Howard County residents have vowed to fight a proposed low-income housing development on Frederick Road.
“We are prepared to go all the way on this project,” said Patrick Crowe of neighborhood group Friends of Font Hill. Crowe was among nearly 400 people who crammed into the county government hearing room Thursday evening for a meeting with developers about Centennial Gardens, a planned 59-unit building on 2.5 acres in Ellicott City.
The meeting quickly turned into a forum to voice residents? opposition and grill developers. The project is conceptual and no plans have been submitted to the county for approval, said Jared Spahn, a general contractor for Old Town Construction, who led the meeting.
Residents raised concerns about the impact of low-income development on traffic, schools, crime and property values. Many also took issue with the Housing Commission?s authority to purchase and develop the land without restrictions on the number of units.
“Howard County needs to take back the Housing Commission and lay down strict rules for them to follow,” said Diane Butler, president of the St. Johns Community Association.
Before building, developers must prove there are adequate public facilities and conduct a traffic study, Spahn said.
To receive state funding, there must be a resolution of local support from the County Council, said Pat Sylvester of the state Department of Housing and Community Development, a lender for the project. Thomas Carbo, the department?s new deputy director, said the administration will review the proposal, although “the county executive has said he is not going to support this project as proposed.”
County Exec Ken Ulman has been a strong supporter of affordable housing, Carbo said, but “we want to do it in a well-planned manner.”
