COPT Out
Community Glade Valley headline
February 24, 2015 February 24, 2015 Michael Kuster	City of Frederick, development, environment, growth, Monocacy River, Planning, Walkersville
This story has been revised to reflect breaking developments. We hoped to encourage residents to attend a planned MDE meeting. The Frederick News Post reports that Corporate Office Properties Trust withdrew its application to build on the forty acres which was recently annexed by the City of Frederick. Therefore, the meeting has been cancelled.
Corporate Office Properties Trust submitted an application with the Maryland Department of the Environment to fill-in forty acres of floodplain on a Glade Valley farm of historic value. The property, recently annexed by The City of Frederick, sits at the corner of U.S. 15 and Biggs Ford Road. The property also runs along the Monocacy River, the source of constant flooding on the property.
The developers planned to fill-in the property to prevent flooding. Afterward, they planned to build six five-story commercial buildings on the property. MDE had not scheduled any meetings with the community and planned to only send informational letters to adjoining properties.
According to opposition of the project, the environmental effects of such would have caused flooding to move to other areas along the Monocacy River. The loss of agricultural land and a natural resource to catch flood waters would cause problems for the county. The added traffic at an already dangerous intersection also caused concern for those opposed.
Suzan Thompson, of Walkersville, rallied opposition to the plan and pleaded for a public hearing. She organized banners to be placed along Biggs Ford Road near the property, wrote to local media (including GladeValley.net), and created a Facebook page.
In response to Mrs. Thompson's efforts and those of other concerned citizens, MDE scheduled a hearing on March 3rd at the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company.
That meeting has been cancelled as COPT withdrew its application.
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