State takes issue with coastal bay growth plans
Worcester County residents aren't the only ones worried about development spoiling Maryland's coastal bays, those scenic, fish-rich stretches of water that beach-bound vacationers must cross to get to Ocean City. (Seen above is Isle of Wight Bay near Hoopers Crab House, a popular spot to collect clams and mussels.)
Hundreds of local residents turned out last week for a public hearing to voice their objections to proposed county zoning changes that would permit more homes, stores and pavement on farmland and ecologically fragile areas near the bays. The state Department of Planning also weighed in with a letter pointing out that several proposals, if adopted, would seem to violate state law.
The state planning letter notes that the county's comprehensive plan -- a widely praised blueprint for growth adopted three years ago -- calls for limiting sprawl development and protecting the threatened water quality of the coastal bays. But some of the zoning changes proposed by the county's planning commission "are not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan as required by law," the state letter contends.
Among the state's concerns: the zoning plan still allows for sprawl, permitting large-lot housing in some areas, while not protecting enough farmland and ecologically sensitive shoreline areas, such as the South Point peninsula opposite Assateague National Seashore.
Bud Church, vice president of the seven-member Worcester board of commissioners, noted in an interview that county officials plan to review public comments and likely will change at least some of the zoning proposals before adopting them later this year. He said he personally opposes any increase in development in the South Point area across Sinepuxent from Assateague.
Though in slightly better shape than the Chesapeake Bay, these smaller bays -- an integral part of Maryland's coastal tourism industry -- are losing ground to polluted runoff from development and farms, a new scientific assessment finds. As reported here in The Sun, scientists gave the bays a C-plus grade overall, but said they vary in vitality from good to very poor.
It's not clear what, if anything, the state would do should Worcester officials ignore the state's objections and adopt more growth-friendly zoning. But the General Assembly this year reinforced state law spelling out that local government's development actions must be consistent with the growth plans they adopt in consultation with residents. State Planning Secretary Richard E. Hall may be hoping it doesn't come to that - in a brief interview, he praised the Eastern Shore county as generally "Smart-Growth friendly."
For more on the bays, go here. For more on the county's zoning plans, go here.
(Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)
