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Please sign the petition if you have not already done so. Click on the link below to
download the signature form.
January 6, 2003 PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES OF MEETING HELD Department of Planning & Growth Management
The regularly scheduled meeting of the Charles County Planning Commission was held on January 6, 2003 at 7:05 p.m. in the
Commissioners Meeting Room, Charles County Government Building (Click on this link to access the minutes) ***************************************************************** 
Letter from Angela E. Wilkins-Hyman (Constitution Hills Resident) to the
Charles County Commissioners (05/23/03 11:31AM)
Charles County Commissioners,
On Friday, May 16, 2003, The Maryland Independent printed an article
regarding
a proposed development to be built on McDaniel Road. The
builder's representative, Douglas Meeker, is seeking changes
to an agreement
with the Charles County Planning Commission that would adversely affect the
quality of life currently
enjoyed by residents of the Constitution Hills
neighborhood, built ten years ago, which borders the proposed community.
The agreement that Mr. Meeker made with the County stipulated the following:
- finishing $2 million worth of road improvements to McDaniel Road prior to
construction of the new community
- no connecting road from the new community to Stavors Road via
Constitution
Hills Drive
- barring construction traffic entering the new community from using
Constitution
Hills Drive
Mr. Meeker's group is now seeking to abandon each of those stipulations so
that
the project can move forward more quickly. He fails to present a single valid argument in favor of changing the agreement,
an agreement that he is bound to, other than an interest in moving up the timetable of the project.
The Constitution Hills neighborhood is a family oriented community and many
of
the residents have young children. As a parent of two young children, I
purchased a home in Constitution Hills precisely
because of the relative
isolation from traffic and other dangers associated with more heavily
traveled neighborhoods.
Furthermore, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer
Elementary School is located within a half mile of Constitution Hills and
the
noise, pollution, and potential dangers of heavy traffic from
construction vehicles is likely to negatively impact the
quiet, learning
environment that the children currently enjoy. Constitution Hills Drive is
the main road into
the neighborhood and it was designed and built to handle
local, neighborhood traffic only----it was not designed to handle
thru-traffic
nor heavy construction equipment. Given the geography of
McDaniel Road, it is likely that any temporary road used
for short-term
construction traffic, would remain open upon completion of the new
community, thereby permitting access
to Stavors Road for non-Constitution
Hills traffic. The residents of Constitution Hills are heavily opposed to
any
odification that Mr. Meeker's group seeks to make to the agreement by
which he is currently bound.
The Maryland Independent article mentioned that the Commissioners are
planning
another work session to review Mr. Meeker's request. I have
checked the Commissioner's website and did not see such
a session scheduled.
Please notify me by return e-mail the date on which such a work session will
take
place. I would appreciate being invited to be a part of this work
sessions. Thank you for your time and consideration
of these important issues.
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Response from Nina Voehl, Public Information Officer, Charles County Government
(Wed, 28 May 2003 13:41:05)
Dear Ms. Wilkins-Hyman,
Thank you for bringing your concerns to the County Commissioners. The work session
has not been scheduled. By this e-mail, I am forwarding a copy to the Department of Planning and Growth Management
so a representative may notify you when the session will be on the agenda. It will be posted on the Commissioners' web
site under meeting agendas when it is scheduled as well as printed in a Friday edition of the Maryland Independent. If
you need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the Commissioners' office.
******************************************************
E-mail from Janet Allen (Constitution Hills HOA President) to Constitution
Hills Residents (Thu, 1 Apr 2004 10:41:15)
Hello All,
I thought for sure this issue had been taken care of, if anyone knows anything
different, please let us know. The following emails are transcripts that have transpired in regard to the proposed development
of the land between McDaniel Road & our subdivision. Please "Reply All" so we're all in the loop.
