The meeting began with a Hearn Building Update. Presentation from Green Street Housing related to the redevelopment of 505-509 Race Street. The renovations will include 44 multi-family housing units of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Parking for 66 cars will be located to the rear of the buildings and accessed via Race Street, over the vacant lot where 507 was torn down several years ago and there will not be any access through Grace Church. 35 units will occupy the entirety of the upper floors of 509, which is the Hearn Building and there would be space at street level that would be available for lease as retail. 9 of the 44 units would be located in 505 Race Street and Green Street is proposing to remove and build a new façade due to structural issues. Planning Staff indicated a preference to restore and maintain the historic façade. At street level at 505 there would be a leasing and management office for the complex, tenant lounge and laundry facilities.

HPC approvals are necessary for all exterior changes and modifications. 8 of the 44 units will be reserved for handicapped individuals with incomes below the poverty level and the remaining 36 will be reserved for households earning 60-80% of the area median income. There will be space allocated to provide social support services to the residents. Green Street indicated that units will be marketed to Cambridge residents. However, it would appear Fair Housing Laws would prevent units from being restricted to those that are already residents of Dorchester County.

Concerns and discussion ensued among the Planning Commission members as to the role of the Commission related to the Government subsidy of the complex over the long term. The Hearn building will have 2,853 square feet of commercial, which is less than 6% of the space of the entire project, making this more of a residential development as opposed to commercial. The UDC states the downtown core should “sustain the densely spaced buildings located close to the street with multiple floors housing commercial and civic activities and upper floor residential patterns.” Green Street Housing is based in Salisbury and none of the owners live in Dorchester County. The cost of renovations will be approximately $21,000,000 (approximately $473,000 per unit), mostly funded by Government sources. Green Street will also seek a PILOT, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes from the City Council.

Old Business:
PZ 2017-013 Egypt Road solar energy system – review of final conditions – deferred to a future meeting.

New Business:

PZ 2023-013 The Planning Commission reacted positively to a proposed Concept Plan for an industrial building at the corner of Woods Road and Chesapeake Drive. Mr. Hank Warner presented his current plan and has developed several other buildings on Chesapeake Drive, which are now fully occupied by an engine manufacturer and Treehouse Foods, which, according to their website, produces and sells a comprehensive portfolio of private label foods and beverages for retail grocery. Staff indicated that one reason the City’s industrial sector has struggled is due to the inadequate ceiling height of many of the older industrial buildings. Mr. Warner is building to accommodate more modern industrial standards. Mr. Warner and his team will now move toward a more formal concept plan.

Public Hearing

TA 2023-004 – Planning Commission voted unanimously to send a recommendation to the City Council to approve a text amendment related to accessory structures and the use of the term midpoint when determining height. There was no public comment.

From the 5/2/2023 meeting: TA 2023-004 – Discussion continued from April related to building heights related to new accessory structures; change would provide for slightly greater height as it would measure to the midpoint of a pitched roof; neighborhoods with somewhat more narrow lots might retain greater restrictions related to height.

Discussion Items:

TA 2023-005 Define various types of healthcare facilities that are currently silent in the UDC – Deferred to July.
Recreational Marijuana – Planning Officer and Commission discussed where it should be permitted. Discussion related to whether or not recreational marijuana should be permitted in similar locations to alcohol sales, etc. There have been issues in other communities where recreational marijuana sales have massed in certain areas and created problems. Further discussion at future meetings and this would most likely become an issue after January 1, 2024, when new recreational facilities might be permitted.

Planning Director updates:

– Three contiguous properties, consisting of several acres on Airpax Road, located behind Tractor Supply, will be used for storage containers. This area is not visible from US50, and this is a permitted use at is considered warehousing. Planning Commission requested the property owner come forward at the July meeting to discuss;

– RAR will install four 35’ granary tanks behind their building in the parking lot, which will provide for operations. HPC has approved and they are within the appropriate height limit. It was discussed as to how it might affect nearby residential areas and that the neighbors should receive some type of notice. Planning Commission requested the property owner come forward at the July meeting to discuss.

– Final site plan for Chipotle has been approved, located at the corner of US50 and Maryland Avenue. Three small restaurants were contemplated originally for this site and only Chipotle is moving forward at this time.

– Final site plan for Dunkin Donuts approved, grading permit has been issued and the building permit is under review.

– A work session had been planned with the City Council regarding Mural Guidelines and it has not occurred. The prior Council had not been favorable to the guidelines. The conversation needs to be restarted with the Council and a work session is needed. Currently, the UDC prohibits murals and guidelines are needed to define what is appropriate and in what locations.

– The City Council will need to designate a new liaison to replace Commissioner Malkus, and perhaps further define the role, which in many ways is a Commissioner Ex-Officio.

