TOWN OF EASTON, MARYLAND
Easton Town Hall
14 S. Harrison Street
January 3, 2006
Councilmember Maureen Scott-Taylor Councilmember Moonyene Jackson-Amis
Also in attendance was Town Attorney Mr. Kehoe, Chief Blue, Assistant to the Town Engineer Mr. Hause, Long Range Planner Mr. Thomas, Mr. Al Bond Economic Development Coordinator, and Town Clerk Robert Karge.
At 7:00 p.m., the President of the Council, Mr. Ford called the meeting to order.
Ms. Jackson-Amis opened the meeting with prayer and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 13 AND DECEMBER 19, 2005 MINUTES
Upon motion by Mr. Wendowski seconded by Mr. Jensen and carried, minutes of the December 13 and December 19 meetings were unanimously approved.
EASTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT
Lieutenant Sonny Jones was present to report the Fire Department’s monthly activities.
BOYS SCOUTS PRESENT WORKING ON COMMUNICATION MERIT BADGE
Logan Prettyman and Gavin Miller were present.
ITEMS BY MAYOR WILLEY
Ms. Jackson-Amis made a motion upon recommendation by Mayor Willey to appoint Mr. Scott Jensen for reappointment to the Talbot County Economic Development Commission with himself as alternate; seconded by Ms. Scott-Taylor and carried unanimously.
ITEMS BY CHIEF BLUE
Chief Blue introduced two new police officers Robert Wynn and Crystal Lynch that graduated December 15. They are assigned to the patrol division.
ITEMS BY THE ASSISTANT TO THE TOWN ENGINEER
Mr. Hause advised that due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day, garbage pick up will be pushed back a day.
Mr. Hause stated that the Doverbrook regional storm water pond plan has been changed. He stated that they will use new 24” concrete pipe and a conveyance system to convey the water off the property. Mr. Hause advised that the funds will not be available until October 2006.
George Miles & Buhr, Architects is finishing up the drawings for the Easton Police Department. He stated that he will be asking Council permission to solicit for the RFP for the architectural and engineering services for the police station addition in the near future.
ITEMS BY THE TOWN PLANNER
Mr. Thomas stated that the Planning Department issued 188 permits for residential units in 2005 which translates in an increase in the town of Easton’s population of 388 people which is a growth rate of 2.7 percent. He stated that they will be presenting the Planning Department’s Annual Report with more detail.
ITEMS BY THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
Mr. Bond asked that the CDBG Public Hearing be held January 17 to discuss the Clifton Industrial Park. He discussed the history and the purpose of the Clifton Industrial Park annexation.
ITEMS BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR
Mr. Sviatko stated that the basketball league starts this weekend.
CONSENSUS ON THE REQUEST OF SHORE LANDS LLC (FORMERLY PASSYN & PASSYN LLC), FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTY GENERALLY LOCATED EAST SIDE OF MARYLAND ROUTE 328 (MATTHEWSTOWN ROAD) AND SOUTH OF BLACK DOG ALLEY. THE PROPERTY IS OWNED BY SHORE LANDS LLC (FORMERLY PASSYN & PASSYN LLC) AND INCLUDES A TOTAL OF 79.014 ACRES (ACREAGE INCLUDES A PORTION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY OF MD ROUTE 328). THE REQUEST IS TO RECLASSIFY THE PROPERTY FROM A-1 (AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT) TO R-10A (RESIDENTIAL)
The President of the Council, Mr. Ford stated that the Council needs additional advice from our legal counsel to make an informed decision. Mr. Ford tabled the matter until the next meeting.
CONSENSUS ON THE REQUEST OF STANLEY HALLE COMMUNITIES, INC., CONTRACT PURCHASER OF THE PROPERTY WHICH IS OWNED BY ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS A 197 UNIT RESIDENTIAL PUD SUBDIVISION ON A 198.84 ACRE SITE ON THE EAST SIDE OF MARYLAND ROUTE 333 (OXFORD ROAD) ADJACENT TO COOKE’S HOPE. THE REQUEST IS TO REZONE THE SITE FROM R-10A (RESIDENTIAL) TO PUD (PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT). THE PROJECT INCLUDES SEVERAL RESIDENTIAL UNIT TYPES CLUSTERED ONTO A 35.22 ACRE PORTION OF THE 198.84 ACRE SITE.
The consensus of the Council was to deny this project four to one with Mr. Ford voting in favor of the project.
CONSENSUS ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE TOWN’S ZONING ORDINANCE
The Town Attorney discussed Ms. Elizabeth’s Lee’s concerns with the Board of Appeals’ power to deal with a decision on appeal. The Town Attorney stated that he would like to take the approach recommended by the Town staff and the approach recommended by Ms. Lee which are not inconsistent but complimentary with each other and put both in the Zoning Ordinance, giving the Board of Appeals the broadest possible authority to do what they think is best in an appropriate case on a case by case basis which is what their job is. The Town Attorney recommended adding to the Zoning Ordinance and coming up with a better product. Mr. Kehoe stated that if the Board finds a mistake, they correct it; they do not send it back. He stated that if this is added to the Ordinance, the Board will have the option of correcting the mistake or sending it back.
