72 Apartments Proposed For Homes At Fountain Green

BEL AIR, MD — A proposed apartment complex near the intersection of US 1 and MD 543 raised issues that concerned both Harford County regulators and residents. Harford County Executive Barry Glassman has opposed the project.

Development plans for the Homes at Fountain Green call for 72 garden-style apartments in three apartment buildings and a community building on 10.28 acres at the southeast corner of Route 1 at Route 543.

Traffic and school crowding were two major concerns residents voiced during Harford County's most recent Development Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting, where a panel of officials representing local and state agencies also gave feedback to the engineer working on the project.

The representative for the State Highway Administration reported staff was still reviewing the traffic study submitted with the proposal.

"Our analysis of the study is incomplete,” said Rich Zeller for the State Highway Administration.

Residents who had looked over the study offered their input.

"The traffic is going to be a nightmare," resident Steve Streaker said.

“I know that it’s crowded," Zeller said. "I live in Harford County too."

One man who lives nearby organized a GoFundMe page called "People Against Fountain Green Apts" to finance opposition to the project. The first order of business was to hire an outside traffic consultant, he said, as the traffic study was financed by the developer.

"We have always believed the traffic is the major problem," Rick Mattox, who launched the page, told Bel Air Patch. The recently retired Lockheed Martin software developer lives in Vineyard Oak and learned about the apartment project in December. Since then, he says he has been taking action, including starting the GoFundMe campaign. "We’re opposing it because the area’s congested — it’s really congested — and the school system is a problem," he said.

A major issue is the access driveway for the development, he said, and its proximity to the intersection.

"You will not be able to turn left out of that complex," Mattox said.

A chorus of residents at the DAC meeting echoed the alarm. About 50 community members attended the 9 a.m. meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Some said they delayed going to work to be there and foresaw their lives being impacted by many more delays if the apartment project came to fruition.

"The traffic right now is, you can't even get out of the neighborhood, and I don't understand how those people, when they come out, they're going to have to turn right. They're going to turn around in neighborhoods," Kim Muhlenfeld said at the meeting. "The traffic there is crazy already. To add all this is just going to be dangerous."

These intersections were reviewed in the traffic study submitted to the county:

• US 1 (Hickory Bypass) at MD 23
• US 1 (Hickory Bypass) at MD 543
• US 1 Business (Conowingo Road) at MD 543
• US 1 (Hickory Bypass) at US 1 Business (Conowingo Road)
• MD 543 at Henderson Road
• MD 543 at Prospect Mill Road
• MD 543 at proposed site access
• Prospect Mill Road at Thomas Run Road

The intersections were given letter grades to identify the level of service, with "A" being the best.

An "F" went to MD 543 at Henderson Road when studied in the morning. An "F" means there is forced flow or gridlock, according to the Harford County Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. In the afternoon, the flow of traffic at the intersection was "E," which denotes significant restriction and delay with instability.

"D" grades were given to US 1 at MD 543, the Hickory Bypass at US 1, MD 543 at Prospect Mill Road and MD 543 at the proposed access point to the site. "D" means the delays or restrictions are moderate to heavy.

If there is an "E"or "F" within the development envelope, the developer must take action to mitigate the impacts of the development's new trips, according to Harford County's ordinance.

Outside the development envelope, the developer must take action if the level of service is "D" or lower to mitigate the impact of development.

It was unclear what the developer planned to do to facilitate the flow of traffic, and officials said that there were no plans to widen MD 543.

Residents questioned the traffic study's projected number of trips generated by a 72-apartment complex. It calls for seven vehicles to come into the development during the morning rush hour and 18 to go out. It also calls for 20 cars going in and 12 going out during peak evening rush hour. Projections were created using the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, according to the report submitted to the county.

If the people who lived there were going to be walking, community members said that would be extremely dangerous because of both the lack of sidewalks and the high volume of traffic.

"You try to cross that street," Mattox said of the intersection where the project is proposed. "You better be doing it at 4 o'clock in the morning or you're taking your life in your hands."

In addition to traffic, residents had questions about the school enrollment projections.

