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Letters to the editor
As published Sept. 2, 2009
Pathway Office Overlays: If it quacks, it's a duck
Mr. Horn, county planner, recently proclaimed to the Planning and Zoning Commission he has capitulated to public outcry and is “removing all of the Office Parks” from the Pathways Plans, in favor of zoning overlays. In substance, this concession is little more than government doublespeak.
Again, as a public service to my fellow citizens, I will endeavor to translate this doublespeak into four easy components:
First, this proposal to “remove the employment land and rezonings” from the draft plan, really translates into a proposal to hold the door wide-open for commercial business via overlays in these residential and farm areas, but simply defer the actual commercial zoning change until a later date… I’m guessing, in the case of certain Mt. Airy tracts, by maybe a few months.
Second, the proposed “overlay concept”, means residents will be thrown a “placation bone” by allowing them to continue to keep their existing agricultural or residential zoning in the interim, until the overlay generates some form of commercial development.
I admire Horn’s marketing talent. A recent “sick day" apparently delayed an inevitable P&Z vote against office parks while simultaneously producing a surge of marketing creativity. I can only speculate as to the rationale behind the overlay concept. Pssst… I’ve got a great idea on how we can sell this… Why call it “cold dead fish”, when it’s so much easier to sell as sushi”?
Third, for practical purposes, the only difference between commercial rezoning and an office park or mixed-use overlay is semantics and timing.
Finally, in the August 10 P&Z meeting, Horn provided reassurances to the effect that “citizens would retain existing zoning unless the landowner steps forward and asks for the overlay zoning to apply.” Ahh, but what happens when a developer places multiple landowners under non-disclosure agreements and secretly buys their parcels without knowledge of adjacent neighbors?
Today your next door neighbor is a farm. Tomorrow, your next door neighbor is a parking lot and office building.
The facts are simple. If it walks, quacks, and looks like a duck, it’s a duck. And so it is with overlays that permit commercial office development. Quack!
Richard Rothschild, Mt. Airy
Regarding the recent letters to the editor
Whoa! Kelly and Skip, you guys rock! I've read all the letters three times and you guys gave them a good smack upside the head!
Skip, your comment of "If you man lobbies my man, it's the same as you lobbied me" was perfect timing. You only had to read Ms. Wilson and Ms. Gouge's letters on the same page to realize you were speaking the truth.
And Kelly, thanks for explaining why we are so angry. South of I-70 has already fought this battle three times, and are not tired and worn down as Carroll County hopes, but madder than ever at their deceitful tactics to take our land and homes that we have worked so hard for.
Mayor Pyatt, we recognize that you put yourself in the line of fire when you disclosed your conversation with Ms. Wilson. That was a very courageous and brave thing to do, and shows a good healthy conscious, which Carroll County seems to lack.
Thank you for your honesty and for doing your job--it's comforting to know that you have our backs. Your leadership sets a good example for our children, and we are very proud to be part of the South of I-70 neighborhood and our Mt. Airy community.
The Washington Family, Mt. Airy
Water, water…no where
With the pending Comprehensive Plan, the county is faced with the lack of water in several of the areas proposed for re-zoning.
Case in point is the 621 acres south of I-70. Currently Mt. Airy is faced with a water deficit and is under a consent order of the state. So where does the county assume the water will come from?
As seen during a cover story on Fox News, Ms. Daly (a county representative) proudly pointed to Gillis Falls Reservoir. But herein lies the problem, the Gillis Falls Reservoir doesn’t exist and may never exist.
Gillis Falls Reservoir, which was supposed to be completed in the 80's has multiple pitfalls. There is over 100 acres of wetlands which are strictly protected by federal and state laws. The Army Corp of Engineering has stated that Gillis Falls is a protected trout stream and the county is proposing to degrade that (which) is the highest level of protection.
In order for the project to move forward, Corp officials stressed that the county would have to have the stream reclassified by the MDE to a lesser level of protection. Currently Gillis Falls is classified as Tier 2 waters, and a Priority Preservation Area, the highest quality of water found in Maryland.
The project manager from the Corp said the regulations for proposed reservoirs are more stringent than they were 10 years ago, and doesn’t see any relaxing of the rules in the near future.
Existing reservoirs such as Liberty or Piney Run would serve as adequate, less damaging alternatives, so the need for a new reservoir, Corp officials stated, is not there. Thus, a new project would not be needed.
Yet we find Director Horn and county representatives continuing to rely on the phantom Gillis Falls Reservoir for their huge re-zoning plan of Southern Carroll County.
When will the county quit putting the cart before the horse and making erroneous decisions costing taxpayer millions of dollars?
Maybe if the county wasn’t settling 23.5 million dollar lawsuits, we wouldn’t have such a great need for an increased commercial tax base, and Director Horn would quit trying to turn Mt. Airy into a mini Rockville.
You can learn more about this proposal of re-zoning at carrollcountypathways.org.
Kelly Double, Mt. Airy
What will you leave for my generation?
As a young woman finding my place in society, I feel that it is time for my voice to be heard. My generation of teens and young adults will inherit the country that our parents and ancestors have built for us. I ask you now; what kind of country will you leave for me and your children?
I fear that I will be punished for your decisions, and I refuse to accept it. Working in mortgage default, I hear excuses over and over about how ‘the economy’ has caused so much turmoil and ‘someone’ should do something about it.
Wake up people!
The economy is nothing but people! We are the economy. Who should do something about it? You!
When you buy a house that you can’t make the payments to keep, a car that you don’t need and can’t afford, a flat screen TV on a payment plan, satellite radio, a gym membership that you don’t use, magazine subscriptions that you don’t even read, a timeshare in Hawaii, and still go out to eat with your family every Friday night, who should you blame for running out of money? It isn’t some mystical being called “The Economy”. Who can fix this? Not the “All-Powerful Government”.
The poor state of affairs is your fault. You are ruining the country for your children and all of my generation, and it is time that we stand up and tell you ‘NO’. We will not be slaves to your debt or to the debt of our government.
We will not be held accountable for your bad decisions and your refusal to take responsibility for your mistakes. We will not quietly carry your burdens because you were too irresponsible to stop spending money that you didn’t have and sold your soul for an easy way out.
Sadly, there is no easy way out. What have you done? Every time you turn to the government and plead for them to ‘fix it’, you give more power to politicians that you don’t trust and give up a little more of your individual rights. The worst part is that you don’t just give up your OWN rights; you give up mine, and your families’, and your neighbors’, and your friends’…
Again I ask you: what will you leave for my generation? I hope that you will take action and make strides toward fixing your mistakes. Your posterity will be held accountable for your decisions, whether right or wrong. Is your child’s freedom worth that flat screen in your living room?
Catherine Webb, Mt. Airy
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