WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF FORESTS IN CHARLES COUNTY?
WE MAY SOON FIND OUT IF A PILOT PROGRAM PROPOSED BY MARYLAND’S DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IS LAUNCHED
LISTEN to an 8-minute segment from the Board of Commissioners’ 12/6/11 meeting where the issue is discussed
Farmers First, then Smart Growth?
Farmers, landowners, developers and environmentalists packed the Charles County government auditorium on Tuesday to hear what was billed as a “Farmers First” meeting hosted by Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly.
The high stakes meeting, held in response to the controversy created by the county’s comprehensive plan process, centered around the fear of “downzoning” and included a discussion of programs to preserve farmland such as “Purchase of Development Rights” (PDRs), a program which Charles County doesn’t currently have, and what many say is a broken “Transfer of Development Rights” (TDRs) program.
LISTEN to the full meeting (11/22/11)
LISTEN to soundbite 1: “Land preservation (downzoning) is going to be in your future.”
LISTEN to soundbite 2: “Without a TDR program … without a PDR program … how can you ever, farmer or developer … how can you ever feel good about the plan?”
A plan to build up to 1,500 homes near the Port Tobacco River moved a step closer to reality with the Planning Commission’s 4-3 vote for a so-called environmental recovery zone
The Board of Commissioners will now have the ultimate say on the fate of the developer-inspired ERZ, which has been marketed as an “environmental” fix for the polluted Port Tobacco River, but has received stiff opposition from citizens and environmentalists as well as from the Maryland Department of Planning.
LISTEN to the Planning Commission’s discussion and vote for the ERZ (11/21/11)
WATCH a video excerpt from our interview with Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, 1,000 Friends of Maryland
WATCH a video excerpt from our interview with Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler
Smart Growth = Communism in Charles County? Expert from Republicans for Environmental Protection sets the record straight
LISTEN to our 18 minute interview with David Jenkins, Vice President for Government and Political Affairs at Republicans for Environmental Protection
LISTEN to soundbite 1: “Are the supporters of environmental protection and Smart Growth anti-business or even Communists?”
LISTEN to soundbite 2: “Is it possible to be a conservative and at the same time be for environmental protection?
LISTEN to soundbite 3: “What is the connection between being pro-environment/pro-Smart Growth and being fiscally conservative?”
LISTEN to soundbite 4: “Is Smart Growth conservative?”
LISTEN to soundbite 5: “Two sides are battling it out over Charles County’s comprehensive plan update — who do you think is right and who is being conservative?”
LISTEN to soundbite 6: “What are the national issues that REP is currently working on?”
While developers fret over plans for Smart Growth in Charles County, prominent land use attorney says the change they fear may be inevitable
LISTEN to our 8 minute interview with Gerard T. McDonough — WATCH a video excerpt from our interview
LISTEN to soundbite 1: “Is the party over for sprawl developers in Charles County?”
LISTEN to soundbite 2: “Charles County needs a viable TDR program.”
LISTEN to soundbite 3: “Do you think Smart Growth is not only smart policy, but smart politics for the Board of Commissioners?”
Cross County Connector — a road going nowhere?
WATCH our interview with Commissioner Ken Robinson in which he discusses the Board’s decision to not appeal MDE’s permit denial of the Cross County Connector
WATCH our interview with Bonnie Bick, Sierra Club
WATCH our interview with Josh Urban, Indian Head
LISTEN to the Board of Commissioners’ 38-minute debate about whether to appeal MDE’s permit denial (audio has been optimized for fast download)
Why can’t the Commissioners do anything about it?
QUESTIONS PERSIST OVER ERM’S HANDLING OF THE 2012 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PROCESS
LISTEN to Candice Quinn Kelly explaining the approach of the Board of Commissioners
LISTEN to the November 1st meeting
WATCH Ken Hastings of the Mason Springs Conservancy warning about the train wreck that is the 2012 comp. plan process
Landowners/developers turn out to defeat Smart Growth while controversy swirls around Charles County’s consultant ERM
TWO SIDES FACED OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER AT AN OCTOBER 19 MEETING ABOUT THE FUTURE OF GROWTH IN CHARLES COUNTY
No one said it was going to be easy to hammer out Charles County’s 2012 Comprehensive Plan update. But when the county recently published on its website an evaluation of land-use scenarios by the county’s consultant Environmental Resources Management (ERM), many say it skewed the process against Smart Growth and tilted it toward sprawl development.
WATCH a video of Steven Ball, Charles County Planning & Growth Management
WATCH a video of John Sweet, Waldorf, Maryland
WATCH a video of Terry Cummings, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
WATCH a video of Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, 1,000 Friends of Maryland
LISTEN to Clive Graham, Environmenal Resources Management (ERM)
LISTEN to questions and answers during the open house
READ ERM’s evaluation of the two comprehensive plan scenarios
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