Douglas Iorio, a 25-year resident of Waterloo Road in Ellicott City, doesn?t like the idea of looking out his bedroom window to see a four-story, 106-unit housing complex.
“Their building and my building are going to be 20 feet apart,” he said. “I will have no privacy whatsoever.”
Iorio was among about two dozen people who attended a pre-submission meeting last week with developers to discuss plans for Ellicott Gardens, a senior housing complex. The meeting is required before the developer submits plans to the county?s Department of Planning and Zoning, which is expected in a few weeks.
“I am not here trying to sell this,” said Robert Webster, land planner for Land Design and Development Inc. “I?m here to listen to what your concerns are.”
Several residents voiced frustrations over the planned development, siting traffic woes and saying the multi-unit building wouldn?t fit in among the other single family homes.
“The value of my house is going to go down to nothing,” Iorio said.
Ellicott Gardens, to be built on just more than three acres owned by the Howard County Housing Commission, also would be restricted to residents making less than 60 percent of the median income.
The building would be similar to Waverly Gardens Senior Apartments, a 102-unit complex that opened in June in Woodstock. The development is age-restricted and meets national green standards for environmental friendliness.
“The goal in moderate-income housing is to prove this type of housing doesn?t have to look like you would imagine it would,” Jared Spahn of Old Town Construction, which is involved in the project, said in an interview at Waverly Gardens.
Gina Ellrich, who lives nearby and is running as a Republican for the District 2 County Council seat, said she could understand residents? frustrations. Residents said the meeting was not widely publicized, and many were angry that it was held onsite, on a cold evening.
“When you communicate, and they are informed, they feel like they are part of the process,” Ellrich said.
