The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is taking a stand against the first major development project planned for the city’s airport overlay zone.
Mark Baker, AOPA president, submitted a letter to the mayor and Board of Aldermen in mid-August outlining his objections to changing the zoning of the Renn Farm.
The AOPA supports keeping the area zoned light industrial, but the proposed development requires mixed-use zoning to accommodate its residential component.
The correspondence suggested that a zoning change may threaten federal grant funding at the airport because the FAA requires grant applicants to “zone and use other measures to restrict the use of land in the vicinity of the airport to activities and purposes compatible with normal aircraft operations.”
“The property is developed in such proximity to the airport that if you put residential property there it is a precursor to noise complaints at the airport,” said Adam Williams, AOPA manager for airport policy. “The place to put a stop to that slippery slope is at this stage.”
The airport relies heavily on federal funding for eligible projects. For example, the FAA provides 90 percent of the funding for runway extension.
An FAA spokeswoman said she was aware of the Renn Farm project but could not comment specifically about how it might affect the agency’s ability to provide grant funding to the airport.
“The FAA also requires an airport sponsor to control land use adjacent to the airport when possible,” spokeswoman Arlene Salac wrote in an email. “The FAA also evaluates ... airports’ compliance with grant assurances associated with land use issues.”
Push for progress
The Renn Farm development, as proposed by developer Matan Cos., calls for 1,050 multifamily buildings, town houses, cottages and houses, along with 105,000 square feet of nonresidential use and 24.1 acres of dedicated parkland.
Because the development is in the airport overlay zone, anything built over 100 feet tall would be subject to FAA evaluation.
Concerns raised by Airport Commission members and the AOPA target the residential portion of the development specifically. But several market studies and analyses of the future opportunities for residential and nonresidential development of the land indicated that development of the 200-acre site could include more than the exclusively industrial business permitted under its current zoning, according to Karl Morris, director of development for Matan Cos.
“The studies on the property indicated that mixed-use was the best use for the property versus industrial uses, and therefore creates an opportunity to produce a mixed-use traditional neighborhood design,” Morris wrote in an email.
Project plans — residential use included — also fit with the development plans outlined by East Frederick Rising in its 2011 vision plan, Morris wrote.
Matan’s proposal includes less dense residential development of the property than the vision plan outlined, according to state Sen. Ron Young, an East Frederick Rising board member. In the five years since the plan was published, Young said he hadn’t heard any objections to residential development on the farm.
“This is kind of coming out of left field,” he said of the recent concerns voiced by airport groups.
As the volunteer group begins anew its efforts to bring development to the east side of the city, Young said setbacks to the Renn Farm project could paralyze efforts across the region.
“It would devastate it,” Young said of the possibility that the mayor and aldermen vote against the rezoning request and site plans. “It would have a lot of impacts on the whole area that I don’t think would be good.”
Competing interests
The final vote on the requested rezoning and site plans is scheduled for a city meeting on Sept. 17. The meeting will include opportunity for residents to give feedback and discussion among city officials before they vote.
Several aldermen expressed concern at an August workshop meeting about the potentially negative consequences of building houses and town houses so close to the airport.
Alderman Michael O’Connor said last week that he was still weighing the advantages and possible downsides to the project.
O’Connor said the best solution would be to craft rezoning requirements that would allow the project to move forward while establishing protections for the airport and future residents.
“If I’m going to vote to rezone, I have to believe those protections are adequate,” he said.
Alderman Phil Dacey, though, said he didn’t want to do anything that would derail the project from moving forward.
“I think the project Matan has put together will be a really positive thing for the city,” he said. “I’m still hopeful we can work out a solution that will satisfy everybody.”
Just the Facts
Location: 200 acres in east Frederick
Developer: Matan Cos.
Zoning: Currently zoned for light industrial use with request to rezone to the mixed-use floating district, also part of airport overlay zone
Mixed-use development details: 1,050 multifamily buildings, town houses, cottages and houses; 105,000 square feet of nonresidential space and 24.1 acres of dedicated city parkland
Infrastructure: Developer has agreed to enter an agreement with the city for infrastructure improvements along Monocacy Boulevard from Hughes Ford Road to East Patrick Street, along with contributions to several capital improvement program and escrow-funded projects on these roads and intersections.
Parks and recreation: A 73-acre flood plain dedicated as city parkland, well above the requirement under the city's land management code for mixed-use development and an agreement to construct a trail connecting shared-use paths along Carroll Creek and Monocacy Boulevard.
Next steps: Either continued discussion second city workshop or part of an upcoming public hearing and vote by city aldermen.
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