YMCA Rezoning, 201 Talbot Avenue:

The YMCA has indicated an interest to relocate and the property at Talbot Avenue is currently zoned for Institutional Use. Some institutional uses may not be acceptable for this site, which is in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It was discussed that the YMCA and CWDI might be contemplating a land swap, which might allow CWDI to take control of the Talbot Avenue site and potentially locate an institutional use there that was originally contemplated for Sailwinds/Cambridge Harbor. The City is moving forward with a sense of urgency and an NC-1 overlay will be brought forward at a special meeting on July 5. The NC-1 overlay would limit institutional uses to those typically found in residential neighborhoods, such as churches or schools. Discussion ensued related to non-profit entities that do not pay property taxes locating on high value property, and how that also tied into the Hearn Building, requesting a PILOT as opposed to paying full property taxes.

The Lower Shore Progressive Caucus announced today their endorsement of Laurel Atkiss for the Cambridge Ward 1 election. The Caucus, known for championing candidates who promote progressive values and community engagement, supports Laurel’s vision of a more vibrant and connected Cambridge.

A familiar face in the local community, Laurel has an extensive understanding of the downtown area, service and retail industries, as well as Dorchester County’s tourism industry. Her involvement in community programs such as the Dorchester Center for the Arts, the RFC Train Garden, and Blackwater Adventures’ kayak tours demonstrates her commitment to enriching the city’s cultural heritage and youth development.

Laurel’s campaign focuses on open communication, stronger community connections, and healthy progress for Cambridge. Her unique blend of skills and passion for the community make her an exceptional candidate to represent Ward 1.

Voting will take place on June 6, 2023, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church located at 205 Maryland Ave. Absentee ballot request forms are available on the city’s website at choosecambridge.com. Voters can also obtain a paper copy of the form by visiting City Hall during normal business hours.

For more information about Laurel and her campaign, follow her on social media at Laurel Atkiss for Ward 1.

About Lower Shore Progressive Caucus: The LSPC is a political and activist organization that covers Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. The Lower Shore Progressive Caucus is unaffiliated with any political party and is committed to empowering working people. We do that by building a Progressive Movement both locally and on a larger scale to elect progressive representatives, enact progressive legislation, and create a government that represents the many, not just the powerful few by working to solve the economic, political, social, racial, and environmental injustices we face.

Tyler Jones Sr.
Communications Chair Lower Shore Progressive Caucus

You may recall the petition initiative for changing the County Charter that was started last spring by the Dorchester Citizens for Better Government and wonder what happened to it. I hope that what follows will help you understand what we were able to do and not do and what I understand will be happening in the near future. 

With the Petition effort, we sought to gather over 5,000 signatures prior to the 2022 November elections in order to have two changes to the County Charter placed on that ballot that we felt were important. They involved sections 405-406 of the County Charter related to the County Manager position and a new section 606 that addressed government transparency.

We had started this effort in the fall of 2021 by gathering a group of people that supported the idea of making some changes to the County Charter, meeting to discuss possible changes, and finally hiring a lawyer to help draft the changes that the group agreed upon. The changes we proposed are attached. With the help of many people at church events, farmers’ markets, and fire houses we collected signatures of registered voters. 

During our research of the County Charter, we learned that the County Council should have appointed a Charter Commission in 2021 but did not finally approve all of the members of that body until May of 2022. The intention of the majority of County Council was to have a report and recommendations by the Commission by July 2022. That gave the Commission members two-three months to do their research and make their recommendations. Under the law, the Commission should have had at least a year to do their work.

During the Spring of 2022 and time that the Charter Commission did their work, the Citizens for Better Government made presentations to community groups about our effort, collected signatures on the petitions, and attended the Charter Commission meetings where we were able to suggest ideas for consideration. In the end, after meeting and making recommendations to the County Council, the County Council declined to adopt any of the Commission’s recommendations for placement 0f Charter revisions on the ballot for the November 2022 vote.

Despite our efforts to collect the required number of signatures, we were on able to collect about 1,300 signatures for each petition, but that was not enough; so, we felt that our next best option was to support the efforts of the Charter Commission, which we did, for the most part. When the Commission failed to receive the vote of County Council, we realized that our hope to place any issues on the 2022 ballot was not going to be successful. We then decided to wait for the November election to see what those results would be in order to have a new council that might support some of our ideas.

We were successful in one respect, which was the former council agreeing to place the council meetings for viewing by the public on town hall streams. In addition, the new County Council has hired Jeff Powell as the Acting County Manager, which is already paying dividends toward making the progress we anticipated. As some members of the former council and candidates for election had signed our petitions, we knew that with a new County Council there was the possibility that it would restart the Charter Commission to allow it to reconsider past recommendations and offer any new ideas that might be brought forward.

