Gerst Farm Development Proposal: Schools, Traffic, Zoning

PERRY HALL, MD — So many people wanted to hear developers present their plans for the Gerst farm property in Perry Hall that a public meeting Thursday night spilled out into the hallways of the Hilton Garden Inn White Marsh. More than 130 people were in attendance.

A representative from developer Elm Street showed a concept plan for the 317-home project on Gerst Avenue. The walkable community would have a mix of housing in two neighborhoods linked by park spaces near the Honeygo Village Center. A hiking or bike trail would bisect the properties.

It is "intended to be a walkable, pedestrian friendly community consisting of a variety of housing types as well as a network of open spaces and trails that not only connect homes within the community but also provides connectivity with Honeygo Village Center and neighboring communities," Dave Murphy, an Elm Street executive, said of the property at 9328 Gerst Road.

More than 200 of the homes would be marketed to those 55 years and older, including 138 villas with first-floor master bedrooms and 64 townhouses that are 24 feet wide, according to Murphy.

"They actually gravitate toward that product," he said of 55-and-older buyers' preference toward first-floor master homes.

Related: 317-Home Development Proposed For Gerst Farm Property

Empty nesters and dual income couples with no kids were purchasing the 24-foot townhouses as well, according to Murphy, stating: "We feel that we're filling a void with an active, walkable community."

Amenities like pickleball and bocce ball courts, a dog park and clubhouse would be designed to target the 55 and older community, he said.

Several residents questioned whether the community would actually attract those 55 and up, considering both the townhouses and villas would be more than one story. Nothing would keep the community from skewing younger and adding more children to already overcrowded schools, according to community members.

"There's a real point of distinction between marketing to a 55 and older community or structuring a deeded community for 55 and older," Honeygo Village resident Patrik Fleming said. "There's a very big difference. You can market to anyone you want, but it does not mean that that community will be 55 and over." Fleming noted he and his neighbors launched www.keepgerestgreen.com, a website in response to the project proposal.

"This gentleman is correct — without a deed restriction, there is nothing that would prevent someone with kids to buy those homes," Murphy said. "We just find that families with kids at the price points that we'll be at typically would purchase a single-family detached home rather than a first-floor master villa."

Perry Hall Improvement Association President Jack Amrhein read a statement opposing the developer's proposition to put 317 homes on property that was zoned for 48 homes.

"We want some yard space," Amrhein said. He said that the association believes the developer should be subject to "appropriate mechanisms" to ensure that the community is age restricted and accommodate more ranchers that are deed-restricted. As a compromise, he said the Perry Hall Improvement Association would support 146 ranchers instead of what he called "rowhomes" in the current proposal. The 146 number came from the prior zoning for the property, he said.

In 2016 Councilman David Marks said he down-zoned the Gerst property "to give time for Honeygo Elementary School to be built and for the middle school to advance." He added: "And I blocked an earlier, more intense project here."

The Perry Hall Improvement Association also recommended the county require the developers to conduct a traffic study and provide traffic calming measures.

Before the current proposal could move forward in the development process, the County Council must consider a resolution, which a councilperson has to submit, to support changing the zoning from one house per acre to accommodate the planned unit development. A date has not been set for the council to consider that, and the resolution has not been submitted.

The PTO president of Honeygo Elementary School said school overcrowding remains a concern, particularly since Chapel Hill Elementary School, where the students in the proposed development would be going, was overcrowded and Perry Hall Middle School is "grossly overcrowded."

"I don't know what dream you have of where these kids are going to go. There's nowhere for them to go," PTO President Nitsa Stakias Zdziera said. "Our students are suffering, and I don't know where these kids are going to go."

Presenters of the project proposal said the community meeting was one step in the process.

"The purpose of today's [meeting] is not only to answer questions but to hear public comment. And I hear you loud and clear," project representatives said. "What you say today matters. It doesn't mean that everything you ask for or comment on that we will agree to do. But we're listening."

This is the first in a series of articles on the Gerst farm development proposal.