With even more traffic nightmares coming and renewed interest in what the county has previously said about Constant Friendship, I thought it would be helpful to review an earlier post.
Here is the original letter our friend Hilda received from the county:
"Thank you for your email regarding land use and traffic concerns along Constant Friendship Boulevard. Constant Friendship received approval for full build out prior to the establishment of Harford County’s Adequate Public Facilities (APF). However, a traffic study for the project was prepared by The RBA Group in June of 1987. All road improvements required in that traffic study are in place.
In addition, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MdTA) is planning improvements to the traffic patterns in that area by reconstructing the I-95/MD 24 interchange and reconstructing the intersection of MD 24/MD 924/Tollgate Road with a grade separated intersection. The improvements to the MD24/MD924 intersection should begin this year, hopefully as early as June. This project is proposed to alleviate the traffic issues at Constant Friendship Boulevard and Tollgate Road. The site, however, is physically constrained from providing an additional access into the development.
All of the lots along Constant Friendship Boulevard were approved as part of the original plan for the area. Under Harford County’s Subdivision Approval Procedure, all large-scale developments proposed for that area must be reviewed by the Development Advisory Committee (DAC). According to Section 5.03 (c) of the Harford County Subdivision Regulation, a notice is posted on the property at least 2 weeks prior to a DAC meeting with the date, time and location of the meeting and telephone number of the Department of Planning and Zoning. The regulations require that the notice be conspicuously placed on the property along the frontage near the right of way with a sign measuring 22-inches by 28-inches and with red lettering. I realize that it can be difficult to read the specifics of the sign as you drive by, so please do not hesitate to contact our Development Review Section to get more information about the project being proposed."
Here are our original comments on this post, which we stand by.
This would be funny if it wasn't so sad/discouraging. Think back to 1987. For those of us who didn't live here then, someone filled us in on what the neighborhood was like:
No Wal-Mart
No Constant Friendship townhomes, Dominion apartments
No Abingdon Elementary School (or neighboring townhouses)
Tollgate Road did not go through, stopped at Singer Road (no Monmouth Meadows)--in fact when this person bought her house, they said Tollgate would NEVER be a through-road.
Only development: Constant Branch
Also, were those signs for the new stores posted in 1987? I remember the sign for Lowe's, but never saw a sign for the pet store. (update: there also were NO signs for what's going in across from Wal-Mart)
Feel free to add your comments below. And I guess the message from the county is this: there's nothing you can do, because it was all mapped out 21 years ago.
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4 comments:
I know it's discouraging. My husband and I have been here since 1979. I was hoping by now to be gone, but he's not one for change. The bottom line is that Harford County is all about developers. If you saw the recent Aegis, you'll see that the council refused to extend the low preventing new facilities above 105%. So here it goes. It's going to get worse. A very powerful family developed that whole Constant Friendship area. They are not about to have their plans derailed by mere citizens. I don't think that developers will be happy until the entire county is paved over. Everyone things BRAC is going to be a big savior. I really question that. First of all, I don't think that many people are going to move here from New Jersey. From the comments I've seen written from a lot of them, they see Harford County as a real hick area. So they'll have to hire a lot of new people. A lot of them will have to have very specialized expertise. In addition, they won't be starting out in the upper end of the rankings which means they won't be able to afford expensive homes. I read the Washington Post. They are experiencing very painful pricing decreases in the DC area. $100,000 reductions in sales and appraisal are becoming very common. I've also noticed that the foreclosure pages in the Aegis have really jumped which means that more and more people are defaulting. I've been here since 1979 and sold real estate for 22 yrs. I've never seen so many foreclosures and that includes in the mid 80's when interest rates were skyrocketing. What concerns me is that Harford County is not going to get the upscale shopping which encourages smaller businesses to invest. Wegman's is at least two years away. I'll be surprised if it gets here in two years. I was hoping for a Trader Joe's. Who knows when THAT is going to happen. Instead all I see are more Dollar Stores and low end restaurants. It's really too bad. At the same time there's a "tax revolt" going on as if our taxes were all that high. Compared to other places they are not. I'm willing to pay more taxes for better roads, schools and a cap on development. Most people are not.
Think back to 1968, when I moved with my family to Harford County, before Constant Friendship was developed. We weren't all that thrilled when it was built. It's all in your point of view.
As I remember it, there was originally a proposal to construct a mall on Constant Friendship Boulevard, complete with ramps to provide direct access to I95. The community (what there was of it at that time) fought it hard and won. Congratulations. You get to live with the fruit of your predecessors' labor.
Across from Wal-Mart will be another bank, just what we need! To bad it was not a Wal Greens we have none of them, pfff...
I have been living in Constant Friendship for 2 years now and LOVE IT! I know the traffic and construction are annoying right now but it will be well worth it in the long run. Hang tight, enjoy it all!
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