CBF plays critical role in thwarting project; state agrees to permanently protect 70% of property
CBF’s effort to stop the proposed mega-development in Dorchester County, MD known as Blackwater Resorts appears to have been successful. The state announced today that it has brokered an agreement with the developer that will ensure 70 percent of the 1,080 acres is permanently protected and the rest of the parcel will be retained by the developer.
“We are grateful for the local opposition leaders who, for three years, steadfastly stood against this project,” said Kim Coble, MD Executive Director. “We also thank our members in Maryland and throughout the region for their strong support of our efforts, the thousands of people that signed our petition and who responded to action alerts, and the hundreds of citizens who wrote letters to the editor, called their elected officials and turned out at all the hearings and town hall meetings. Their efforts have been rewarded.”
Although CBF was not permitted to review the final agreement, we, in partnership with the local opposition leaders, had a significant role in derailing the proposed mega-development and bringing about the resolution. While we preferred the state purchase the entire site, we are pleased that the Governor listened to the 35,000 petition signers urging the state to get involved and find a solution - an alternative to the construction of 3,200 homes on farm fields far from the town center.
It is our understanding that the state will use Program Open Space funds to purchase approximately 750 acres and the developer will retain about 330 acres in the area closest to the City of Cambridge.
“We hope today marks a tipping point in how we choose to grow in Maryland and indeed the entire Chesapeake Bay region. Poorly managed development must become a thing of the past if we are to succeed in saving the Bay,” said CBF President Will Baker.
For the past year, CBF strongly advocated at the local and state levels that the proposed 3,200-home development was the wrong project in the wrong place. Of particular concern was the prospect of building a golf course, commercial buildings, a hotel and other structures within the critical area along the Little Blackwater River. Another major issue was the threat of pollutants and sediment in stormwater runoff from the proposed development, which could imperil the Little Blackwater River and the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge.
These issues remain a potential problem with any development proposed for this site. It is our strong hope that the state has ensured that there will be no building within the critical area, and that any stormwater from development outside the critical area will be treated with state-of-the-art technology to ensure it will not pollute the river and the refuge.
CBF will continue to keep a watchful eye on the project to ensure our natural resources are protected and our goal of saving the Bay is met.
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