On Tuesday, April 2, the Planning Commission will at long last act on three Resolutions (and also three Amendments) all involving Lakeside. These matters include fixing the all-important Sewer Service Map improperly approved by the County in 2020 that was the green-light for Lakeside.
A year ago, the Maryland Department of Environment recognized that the Sewer Service Map was wrong, and instructed the County to correct it as the County deems necessary, “including Lakeside.” And since then, the County Engineer, the County Attorney, and the Town of Trappe itself have all acknowledged on the record what MDE had come to understand: that prior to that 2020 approval Lakeside had always been “Unprogrammed” and, contrary to what was told to the Planning Commission and everyone else, had never been previously reviewed and slated for development by the County at all, ever.
The three Resolutions before the Planning Commission (R347, R348 and R353) are all deeply flawed for reasons long discussed, and should all be found by the Commission to be “not consistent” with the County’s Comprehensive Plan—which is the question the Commission must answer under Maryland law. (The Public Works Advisory Board has reviewed them in detail and has unanimously recommended that Planning Commission reject all three proposals, standing alone and as amended.) R347 and R348 are drafted in ways that are as confusing as possible and continue to mislead. They include untrue Recitals and are clearly designed not to “fix” the maps as they affect Lakeside, but to assure that that the developer’s interests in that Billion-Dollar subdivision and are not disturbed at all.
The public hearing is scheduled for 9 A.M. on Tuesday, April 2nd at the Bradley Room of the Courthouse.
Dan Watson
The Talbot Integrity Project
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