From Harford County Councilman Mike Perrone Jr.:
I’d like to solicit your opinion on something… as you probably know, the County Executive and our Planning and Zoning Department have been working on HarfordNEXT (our upcoming Master Plan Update), which was made available for public comment on February 8. An important change has been proposed for the Joppa area, and I want to solicit the community’s feedback on the change.
This Plan, like others before it, uses land use intensity categories that are supposed to guide the actual zoning and re-zoning of land. It is important to note it is the zoning itself that has the force of law; the Plan behind the zoning is nothing more than a plan.
Today, the entire area bounded by Route 40 to the north, Route 152 to the East, Trimble Road to the south, and Joppa Road to the west, has a low-intensity classification, and relatively light intensity residential zoning. The draft version of HarfordNEXT – as you can see on page 162 – proposes an upgrade to medium density for much of this area.
It is worth noting that there are three housing developments on the books for this area; all of which were approved over ten years ago. The first is Rogers Ford which is already underway across from Magnolia Elementary School. The second would enter from Route 152 near where Sugar Hill Road is today, and the third would enter from Trimble Road between the Williams Mobile Home Park and Minglewood Lane. These three projects total 593 single family home lots, and the only thing that has stopped them from being built are market conditions.
Given the zoning that is in place today, single family homes are the only type of dwelling units that could be built in this area. A change to medium-density classification could open the door to townhouses or other denser types of land uses.
Before I go any further, I think it needs to be said (even if this doesn’t score me any political points) that given our system of private property rights, communities generally don’t get a say in what someone else does with their private property. But because we do recognize that there is a point beyond which someone’s use of their property might have too adverse an impact on someone else’s use of theirs, we’ve come up with zoning laws and the plans that guide them to try to strike some kind of balance. When zoning within a community stands to change, the community should have input into whether or not the change happens.
If you have an opinion on this matter, please share it with me; I hope to receive as much feedback as possible before I decide on what position I want to take on this matter. Thank you!
Do you have an email address at which we may contact you directly?
Yes – districta@harfordcountycouncil.com. Sorry about that… my contact info is in a graphic box in my newsletter that isn’t in the text that the dagger picks up.
In brief, speaking as a 49-year resident of Joppatowne, I would like to see the zoning classification for this area remain as it is, low intensity, with no further development beyond the areas mentioned above that are already approved. I hope that will be your position also.
Got it – thanks Carol.
I agree with Carol Garitty, we need to keep it as low intensity. If they increase it to medium intensity, who’s to say that they won’t want to change it to high intensity next time which would mean thousands of units, whether that would be townhouses or apartments? They need to focus on beautifying the southern area of the County, after all, Joppa/Joppatowne is the gateway to Harford Count.
Got it – thanks Rich.
I have lived in Joppa for 81 years. It has totally lost the rural way of life but that is understandable. So now they want to pave the entire area and build housing such that people will be living cheek by jowl. With that goes our wooded areas and most wild life. I am totally opposed to higher density housing here. If they go ahead with this idea we may just as well change the name of the area from Joppa to Toilet.
Thank you Ms. Taylor. The fact that Joppa south of 95 is within the development envelope pretty much means that as long as people want to move to Harford County, most of the development that is going to occur is likely to take place around our area. But there does need to be a balance… adding new dwelling units won’t help us to deal with our cycle of vacant units. And there’s also the matter of finally getting a community center in the area; the relative lack of available land around Joppatowne will only get worse if more and more acres are built out.
More apartments, more section 8, more crime, more democrats and more devalued quality of life.
Can’t wait.
Hey “The fix is in”, go “fix” yourself!
…….. and your R crowd is really such a bunch of winners. I guess that is why your voters want to nominate someone who has more bad things to say about the Republicans than the Hillary. Ha Ha!
More traffic, more intersections, more driveways entering main roads, more congestion, and more trash/garbage. Take a close look at what is happening on Rt. 24.
