Published: November 06, 2007 11:54 am      

LaVale residents protest region plan

More than two dozen voice concerns at county planning, zoning work session

CUMBERLAND - A number of Allegany County Planning and Zoning Commission members balked at what they felt amounted to an 11th-hour effort to undermine a two-year process regarding the LaVale Region Plan.

More than two dozen LaVale-area residents protested the comprehensive plan during a work session for the Allegany County Planning and Zoning Commission.

The plan redefines land use in an area roughly 18,000 acres in size north to south from the Pennsylvania line to a point near Cresaptown and from Dan's Mountain to Haystack Mountain.

The commission approved the plan, with changes, at its Oct. 17 business meeting and forwarded the plan to the county commissioners for consideration. The commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on the matter at 1 p.m. Dec. 6.

"I'm very much not in favor of readdressing" the plan at this stage, said Planning Commissioner Bill Duvall. "At this time I don't see the logic in changing the LaVale comprehensive plan."

Fellow Commissioner Ted Robinette and Commission President Bill Davis agreed with Duvall.

"The plan's moved forward," Davis said. "Our work's done."

Robinette didn't feel it was appropriate to hold up the issue any longer and preferred the county commissioners to have their chance to consider the issue.

"If we change this little piece, (residents) will be here wanting to change several things," said Robinette, adding that Oct. 17 "was the final fix right now."

A major change made Oct. 17 included modifying the language regarding future residential development. The original plan had strong language against such development. The amendment suggests that future residential development be encouraged in appropriately designated areas.

But Chaz Beadling, speaking for the Garden City Homeowners Association, said they only recently learned of the plan and "are trying to play catch-up."

Despite the delay, he said his group's concerns are valid. Beadling, who lives on Old Cresaptown Road, said Garden City - located off Craddock Road - should be designated Low Residential instead of Medium Residential, as it is labeled under the LaVale Region Plan.

Beadling said his group was concerned about the "texture and character of our neighborhood" and that the current average lot size is roughly 0.9 acres. Medium Residential designation would allow just one unit per 0.7 acres - a significant, big picture change, he said.

George Keidel, along with Clement, John, Donald and Ferman Helmstetter, each own a portion of the old Helmstetter farm along Cash Valley Road.

Keidel was concerned that accepting the plan in its current form limits development rights - and possible future financial advantages. Part of the original Helmstetter farm is designated Rural Preservation - which prohibits development. A small portion is labeled Agriculture, which allows for minimal residential development.

"That property is very valuable both financially and sentimentally," said Ferman Helmstetter. "We are protecting our interests and we want to ensure our way of life."

He said the Helmstetters have preserved the area on their own and limited development - albeit at their own discretion.

The idea that some late changes were made - without prior public notice - irked more than one group of residents, including the League of Women Voters of Allegany County and Citizens for Smart Growth in Allegany County.

Both organizations questioned last-minute changes presented and approved on Oct. 17. Both indicated the desire for more time to allow for more public input.

Donald Malaney, chairman of the Allegany County Forestry Board, addressed a letter dated Nov. 1 to the planning commission, county commissioners and Phil Hager, county planning coordinator. The board had previously endorsed the plan in its original version.

In the letter, Malaney said another hearing is needed "as significant last-minute changes were made" that "radically altered the plan."

"This plan is not the one that the Forestry Board had endorsed," Malaney wrote. "These changes challenge the overall credibility of the public participation process."

Hager noted both Beadling's concerns as well as those of the farming families were valid.

But Hager also pointed out the nearly two-year process the LaVale Region Plan took - and is still taking, as it has yet to be adopted by the county commissioners - and the countless personal meetings at residents' homes, work sessions and public meetings county staff and the planning commission has conducted during that time.

The county commissioners have essentially three options, Hager and Wesley McKee, commission attorney, said. They could refer the matter back to Planning and Zoning, approve the plan with amendments or consider the plan in its current shape along with a recommendation, if requested, from the Planning Commission.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.