FINKSBURG PLANNING AREA COUNCIL, INC.
P.O. BOX. 70
FINKSBURG, MARYLAND, 21048
November 9, 2004
RE: Finksburg Plan and Proposed Employment Campus
To all Finksburg Residents,
By now some
of you may be aware that at their Nov. 8, 2004 workshop the Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission members
recommended that planners scrap the proposed location for an employment campus adjacent
to the Gerstell Academy on Md. 140, because of strong community opposition,
concerns over site access and possible environmental impact. County planners were urged to find alternate
locations for the employment campus. Additionally,
the Commissioners instructed the planners to come up with a list of desirable
qualities and recommendations for what requirements the new employment campus
would need. Commission members
would determine which criteria are most important for an employment campus
zone, such as access to public water and sewer or proximity to a major road, after
the list is prepared for them and the benefit of planners.
Members of
the Finksburg Planning Area Council, Inc. (FPAC) and many Finksburg residents opposed
the original employment campus location because of the lack of public utilities
in the Finksburg area and the potential impact a 150-acre plus development
would have on the Liberty Reservoir and the surrounding Finksburg community. Many property owners where upset that their
property values would be eroded by such an employment campus being developed in
that area and had grave concerns for their wells and septic systems failing. The employment campus would have approached
the border of the North Branch of the Patapsco River a main tributary to the
Liberty Reservoir Watershed.
RE: Finksburg Plan and Proposed Employment Campus
The
Commission also instructed the planners to consider the adoption of the entire
Finksburg Plan that encompasses the entire 4th Election District
rather than just the Finksburg Corridor Plan.
Commission members were concerned that property owners had not been
officially contacted regarding any proposed property rezonings in the 4th.
ED. The planners were instructed to
contact all property owners that could be affected. Members of the Finksburg Planning Council have long supported the
adoption of the entire Finksburg Plan (last approved in 1981) so that it would
more truly reflect the views and desires of the citizens of Finksburg. [Over 17,000 people live in the Finksburg
area and have no official voice in Carroll County since they are not an
incorporated municipality. FPAC has
long been the only voice for Finksburg to Carroll County government and now
enjoys a seat at the Carroll County Council of Governments.] FPAC strongly voiced its opinion that all
property owners needed to be notified before any vote would take place on
rezonings. Having an opportunity for
open meetings in Carroll County has long been a concern of FPAC. It only makes common sense to inform
citizens before things are done by government.
While now it
would appear that the P&Z Commissioners as well as the Board of County
Commissioners are listening to FPAC and Finksburg’s citizens, we all must
maintain a constant vigilance as well as increased public participation in this
most important planning process for all of Finksburg. FPAC urges your continued support and communication during the
immediate future regarding the Finksburg Plan.
Keep up the involvement that you have shown. Now is the time for all of Finksburg’s citizens to speak.
Sincerely,
John Lopez
President