Waller Landing Development Meeting Today In Hebron

It was a packed house today at the Hebron Fire House where concerned citizens met with some of the Staff and Attorneys representing the Developer. The meeting was designed to get positive input from the locals as to what they'd like to see within this community.

At points during the meeting it got pretty heated up and there was only one politician present, Delegate Cane. 403 acres were annexed by the Town of Hebron some 2 years ago with the intent of having the property developed. However, as Mr. Cane explained, this property is NOT in the County's 5 Year Master Plan and should not go through.

Mr. Cane explained to me how Cambridge made multiple mistakes by not having a 5 year Master Plan in place and the State of Maryland will step in if necessary to insure everyone waits till the timing and planning is right.

There was talk about there being some 2,400 homes in this project and the Developer quoted they will not go anywhere near those figures. During the application process it asks what the maximum quantity of homes would be scheduled for this kind of property and 2,400 was the magic number. However, they claim"more than 1,000 but less than 2,000."

Waste Water was another major issue in which the Developer stated they would use the existing system but they would also be upgrading the current system at no expense to the current residents already living in Hebron. The entire project is contingent on the WWTP upgrade anyway.

There were some plans on apartments being built there but they now claim they are considering removing them from their overall project plans. It was also stated that the State Highway Administration will require them to put in a traffic light on Rt. 50 & Main Street.

One citizen yelled out, "We don't want parks!" Another citizen replied, "Speak for yourself buddy, my kids would love a park!" Then everyone wanted to know where the parks were going and they were referred to their website, www.wallerlanding.com .

Schools were a major issue here and the Developer stated they planned on donating a 6 to 8 acre parcel of property for a School and someone quickly educated them that 6 to 8 acres was nowhere near enough ground according to Maryland State standards for a School. The Developer then stated that there was a 25% Age Restricted Community Development so the impact wouldn't be so bad and it will take quite a bit of time to actually develop such a project. This didn't stop everyone from seeing through the smoke screen though. Someone has got to pay for a new School and property for such and the citizens want answers and IMO they're not getting them.

What I also felt was VERY important here was the fact that these Developers were already using the old Salisbury Mall as an example as to what they could and couldn't get away with. In other words they stated, we're not going to be anywhere near as dense as the old Salisbury Mall project is. Boy has Salisbury really screwed up the surrounding areas because this will forever be an example as to how everyone else will also get away with such huge density is areas it doesn't belong.

Another important question that was asked was, "Is there a community we can go see where the Town hires a "Professional Planner" (Redmond & Johnston) to see just how professional they are? The answer was, "NO."

As I left I spoke with a few citizens and they are outraged! The Schools are a huge issue here. Apparently there was a School built in Hebron only 5 years ago and they already have trailers there as they have completely outgrown that School already! This is going to be a mess Folks, Put your seat belts on because you're in for an unbelievable ride. Don't forget to thank Barrie Tilghman, Mike Dunn, Gary Comegys and Lynn Cathcart for making life so much better in Hebron's future too!