Martin said the city is only selling half the water it can, and a built out Bulle Rock—which is just under halfway complete—would not only improve that issue, but it would also pay off the gigantic note on the water plant, and possibly lower water and sewer rates, too.

Martin said it doesn’t stop there. HOA fees in Bulle Rock would stabilize, too, he said.

“The more building that takes place in Bulle Rock, the bigger the tax base will be for the City of Havre de Grace. If I’m on council when Bulle Rock is built out, I’ll lower the tax rate.”

Martin added that he’s also in full support of Mayor Wayne Dougherty’s proposed deferral of water and sewer hookup fees for developers.

“That was a pretty pro-active move for development,” he said.

Miller said the city is very reliant upon development, and tough times have been created by that reliance, as the housing market in the city has crawled to a halt.

“When Bulle Rock was approved, there were 2,000 homes approved there, and there’s only about 900 homes built there,” he said. “The building has slowed way down due to the economy, and that’s having an impact on paying off our wastewater treatment plant loan.”

Miller said the wastewater treatment plant was expanded based upon the number of homes started or approved.

He recalls at that time that upwards of 250 homes a year were being approved by the city.

“It dropped off to almost nothing,” Miller said. “It looks like its picked up a little bit, but still not enough.”

Residential development is predicated on the financial stability of the community, Glenn said.

“A lot of that is really dependent upon the economy. We’ve got developments underway as you go to the top of the hill,” he said, pointing to Bulle Rock in particular.

Glenn said the city needs to consider more senior housing.

“One of the great success stories in Havre de Grace is St. John’s Commons—the senior housing unit,” he said.

He recommended the city consider helping develop the Tranquility Place property with seniors in mind.

“I know there are a lot of senior projects being considered,” he said. “If you can’t do a senior community development, is another project like St. John’s commons worth pursuing?”

Robert Sawyer

Sawyer said people often underestimate how much a good public school can impact residential property value.

He’s an advocate for a new high school—and even for a new charter elementary school in the area.

He said his constituents aren’t as concerned with the completion of residential development as they are about the quality of life in their community.

“I think people in Bulle Rock are more worried about property values,” he said. “There are a lot of vacant homes in Bulle Rock. It’s hard to judge how many of them are vacant. You have so many people who are only there part time. But I would say that I know people that tried to sell their house, and then pulled it off the market when they really couldn’t. They decided not to move. People who want to leave can’t. I know people who have walked away from their house.”

Sawyer added that the housing market will be flooded with available homes for the next two decades.

“This generation is getting older and older. As Baby Boomers retire, they’re going to be flooding the market with their houses. I don’t see this issue going away for 20 years,” he said. “I’m kind of against building new houses if we can avoid it.”

Barry Scharbrough

Scharbrough was surprised to see trees cleared along Chapel Road in the winter, while other housing developments in the city were still unfinished.

“I would like to see any of the communities that have started be finished out,” Scharbrough said. “Once they’re finished, we would need to assess the households and see how that factors into the overall core services for the city.”

Scharbrough said the impact of developing more residential property needs to be considered—particularly as it impacts traffic and water usage.

Smith is a huge proponent of smart and high-density growth—particularly with the growth in population nationwide.

“They’ve got to go somewhere,” he said. “We’ve got development principals that say it should be higher-density around transit corridors. How do we make it more livable for the people that are here? I’m concerned about infill. We’ve got some going on down [in historic Havre de Grace], but its hit or miss.”

Smith said the city should encourage redevelopment of residential property that doesn’t significantly alter the landscape of the neighborhood—such as replacing a small home on a small lot with a “McMansion,” as he put it.

He’s also aware that the city is considering the potential annexation of property along Chapel Road—including near Robinhood and Earlton roads.

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For more on the election, read here.

The Havre de Grace Election will be held May 8 at the  Hall on Pennington Avenue.

Stay with Patch for ongoing coverage leading up to the election.