Those “upscale” condos are hideous, as are those being built over on Belair Road, south of 152, I think. I cannot imagine the traffic that will come from those townhouses. There is already a new light. There must be 500 of those ugly things. Neither are in Joppa, but they are a good example.
I agree with all of the above.
They should turn all of Joppa back into bean and melon fields. Those were the days it was a great place to live.
This area needs to keep its low-intensity zoning classification. It’s very close to the bay and pollution from increased traffic and denser land use would be disastrous. I’m very opposed to higher density housing here!
Got it – thank you Ms. Johnson.
Margaret; the upper bay is a polluted mess with all the existing sewage spills and 100 years of Aberdeen proving grounds and Edgewood arsenal. I don’t believe it is possible to become a bigger environmental mess with more houses.
I think that every bit of additional pollution matters (even in small amounts)! Trees absorb huge amounts of pollution in the air and water. If green areas with woods, including trees, bushes and rich undergrowth, are left in the area, it will help to decrease the pollution caused by putting up more houses. If the development is more dense than what has already been planned, there will be fewer trees to absorb the pollution, and there will be many more people driving many more cars and trucks that will cause the air and water in the area to be much more polluted!
But if houses are spread out further from the main highways like Route 40 and I-95, more miles will be driven, which causes more pollution. From a purely ecological perspective, it would be selfish to steer development away from the I-95 corridor simply because the residents don’t want it.
Look what happened in Bel Air South when people opposed townhouses and higher density residential on the property at Plumtree, it was changed so anything could build there, including a penitentiary and a 7×24 Walmart super store right next to a neighborhood.
Better get used to the idea of denser development as the “development envelope” has only the Route 40 corridor left. It can be home, or superstores. Your choice.
BTW, The “Gateway to Harford County” is not exclusive to Joppa by any means. Along Route 40 heading east there are truck stops, gas stations, auto/RV dealers, body shops, lumber yards, the old KMart store, Residential is the last thing you see and you have to turn off Route 40 to see it,
Big difference honey…much of Joppa is outside the development envelope.
We are new to Joppa. However, we selected this community based on current zoning. Single family is more appealing and we’ve no desire to see Joppa become more urban. Please do not change the zoning.
Got it – thank you Ms. Huber.
Councilman please schedule a community meeting with a presentation visually showing current and proposed plans.
Hey Keith – just following up to what I posted on the Joppatowne Community FB page for the benefit of anyone following here – if you can make it Monday at 7 pm to the HCSO Southern Precinct on Route 40, the Joppa/Joppatowne Community Advisory Board will be meeting and I’ll be talking about this probably between 8 and 9 p.m. There won’t be all that much to say; no developers have submitted any plans beyond the single family home plans from years ago. Where we are now is basically the beginning point on the timeline. Many people have been disappointed over the years when they are told when plans are submitted for a development that it’s too late to do anything about it. And that’s true… the right to develop a property a certain way stems from the zoning code which in turn stems from the master plan. So this master plan update marks the beginning of whatever may come later, and if the community does not want the density increase, this is the time to speak up.
I am against increasing the density of housing. The area already has a critical mass of poverty and the concomitant ills associated. To increase it would be to essentially ghettoize the whole area. This would be a mistake as then everyone loses. Plus the housing market has failed to recover yet in our area. To add an even greater increase in housing to an already depressed area is stupid (from a political and taxing perspective). The only one who wins in this scenario is the developer.
Mr Perrone is to be congratulated for at least attempting to be responsive to his constituents. There was a time Mr Woods was much the same however more recently Mr Euler’s whims and desires seem far more interesting to him. I hope someone with substance is willing to compete against him the next go round – someone that won’t champion carveouts for development for their new found compadres.
All this building councilman yet no increase for county infrastructure to support the new influx whether it be single or mixed or high density. Before the board decides to once again make this county more populated why doesn’t the board actually try and give the residents a fighting chance who live here by allowing the county to be fully staffed to respond to their needs. Privatizing all aspects of the county’s operations to friends of Barry is not an efficient wah to do things. Look at what’s right for your citizens and not what lines the pocket of your corrupt county executive.