In her review of the plan for the DAC, Facilities Planner Missy Valentino of Harford County Public Schools said that the apartment project was expected to yield five elementary school students for Hickory, two middle school students at Southampton and three high school students at C. Milton Wright.

"Hickory Elementary School is currently at 97 percent capacity," Valentino said. "With this development, this is something that we'd like to watch, because this school is consistently at or near capacity."

The idea that 72 apartments would lead to 10 school-age students was met with skepticism.

"Unless these are going to be over-55," Chuck Lorence said of the age of tenants in the proposed apartments: "...I think there's going to be a lot more children."

According to Valentino, Harford County is updating how it computes attendance projections, a formula generated based on the type of housing. This is done at the county level, she later said, and is not handled by the school system.

In response to a community member's question, planning officials at the meeting said there was no county regulation as far as how many people could live in an apartment.

"A grand total of 10 kids is laughable," Mattox said of how many children would be going to school from the 72 apartments. "When you look at the data...you know what the outcome is going to be" — it favors the developer, he said.

After more than an hour of questions and comments from residents and DAC members, Muhlenfeld asked: "What do we need to come up with to put a wedge in this — to stop this?"

To prevent the development from moving forward, what would be required is "to demonstrate how they [developers] don't comply with the laws," said Moe Davenport, chief of development review for Harford County.

"We're here to enforce the laws that are given to us," Davenport explained.

'Harford County Does Not Support This Project'

The county executive has already written to the state with his concern. When the developer of the Homes at Fountain Green applied for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Glassman wrote a letter of opposition.

"Harford County does not support this project," wrote Glassman. "The location of the proposed 72-unit mixed-income multi-family rental is not harmonious with the quality of life residents of Harford County have come to expect."

Glassman cited the lack of public transportation in the area as well as "high-risk intersections with heavy traffic flow" that would not be safe for pedestrians to cross.

In addition, Glassman said the sewer component would require additional financing.

"Our greatest concern with this project is the current lack of sewer capacity," Glassman said.

Homes at Fountain Green — Letter Of Opposition From County Executive

DAC Feedback: The Sewer Challenge, Open Space Needed

As noted above, the State Highway Administration has not yet completed its review.

Others at the DAC meeting said the site presents several infrastructure challenges.

"There are a fair amount of comments that need to be addressed on the next phase of the plan," Darryl W. Ivins, civil engineer for the Harford County's Division of Water and Sewer, said at the Jan. 16 DAC meeting at council chambers in Bel Air.

A new series of plans will be required specifically for the water and sewer elements of the project, which he said were in some cases not accurately depicted in the current drawings.

Because a sewer line needs to be relocated, the developer will have to submit drawings detailing the sewer main relocation plan for review, release the easement for the sewer line and submit a public works utility agreement with Harford County.

Building permits for two of three apartment buildings may not be approved until the sewer is relocated and declared operational, Ivins said.

A previously existing sewer line runs through the property, and the county will not be responsible for any structural failures associated with it due to soil compaction, he noted.

A public hearing before the Harford County Council will also be required, and the council must vote to change the water and sewer category for the project. Water and sewer construction drawings may not be approved until then, according to Ivins, who said this approval precedes subdivision plats being recorded.

The county's requirements for active open space would also require tweaks to the proposal.

Before the plan could be approved, "more details are needed concerning the active amenities," Paul Magness, deputy director for Harford County Parks & Recreation, said at the DAC meeting. Harford County requires 1.03 acres of active open space for the proposed development, he said.

While the proposal shows a concrete/asphalt walking trail and two common areas, he said that the area near one of the apartment buildings needed more amenities, and grading would be required.

A Step In The Process

The DAC meeting is one step in the development process in Harford County.

It followed a community input meeting on Dec. 12, 2018, at the Bel Air branch of Harford County Public Library. Read questions and comments from that meeting.

After the DAC meeting, the developer is to make adjustments to the proposed plan for the Homes at Fountain Green before submitting it to Harford County Planning and Zoning for review.

Based on a letter that accompanied the traffic study, the developer — Homes for America — is proposing to begin construction in October, with an estimated completion date of October 2019.

Photos by Elizabeth Janney.

Editor's note: This article has been updated.