FORT HOWARD, Md. — Fort Howard residents are raising alarms over potential development at a former veterans medical center at the end of their community, fearing an influx of housing units, retail space, and increased traffic could overwhelm the area's infrastructure.
County Council candidate Tim Fazenbaker said the community's concerns are significant.
"They are afraid that they're going to be having thousands of units, houses, dwellings coming down here with high rises, shopping and things like that, and this is not the town that can handle that infrastructure wise," Fazenbaker said.
Residents have seen renderings online of apartments and retail space tied to the property. Architecture firm Fillat states on its website: "The project concept provides a vibrant living community for an aging veteran population."
"The people have spoken down here and the general consensus is they want nothing down here except veteran use. They don't want residential use. They don't want more homes. We have overcrowding in our schools. Our streets are terrible," Fazenbaker said.
State Senator Johnny Ray Salling and Delegate Ric Metzgar held a press conference to address the community's concerns, confirming that someone leasing the land from the Veterans Administration has expressed a desire to develop the property. The lawmakers outlined what would need to happen before any development could move forward.
"There's nine historical houses still remaining on the property. The Veterans Administration, and they're deemed through the Maryland historical trust so they have to be put back together and the ground has to be taken care of before any of that. Ladies and gentlemen, we're not talking development and cranes coming down the next 90 days," Metzgar said.
Metzgar and Salling added that the developer has confirmed it wants community input in the process.
"I'm gonna stress this as the delegate would, we need community input, we need those meetings so they can have a part of the say and the emphasis, just to let you know, always has been what can we do for our veterans," Salling said.
Residents are also concerned that an amendment to legislation passed during the 2024 session could allow development at Fort Howard without typical local oversight.
"The issues that we're having is House Bill 538, which overrides county councilman courtesy in a sense. They now can theoretically come in and just take it and develop 104 units per acre down here," Fazenbaker said.
The lawmakers disputed that characterization, saying county council input would still be required, along with cooperation from the federal government.
"Projects still apply through the county's development process to the state has no role in determining whether the project is qualified or approved," Metzgar said.
A community meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday to discuss the potential development.
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