That is now happening. The County Council is in the process of appointing a new Charter Commission that may have some of its former members reappointed. When they start meeting, the Dorchester Citizens for Better Government will be present supporting their efforts to help improve how our county government can run and to give to the citizens of Dorchester County the opportunity to vote in the November 2024 election on proposed changes to the County Charter that will, hopefully, provide for a better and more efficient and effective government.

Thanks for reading.

Steve Rideout is the current mayor of Cambridge

One only must watch the 2018 documentary High Tide in Dorchester (created by Tom Horton, Dave Harp, and Sandy Cannon-Brown) to realize that climate change is here in Dorchester County. Anyone can watch the 2018 film for free on PBS.  Here is the link:  MPT Presents | High Tide in Dorchester | PBS

This 55-minute documentary reveals how climate change is affecting Dorchester County, and discusses the severe flooding, saltwater intrusion, disappearing islands (such as Holland Island), and much more. Some Dorchester County residents have even had to raise the level of their houses because the flooding has been such a problem!

For more information, every year the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change creates a comprehensive report. Here is an IPCC Sixth Assessment fact sheet for 2022:  PowerPoint Presentation (ipcc.ch)  

In the sixth report which was published this year, there was a section about how we are going to have trouble growing crops due to saltwater intrusion onto farm fields.  This is well documented How could climate change impact food production? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)  

Clearly, climate change is detrimental to our Eastern Shore economy.  We depend on fishing, crabbing, tourism, farming, and more to make our economy stable. That is why our elected officials need to be knowledgeable about climate change and how it is affecting us.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  Both Delegates Chris Adams and Johnny Mautz (now a Senate candidate) have demonstrated that they do not understand this critical situation.

In candidate forums, both Mautz and Adams could not answer even basic questions about climate and how to mitigate its effects.  Even worse, both candidates have routinely voted against climate legislation that would provide for mitigation strategies.  In fact, Delegates Mautz and Adams even voted against two major climate bills, the Clean Energy Jobs Act and this past session, the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022, an ambitious greenhouse gas reduction plan.

In contrast to Adams and Mautz, Naomi Hyman (who is running against Mautz) and Susan Delean Botkin (running against Chris Adams) are well versed in climate problems.  Both candidates have been endorsed by long-standing environmental organizations such as the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club as well as the League of Conservation Voters.  These endorsements require approval at two levels by each organization.

Delegates Mautz and Adams appear to believe that we can preserve the Eastern Shore and our way of life by ignoring the challenges being presented now and in the future.  This is not a good plan.  Problems with climate change are already affecting our everyday activities, livelihoods, and property, and it will only get worse.  We must address this issue now if we want to preserve our home.  

Most importantly, we need our state delegates and senators to be willing to roll up their sleeves and develop solutions for climate change before we lose the small window of opportunity we have now to lessen its effects on our community.  Naomi Hyman and Susan Delean Botkin are willing to do just that.  It is our job to elect them so that they can.

Susan Olsen
Cambridge

As local clergy and people of faith, we grieve the increasing loss of life due to gun violence.  We pray as we hear police sirens with increasing frequency.  In Cambridge, there were 22 shootings last year, resulting in 3 deaths. This was up from 2020 (15 shootings and 2 deaths), and up from 2019 (1 shooting, 1 death).  We know that our country saw a dramatic increase in gun deaths over the last ten years, from around 30,000 to over 45,000 annually.  More than half are suicides.

We support the initiative on community policing by Cambridge City Council.  The new Gun Violence Reduction Group is made up of leaders in law enforcement, and education, health care, non-profits, and survivors of gun violence.  Turning around the trend of violence is not just a police responsibility—everyone in the community needs to work together.

Maryland has banned assault weapons since 2013, which we support.  We respect our hunting culture, but high-powered rifles are intended for war–not game.  We have been horrified as these weapons have been turned against innocent people in places we considered safe:  parades, schools, grocery stores, worship, concerts, neighborhood streets.  No citizen should be armed with weapons of war.  We have a right to feel safe in our communities; we want our children to grow up;  we want our police not to be overpowered.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We pray, but we also need to act.  We call on our leaders and all citizens to take action to stop the carnage of all who are so beloved by God.

Rev. Fred Beveridge

Addie Beveridge

Rege Butler

Rev. Keith Cornish

Rev. Katie Day

Pr. Nan Duerling

Barbara Hale

Arnold Hammann

Mary Handley

Rev. Kim Long

Rev. Tom Long

Dr. Donna Newcomer

Patrick Nugent

Susan Olson

Judy Prahl

Jim Sicks

Rev. Jerome Tilghman

Rev. Bob White

CAN will hold its Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 13, at 6:30 pm in the Library Conference Room (lower level adjacent to the parking lot). Votes will take place on nominated Board Members and proposed bylaws changes. The featured speaker will be Ward 1 Commissioner Brian Roche.