“not what lines the pocket of your corrupt county executive”
Please do tell us more about the county executive corruption you have uncovered.
Seriously? Privatization of county jobs given to political friends. Harkins and hockaday to name two. Raises for department heads and board while cutting other positions to pay for those raises.
Really doesn’t take much digging to see his tenure is rife with kickbacks and corruption. Same old story just new faces. Do you really think it will change with all this building and money to be made? If your a friend then you’ll make money and if everyone else gets pushed over they don’t care.
I’ll ask again …. so how does this line the pocket of the corrupt county executive?
You said it now produce your findings or admit you have no clue what you are claiming.
BTW slander is a very slippery slope, look at what Ehuler is doing to the fallston idiots that started a petition against him. Think you are anonymous? read the Dagger TOS.
Stupid hurts.
I signed my name to that petition and happily. Developer thugs and their friends on the council scare me one wit. I see where Euler is bringing out his harrassment, attorney dogs sicked on private citizens that oppose – I signed it, come after me dirt bags. Citizens have very little recourse ourselves when the reality is developers and our county government in an unholy and corrupt alliance hold the cards.
Me, Mike and the courts could care less that you and a thousand other boobs signed it. Maybe you will put your wallet where your mouth is and help those poor twits that started the petetion when the courts find in favor of Mike.
Jack sadly without money your opinion is like any citizens. But if you had money behind you to spread to politicians then you would have more traction as any race shows he who pays the politicians or supports them, gets the good things.
Your views are no different than what the current presidential candidates say, take big money and you have to then support their views. To call it slander or false claims is a typical argument made but sadly our system has shown time and time again that when money can be given to those in power than the return investment is preferential treatment. Total reform is needed and that means vote them out.
I totally disagree with any more additional building.This is an extremely well laid out area. Any additional increase in population or businesses will cause an additional impact not only on resources but also the environment. It all sounds like an attempt by builders to fill their pockets even more. Why not try this in Havre de Grace? (The thunder would probably be heard all the way to Baltimore!)
I’m confused now. When Fort Monmouth in NJ was closing, and big building and lots of employees were coming to APG, people were bending over backwards to approve, anything and everything that was put in front of them. All of a sudden we don’t want development in the county? We can’t have it both ways folks. Either we want businesses to invest here and bring more jobs and economic stimulus, or we don’t. I read recently about people saying that millennials are leaving Harford because of the lack of housing that it within walking distance to town centers. But now we are proposing to back to nature instead of encouraging our young folks to work, live and raise their families in the area? Many individual property owners have owned these acres for generations and earned the right to sell and or develop their land. If we tighten the zoning,their land becomes less valuable and I don’t think that’s right.
Please no more high density housing in the Joppa area. I chose to live in this area because of the rural feeling, close to water and nature.
The focus should be on community centers and small businesses and shopping center along the Rt 40 corriador.
It is interesting to see the contrast between Baltimore and Harford Counties. Baltimore County Councilman David Marks has successfully managed to have several property tracts in the East Baltimore County District down zoned (without cost to the taxpayer) to prevent overbuilding in his area. The only time anything similar seems to happen in Harford County is when property is put into conservation after property owners are paid with taxpayer money.
Councilman,
Please endorse maintaining the zoning as is, meaning low density. It sure seems the majority of people here feel that way. Medium and high density is available just north and east of here, if someone is so inclined.
Sir,
Although you do not represent me on the Harford County Council, the activities in your district will have an effect on me and in fact the entire County. In that respect I would appreciate it greatly if you would consider these points.
1. It costs between $12,000 – $13,000 per year per student in Harford County. That number is not going down, regardless of how many fewer students there are. True the cost is split between the County and the State. Factually, the funding comes from the residents of Harford County. Considering that property and income taxes provide the revenue, it would be accurate to say that for each resident to pay for just his or her student, their property tax bill would have to be about $6,000 dollars, requiring a house assessed at about $600,000. Income tax revenue would provide the other $6,000-$7,000 dollars. That would require an income of about $100,000. Those are just the estimates for schools. They do not include any expenditures for other County services. Do you believe that higher density housing can support these costs?
