Maryland’s Board of Public Works has delayed a decision on a controversial 1000+ unit development on Kent Island.
At yesterday’s meeting, all three members of the Board made clear their opposition to the plan.
State Treasurer Nancy Kopp said “It’s incredible that we would increase density on Kent Island, with sea level rises, storm surges… everything else.”
Governor Martin O’Malley agreed, saying “I think most of us are pretty well on record that we don’t think any more houses should be going on Kent Island given the evacuations that take place, but that’s not what we’re here talking about.
What the Board of Public Works was technically talking about was a wetlands permit for the proposed Four Seasons 55-and-over development to be located along the northeast side of the island bordered by the Chester River.
It was a court-ordered redo of a similar request the same board rejected in 2007, which was determined by the Maryland Court of Appeals to be an overstep of the board’s authority.
After yesterday’s lengthy hearing, the board opted to delay a decision in hopes of enforceable guarantees from the developer with the Queen Anne’s County government.
These deal with a plan to protect some 131 acres of land that had originally been slated for development. The Board wants in writing permanent commitments not to develop that land.
Charles Schaller, an attorney for the developer, was disappointed about the delay. “We believe it was ripe and ready to go and they could have acted on it,” he said.
A decision won’t come for at least another month.