(4/12) Efforts by the owners of a Christmas Tree farm to annex a potential ‘age-targeted’ development-site into the City of Taneytown continue to progress through negotiations, while related issues, such as proposed water and sewer service, must await actual annexation.
The 125-acre farm-tract in question is owned by the Sewell family, and is located north-west of the city limits.
While the purpose of the annexation would be to allow the development to access Taneytown water and sewer services, the Sewell family is also seeking re-zoning that would allow an increase in the number of residential units than that which would otherwise be allowed.
City Attorney Jack Gullo briefed the council on the status of the project at the board’s April workshop, stating, "We are working on the annexation agreement with the owners’ attorney, and I am also working on the annexation plan which will be the document that speaks to how we are going to provide services to the property," he said.
Gullo said, "We’ve been negotiating this for some time, and we finally came up with a theory that I think all the parties are agreeable about."
He said when the Sewells initially approached the city with their annexation and development proposal, that wanted to start-off with everyone in agreement on all of the aspects that the project would incur before it was commenced.
"The more we went on, the more we found that was not in anyone’s best interest," the crux of the issue being, promises made now may not transcend into promises kept later, due to unanticipated, changing variables, including potential changes that could occur as the actual construction of the development proceeded.
As a result of that realization, Gullo stated, rather than try to agree on all aspects of the project at the beginning, "We want to take the long process … we want to spread it (the various approval) all apart."
Acquiring annexation, which would deal more with generalities, would be first and would not address aspects such as capacity. The capacity would instead be linked to a concept or preliminary plan.
Secondly, the Sewells are seeking to have the property re-zoned from an R-20 designation (20,000 square-foot lot sizes) to an R-10 (10,000 square-foot lot sizes). Gullo said that could not begin to be considered until the annexation was approved.
The attorney also noted the county Water and Sewer Master Plan would have to be amended to reflect that the development is in the service area until they land involved is actually annexed into the city.
