NORTH EAST — As a proposed 726 unit development project lurks on the former Chesapeake Club golf course’s horizon in North East, concerned citizens in Cecil County have mobilized as the Cecil County Action Network (CCAN). CCAN, founded by Alexis Bazzoli, hopes to ensure that all development in the county meets the needs of residents.
“We don’t want Cecil County to never be developed, we want it to be developed on our terms so that our future generations can benefit from the land and the area the same way we have all enjoyed,” said one the group’s co-founders, Mike Welker.
The plans that caught CCAN’s attention were proposed by a Maryland based real-estate development company, Stonewall Capital. The plans look to utilize the former Chesapeake Club golf course and the surrounding area for a development consisting of 401 single family homes, 100 townhomes and 228 apartment units – adding over 720 units to the existing 356 units in the area.
The owner and lead developer of Stonewall Capital, Ray Jackson, who is also the developer of the Southfields project in Elkton, says the 726 unit plan is a reduction of what the land is capable of holding.
“The property is slated for 1450 (units) but instead of building 1450 units like I am approved to do, I went to the county government to see what they think would be best and I was asked to reduce the size. So I did,” said Jackson.
Jackson noted that his original downsize was a proposal of 1,00 units which the county asked be lowered to 750 units.
Regardless of the reduction, CCAN fears that a development of over 700 units will still have an impact on the area, specifically the traffic.
“Across from this proposed development is another micro subdivision so you’re going to have two very busy turn-ins right across the street from each other on a very narrow road,” said Welker. “We want Stonewall themselves to do a traffic study and disclose their findings.”
For a development project of any size, a traffic study needs to be completed and implemented by the developers before any building is approved or permits are issued.
Prior to a traffic study, a “scoping meeting” needs to be held with the developer, the municipality responsible for the developed land and the state highway administration to determine all of the factors of the study and the scope of the findings.
For the Chesapeake Club development, Jackson said he has hired Lenhart Traffic to conduct the study.
“There has been a bit of confusion as the county and school system also hired Lenhart Traffic to conduct a study, but they are two separate and distinct studies,” said Jackson. “They are not the same as ours.”
Jackson noted that after the study is complete, he will disclose the findings.
“Yes, the traffic is bad and we have to deal with it and hopefully when we design this, we hope to make the traffic better,” said Jackson. “It is the responsible thing to do and the people of the community need to have this information, they deserve to know.”
But CCAN’s concerns do not stop there. Welker said that the current infrastructure in the county is outdated and is a cause of concern for the group, as Cecil County is rapidly growing.
“The current plat for the Chesapeake Club is from 1987 and Cecil County has grown a lot in the last 35 years and I think that is the biggest problem,” said Welker.
The impact of a large development like the Chesapeake Club will affect schools, first responders, water and sewer – factors Jackson said he evaluates before even buying development sites.
The evaluation of a site, Jackson explained, is through an “adequate facilities” study to make sure the property has proper water, sewer, schools and first responder resources.
“The property was already approved so this project has been counted on to accommodate 1450 units,” said Jackson. “We have the proper water and the proper sewer and we will definitely have to make improvements to traffic and we acknowledge that.”
Once the traffic study is completed and implemented Jackson says Stonewall Capital will need to complete a Site Development Plan for road construction designs, engineering and stormwater management – an aspect CCAN was able to connect Jackson and the Cecil Land Trust on to ensure the stormwater is handled correctly.
“The Site Development Plan alone will take a minimum of six to nine months to complete so realistically, we are looking to actually start construction in about a year,” said Jackson.
Throughout the Chesapeake Club’s development, and every development to come into Cecil County after, CCAN plans to ensure that residents of Cecil County are heard and development is implemented to accommodate their needs.
“We are going to high-up every development project in Cecil County to make sure it is being done in a way that makes sense,” said Welker.
“Cecil County has valuable land in a valuable location,” Welker continued. “Our vision is Cecil County becoming an advocacy, so that way we have a voice and we can negotiate with developers directly.”
CECIL WHIG CLIP
By Matt Hubbard