Janet 
***************************************************
Letter from Tim Hughes (Constitution Hills Resident) to Janet Allen
(Thursday, April 01, 2004 1:39 PM)
Janet,
I have a copy of the preliminary plans for the Autumn Hills development at
my
house I shared the same with Randy Stephens and Gerry Staudmyer. I have also contacted the County Commissioners
and have not heard back. I spoke to Mr. Meeker, who gave me the plans in response to a letter that I sent him requesting
the same. We agreed that I would review the plans with some of the neighbors and then meet with him to discuss our concerns.
I would be
happy to share the plans with our HOA, but I am embarassed to say that I do
not know who to contact.
In a nutshell, the plans call for 384 homes on very small lots to be built
in
6 phases. Currently, there is no schedule for construction. Phase 1 is
to be built directly behind my house
and the Stephens' house. Constitution
Hills Drive will connect to Autumn Hills, but construction traffic will not
be
permitted access.
Obviously, I am very concerned and am interested in pursuing some course of
action.
Unfortunately, we have very little leverage, if any. Mr. Meeker is
at least willing to hear our concerns. Anyway,
please let me know who in
the HOA I should contact.
Thanks.
Tim Hughes
301 893 5789
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Janet Allen's e-mail to Zak Krebeck; 04/01/04
Zak Krebeck's Response; 04/08/04
****************************************
Tim Hughes to Constitution Hills Neighbors (Fri, 09 Apr 2004 13:57:46)
Hello neighbors,
As you are aware from Janet's correspondence yesterday, the County has approved
Autumn Hills and plans for Constitution Hills Drive to connect our neighborhood to theirs. Many Constitution Hills residents
feel that this is not a good development and I am one of those people. I
have drafted a response to Mr. Krebeck of the Planning Department and plan to forward the same
to him and the Maryland
Independent next Monday morning. If you have time, please take a look at the document and let me know if you have any
comments.
Part of the response includes language that may be interpreted as advocating
a connector from Stavors or Constitution Hills to Westlake. That was not my intent. Rather, I intended only to
point out that if County feels that adjacent neighborhoods should connect and are using that as rationale for connecting Autumn
Hills and Constitution Hills, we have a duty to point out that this has not been done before, so why do it now?
I have little hope that we will be able to do anything about connecting the
neighborhoods, but we may get lucky and gain a concession or two. I believe that Janet may organize a meeting of some
sort to further develop a strategy for our HOA.
Tim Hughes
Timothy Hughes' e-mail to Zak Kebeck; 04/14/04
************************************************************
CONSTITUTION HILLS PETITION (MAY 1, 2004)
*************************************************************
e-mail from
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004 8:01 AM
Subject: Meeting with attorney Mark Mudd
HOA Committee:
Gerry and I met with Mark last night for about an hour. Our HOA documents
give
us a solid foundation for blocking the connection. However, the county
owns the road, and ultimately, they can probably
do as they wish.
Mark plans on speaking with Sue Greer to determine the County's position.
He
suggested that based on our documents, we have a decent shot at blocking
the connection. He also mentioned that we
may have to concede to the County
that they can connect at such a time when the County deems that the
connection would
become necessary (i.e., when the 301 bypass is built, and
access to the same would suggest that the connection is necessary).
This is
not our first option, but we may be forced to compromise should the County
push strongly for the connection.
Should we need to agree to such a future
connection, Mark would lobby for language regarding improvements to Stavors
Road.
Mark is also pursuing an increased buffer, but admitted that this may be
difficult
or impossible for the developer. He agreed that a 9 ft. privacy
fence along the entire boundary between Constitution
Hills and Autumn Hills
appears doable and that the developer would likely agree to build the fence.
Finally, he suggested that we turn out in numbers at the next meeting
(5/17).
We also should get as many signatures on the petition as possible.
I have about 70 signatures and Kathy White has another
sheet (from Hale
Court) that should have more.
Gerry, if I missed anything from last night, please let everyone know.
For those interested, the Planning Commission meeting will be re-broadcast
on
Comcast cable channel 95 tonight at 8pm, tomorrow at 9am and 6pm, and
Thursday at 3pm.
Tim
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