2. Property taxes from business help, but do not make the full difference. Consider that the three largest employers do not contribute to revenues, either in property tax or income tax. Corporate income tax goes into the Transportation Trust Fund, not the General Fund, so does not help with County requirements. It would be unwise to believe that business could, should or would pay more in taxes to make up all the revenue shortfalls.
3. The County revenues and expenditures are just now coming back into balance, in large part due to the efforts of County Executive Glassman to find savings. There is a cautionary note that should be added to the situation. Revenues in Harford County did not decline materially during the past decade. In fact even after property tax rates and property assessments were reduced, property tax revenues increased. The critical factor in the situation was the rate of revenue increase. Prior to 2010 property tax revenues were increasing at an increasing rate due to a housing construction boom, and a real estate boom. Property Tax revenues were plentiful, and increasing both because of the boom and increasing property assessments. The constant yield rate was significantly below the property tax rate. Cost of government was low, new revenue was added and increasing. Expenditures increased as well. About 2010, Constant yield and Property tax rates crossed over, and they became equal. The housing boom ended, and property assessments declined. The cost of County government did not decline. That confluence of events lead to the County’s economic situation. There was never any real consideration of how to pay for the additional demands on County Resources, the fallacy being that revenues would continue to grow at an increasing rate, forever, regardless of what was happening in the State and Nation. These circumstances are repeatable and the consequences will be no different. A new administration cannot change that.
4. The other significant source of revenue in the County is Income Tax. There is not much hope that the three largest employers will increase wages. It is unlikely that APG, as a federal agency, will significantly increase wages or personnel. Upper Chesapeake Hospital is equally unlikely to raise wages, and thus increase the cost of medical care, in an area that is not experiencing wage growth. Finally, Harford County Government cannot increase wages beyond what they already have, without increasing taxes, or reducing services.
5. Harford County is again encouraging residential construction, perhaps, with the hope of adding more revenues to the tax base without an equivalent increase in demands on County resources. County resources are strained as it is. It is unlikely that the demands on County resources added by higher density housing will be met with the additional revenues accrued. The more likely scenario will be exactly what has happened historically in Harford County. Services will be underfunded to make ends meet.
Please ask the Planning and Zoning Department how they expect to pay for all of the added demands placed on the county by residents in new developments. If you get is a blank stare, then I would encourage you to vote no, and to admonish the County administration that Harford County does not need any more financial fiascos.
THNX
JOHN P. MALLAMO
Mr. Perrone,
The zoning regulations in the Joppatowne area need to remain as they are. There are enough people living in the area as it is. We do not need to re-zone to add more homes and apartments. The infrastructure cannot handle additional people. Also, adding more people and homes to the area will put a burden on the schools, Mariner Point Park as well as the few roads we have that lead into and out of Joppatowne. Leave our little neighborhood alone!
Leave the designation as it is. Until we see what these three developments actually do to traffic and water ways, which our community is full of, we should not add lots of town houses etc. Furthermore the recent expansion of the sewer line through the park was done recklessly and is going to cause the football field to errode at a rapid rate unless some errosion control is undertook.
I moved to Joppatowne 18 years ago because it was a quiet neighborhood. It is the charm of the area and the reason I stay. Therefore, I am not in favor of adding 500 homes to an already high traffic area. In addition, 500 homes could make it difficult for someone to get reasonable value for their nest egg should they want to move on. Now if this decision is out of our control, I ask that section 8 housing be removed as any possible option, as well as, eliminating the option of a community center. Just like the church that was going to be built in the pool area but fell through thankfully, a community center will bring undesirable individuals into our quiet, clean and good community. Joppatowne is like a private city, you only need to be here if you live here, and that’s the way we like it. Please don’t force me to move out of my home & community.
I am opposed to more residential building in our area but if there has to be any please keep the zoning as is, meaning low density.
Thank you.
Please no high density housing!! Let’s keep Joppatown single family housing.