News from the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy

ESLC Partners with Chestertown, Kent County on Community-Based Vision for Smart Growth

Process will allow public to guide master plan for nearly 500 acres in northeastern part of town

Queenstown, Maryland, June 4, 2007 – Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) a private, nonprofit land conservation organization dedicated to the preservation of farmland and habitat and sound land use planning on the Eastern Shore announced today a formal partnership with Kent County and the town of Chestertown which aims to create a community visioning process for the use of nearly 500 acres in Northern Chestertown.

With the signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), ESLC, the county and the town will work together with citizens to determine a master plan for the property known as Hopewell Farm and Peterson Farm, to influence the future destiny of Chestertown.

“In a time when development in many areas does not display long term, comprehensive planning, this pilot project is an amazing opportunity for the community, planners and visionaries to determine the best use and infrastructure for a crucial area of Chestertown and Kent County,” said Roy W. Crow, President of the Kent County Commissioners.

The community visioning process, which will begin later this summer and be completed by early 2008, will allow Kent County and Chestertown as well as the public to work together to create a vision for the 496 acres. The Master Plan will incorporate concepts such as a permanent greenbelt for the northeastern edge of town, protection of riparian land and other sensitive natural features, public open space and a development design that is consistent with the scale, pace and character of Chestertown.

In 2006, Chestertown was approached by a developer requesting annexation of 600 acres of the property for development of over 1,500 units. It was later scaled down to 900 units with both proposals denied by the town. The MOA between ESLC, the county and town called for the process to determine the density of the project. ESLC would like to see a Master Plan reflecting density significantly below that requested by the developer.

“The recent spate of oversized annexations and the original proposal for over 1,500 units for this property make this an critical project for the future of Chestertown” said Rob Etgen, ESLC’s Executive Director. “Moderating the scale of annexations by our Eastern Shore towns is a key step to making sure that we manage growth effectively and keep our towns livable.”

ESLC will offer an open public meeting about the project in June and the public is strongly encouraged to take an active role in the community visioning process. Updates about the project, including a calendar of public visioning opportunities, will soon be available at www.eslc.org.

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