The Town Attorney advised the Council to use or think about adopting Developers’ Rights and Agreements.
Public notification to neighbors was discussed. The Town Attorney advised that the opt-in notice does not suffice legally for notification purposes.
Revisions to the PUD were discussed.
It was the consensus to not act on Mr. Wood’s request for rezoning at this time.
Mr. Thomas stated that they have tried to ensure that neighborhood subdivisions from this point forward will be more in the character of the older, more traditional parts of town. He stated that they decided to stay the way they are regarding the density.
PUBLIC HEARING ON THE ANNEXATION PETITION OF THE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY OF EASTON, INC. (LONDONDERRY) TO ANNEX APPROXIMATELY TEN ACRES LYING CONTIGUOUS TO THE EXISTING BOUNDARIES OF THE TOWN OF EASTON.
At 8:06 p.m., the President of the Council opened the public hearing.
Mr. Thomas, Long Range Planner discussed the history of the application. Mr. Thomas discussed Resolution No. 5869, the Annexation Resolution and Ordinance No. 495 which is the Zoning Ordinance. Mr. Thomas stated that the Planning Commission at their October 20 meeting voted unanimously to approve the annexation request and suggested a zoning classification of R10A.
The need for Critical Area Allocation was discussed.
Mr. Sid Campen, Esq. was present on behalf of the applicant, the Londonderry Retirement Community. He stated that this request is driven by the demographics of this area and the need for the land use that the Londonderry is seeking. He stated that the request is for expansion of the existing campus.
Mr. Bill Stagg, Lane Engineering discussed the concept of the property. He stated that this is a 13.492 acre annexation. Mr. Stagg discussed the process. He stated that if the annexation is approved, then a detailed site planning and growth allocation process will begin which is identical to the PUD process.
Mr. Glen Tipton, CSD Architects described the intention of the annexation and detailed the project’s overview. He stated that the fabric of the existing community will be extended into the new property. Mr. Tipton stated that they are providing a total of 16 additional one-story cottages, 24 two-story garden cottages and 99 new apartments with additional parking well in excess of the required parking. He discussed use of the existing manor house. Mr. Tipton stated that it is their intent to preserve the large existing trees as well as the buffer trees.
Mr. Wendowski asked if there is a historic property there.
Mr. Tipton stated that there is a house there that was built in the 1800s. He stated that they intend to improve upon its architectural character.
Mr. Tipton stated that the access to the new community is from the existing community with an additional emergency access.
Mr. Jensen asked how many units are proposed. Mr. Tipton stated 139. He stated that these are all independent units.
The height of the units was discussed. Mr. Tipton stated that they are approximately 50’.
Mr. Ford opened the public hearing to the public for comments.
Ms. Adrienne Hyatt, 375 Glebe Road, was present on behalf of Historic Easton. Ms. Hyatt stated that Historic Easton supports the Londonderry annexation and they also support the house at Londonderry becoming a non-contiguous historic property and brought into the Historic District.
Mr. Roger Bollman, Chairman Easton Historic District Commission, recommends that if the Council chooses to approve the annexation, a condition of approval should be that it immediately becomes a non-contiguous part of the town of Easton’s Historic District. They propose protection of the exterior of the primary building, the exterior of the windmill, the riverside setting of the plane of the Port Street house façade, a reasonable side and roadside setting; ideally a long straight lane from Port Street to the mansion would be preserved. He stated that the buildings and settings would come into the District as is with no expectation that they be restored or improved to the previous condition. Mr. Bollman discussed threats and the possibility of destruction of buildings. Mr. Bollman stated that preservation of the setting is very important. He stated that he does have concern for the height of the buildings.
Ms. Christine Dayton, speaking on behalf of Talbot County Historic Preservation Commission, discussed the setting of this home which they feel is very important and should be requirements of the annexation.
At 8:55 p.m., the President of the Council closed the public hearing. He stated that the record would be left open for written comments until the close of business on Friday.
ORDINANCE NO. 494, “AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF EASTON GRANTING THE APPLICATION OF THE ARTERY GROUP, LLC TO ESTABLISH A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (“PUD”) ZONING DISTRICT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE EASTON ZONING ORDINANCE
The President of the Council introduced Ordinance No. 494 for a first reading.
ADJOURNMENT
Upon motion by Ms. Scott-Taylor seconded by Mr. Jensen and carried unanimously; the President of the Council adjourned the regularly scheduled Council meeting at 8:59 p.m.
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Town Clerk