Developer Seeks To Increase Zoning Density On Port Tobacco River

The owner of 1,000 acres that border the Port Tobacco River is proffering a development option that he said would allow the construction of an active adult community on the land and provide a way to help clean up the waterway.

The Edelen family owns Mulberry Grove, the house where John Hanson — one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence who often is referred to as the nation’s first president — was born. The house sits on thousands of acres that stretch from just north of Stagecoach Road in La Plata along Chapel Point Road to Port Tobacco. The owner said he wants to develop the land and renovate the house but he wants to do it in such a way that it won’t harm the river, said Michael Wiles, president of The Wiles Group, a consulting and management development firm in La Quinta, Calif.

“We’re quite excited about it; the plan has good potential,” he said during a meeting in April with the community and members of the Port Tobacco River Conservancy — a nonprofit organization that was established in 2001 to monitor the health of the river.

Wiles told the group the Edelens would like to develop the land and help clean up pollution in the river. The property already is zoned to build one house per 3 acres, Wiles said. About 250 to 300 units could be built if the family wanted to follow that plan, he said.

Instead, the owner would like to build a community for people 55 and older that would contain a mix of single-family homes and condominiums, Wiles said. The community would contain more units than a traditional neighborhood and would include a clubhouse, indoor and outdoor pool, fitness center and restaurant, he said.

An assisted living facility also would be built on the property for people who need more care as they grow older, Wiles said, adding that about 500 acres of the land would remain as open space.

But, the community would require more density than is allowed under the current zoning, Wiles said. To gain the required density and to offer an incentive for residents in Port Tobacco to jump on board for such a project, the family would like the county to consider the creation of an environmental recovery overlay zone, he said.

Under the terms of the zoning classification, the developer would build a wastewater treatment plant that would have the capacity to serve both the adult community and existing houses that surround the property, including Port Tobacco Riviera — a subdivision that has a longstanding problem with failing septic systems, Wiles said.

In addition, the Edelens would donate an easement to La Plata so the town could install a pipe that would be long enough to allow the discharge of effluent from its wastewater treatment plant into a deeper part of the Port Tobacco River, Wiles said. Now the effluent is discharged into Port Tobacco Creek.

But Ward 4 Councilman Joe Norris said the town is not prepared to tackle such a proposal right now.

“That is going to cost a fair amount of money,” he said. “The town is certainly not prepared to do anything at this time because of the way the economy is, and we have projects going on that we need to do. It might be a good option for us down the line but we’re not prepared to jump into it at this point.”

It is estimated that the new treatment plant would cost $15 million to $20 million, Wiles said, adding that people who live outside of the adult community who hook up to the system would have to pay a special assessment on their annual property tax bills to be connected to the plant.

The community and members of the PTRC met the proposal with some skepticism during the meeting.

Some people said they were concerned that the creation of the zone would open the door for a lot of waterfront development in the county. A similar proposal made last year by a local engineering firm was shot down by the county because it would invite too much development along environmentally fragile waterways.

“This would be a specific zone for a specific property to address a specific concern,” said Daniel Mayer, former Charles County commissioner and state delegate who is acting as Wiles’ consultant. “There’s no public money available to do this [treatment plant]. This is a unique opportunity to help pay for the cure of the river.”

The river conservancy met with Charles County Commissioners Samuel N. Graves Jr. (D) and Reuben B. Collins II (D) recently to get their input regarding the proposal.

The men agreed that anything that would help clean up the river is worth consideration, but right now Wiles does not have enough details about how the proposal will roll out to decide on the matter.

“One of the things that I’ve been looking at since I was elected is cleaning up public waterways,” Graves said. “The county has been trying to find public funds to build a wastewater treatment plant in Port Tobacco, but there hasn’t been any funding. I see this proposal as an opportunity for a public/private partnership to build a treatment plant there. The goal is to do something to clean up the river. If we can get private money to build a plant to tie those houses with septic systems into, I will consider the proposal; but I want to make sure that we wouldn’t be creating another problem.”

Collins said he would back any proposal that would improve the health of the river but the creation of a new overlay zone might not be the answer.

“That might not be good public policy,” he said. “The proposal is in the early stages right now; there’s so much to review. Maybe an alternative can be reached that has the same goal without setting a precedent.”

Folks who attended the meeting expressed concern that, if such a zone were created, similar zoning proposals might start popping up for different areas in the county.

“This developer is very conscious of the environmental impact of this proposal,” Collins said. “He needs to try to come up with something that is palatable to people and is doable.”

Mayer said the health of the Port Tobacco River watershed has been overlooked and it is time to get serious about improving its health.

“That river is no longer threatened; a major environmental recovery needs to be done,” he said. “The county hasn’t got any money to put into it. The only way that it’s going to happen is if we form a public/private partnership so that we can join forces to do something good for the river. … The county has spent millions of dollars to protect the Zekiah Swamp and Mattawoman Creek watersheds, but we’ve spent nothing on the Port Tobacco River.”

The zone could be developed as the Port Tobacco environmental recovery zone so that it would be specific to the Edelen land, Mayer said.

Randi McWilliams, president of the Port Tobacco Riviera Civic Association, said that the proposal to build the wastewater treatment plant might be the only chance the county has to really improve the health of the river.

There are about 150 homes equipped with septic systems in the subdivision, McWilliams said, adding that it would cost an estimated $2,500 for each home to connect to the treatment plant.

“I would get rid of my septic system in a flash if I could hook up to a public system,” she said. “Every time that I swim in the river I get sick. I love the river and I would love to have it cleaned up. It’s where I live; it’s what I see every day when I look out my window.”

But PTRC members said they were not prepared yet to give a green light to the proposal.

“There aren’t a lot of details yet,” board member Ken Hastings said. “This is a big deal. It might be really neat or it might be really risky. The developer is probably looking for our board to endorse this, but we haven’t got enough information to endorse it. It would be like signing a blank check.”

“This proposal has a long, drawn-out process ahead of it,” said Joseph Tieger, PTRC’s acting president. “The details will come out and that will determine if we will support the project. We’re going to have to look at this very carefully to see if it really will help the river.”

Port Tobacco resident Maury Tobin said he would like to know exactly how many housing units are proposed for the property and how the county will ensure the environmental recovery zone won’t open the floodgates for more waterfront development.

“The developer can make a lot of promises but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re going to happen,” he said.

“I’m skeptical about the proposal. I don’t know if what they’re proposing to do will be good or bad for the river.

“Is this going to be an environmental recovery zone or an environmental disaster zone? Is it going to be good for the environment? That’s the central issue.”

By NANCY BROMLEY McCONATY
nmcconaty@somdnews.com

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