Shelley's Deals

When the county goes through its quadrennial zoning cycle, our 3rd District Councilman is inundated with normally apathetic constituents who suddenly take an interest in the political process and want their councilman's ear so they can put their two cents in about how they don't want any new development in their area, or how they don't want to lose the right to subdivide their property (often these are the same people - go figure!) and I can imagine that many a deaf ear is turned on these people who have no focus for their concerns because they are ignorant of the process.
But there are always a few select individuals who will gain a politician's attention during this short time, when the County Councilman has the power to determine whether a speculative investment will reap gains or produce a loss for the developer. 3rd District Councilman McIntire has gotten an inordinate share of such power over the years, as his district contains the majority of Baltimore County's remaining rural land. To his credit, he has done much to ensure that the area between Sparks and Pennsylvania, between Upperco and White Hall remain largely rural in nature and accommodating to agriculture in particular. For those of us who see localized agriculture as essential to the quality of life of ALL metropolitan citizens, this course of action has been an essential ingredient in preserving a quality of life in what’s left of the Land of Pleasant Living.
But enough gushing over the Councilman's good deeds - there are a few fish to fry here....

As you may have read in previous posts, Councilman McIntire appears to have been rooked by a few savvy landowners/developers who have led him to believe that by retaining their zoning, they would have the opportunity to develop a smaller portion of their land than the zoning would allow, thus allowing them some small gain while preserving the majority of the undeveloped property.

But then there’s the deal of deals – Shelley’s Deals. Developer Randy Shelley – who has such a noble reputation as a builder who pays his subs on time and offers a quality product to prospective homeowners – gets the opportunity to build 19 houses on land on which he previously had difficulty getting approval for only eight. And he does it by offering – sacrificing – selflessly – over 100 acres of agricultural land that would have only netted two houses – for the purpose of developing recreational facilities “for the children.” Using the Hereford Zone Rec Council as a shill for his project, and the hapless County Council as a means to usurp the zoning process, Randy gets to do an end run around the process and look like a savior to the community he intends to trash before retiring to warmer climes…

If you want a quick primer on how an unholy alliance of developers, government and the press can hoodwink the citizens, check out these articles on the project, note the date of each and take note of what started as a few more houses and a few fields for sports teams became 19 houses and a major regional sports complex.

Start here:
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=806&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1087732&om=1
Then read this:
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=806&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1145581&om=1
And finally this:
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=806&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1202554&om=1


Further consideration and education leads me to believe that our Councilman has decided that tempering his preservationist ways will help secure a legacy he already had, at the expense of – well – the legacy he already had!
We are about to witness the political battle of the decade as far as the North County is concerned, now that the ire of the Freeland community has been stirred!