Project Status Update Oct 11

The developers continue to revise their Forest Conservation Plan (FCP) after the city Department of Neighborhoods and Environmental Programs (DNEP) sent it back in June with 17 major recommended revisions. There is no information about when the developer will submit their revised FCP. Once the city approves the FCP, the way will be clear for the developers to submit their full application for a development permit.

The appeal of the Forest Stand Delineation, which is part of the FCP, has been dismissed. Following the state Forest Conservation Act, a Forest Stand Delineation (FSD) identifies the natural features (forest stands, wetlands, streams, fragile soils, etc) which exist on the site prior to any development-related activities such as clearing. The FSD must be approved before a Forest Conservation Plan and site plan can be considered.
The city’s Building Board of Appeals (BBofA) determined that it was not appropriate for them to hear a review of the FSD since DNEP did not give its final approval of the FSD, even though a letter from DNEP to James Eagen of Crystal Spring Development, LLC states, “Thank you for the revisions to the Crystal Spring FSD as we requested in our March 15, 2013 letter. The Forest Stand Delineation is approved as revised.” According to DNEP, a final decision regarding adherence to the Forest Conservation Act ins’t made until “the Forest Conservation Plan, of which the FSD is a part, is approved. At that point a appeal can be filed and can include objections to the FSD.”
The Appellants, Friends of Crystal Spring Farms, Gerald Winegrad, et al., have the opportunity to appeal to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. No information about that appeal was available at the time of this update.