Canavan, Duball LLC Jeered
at Emotional Planning Meeting

Residents close to Wildewood attended a St. Mary's Board meeting. 
ST. MARY'S TODAY

By Ahmar Khan
ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEONARDTOWN – One of the densest clusters of natural streams that lead into St. Mary’s River is situated is in the natural woodlands, now named Challenger Estates, but the Land Use and Growth Management is mum on what adverse impacts removing it would have on the crucial Upper St. Mary’s Watershed.
A map of the Resource Conservation Office shows the cluster of streams in the Wildewood area, raising questions if at all due diligence was taken in allowing the 125 units at the site.
“You should come to my backyard, mister,” Judy Donnelly screamed at LUGM Director Denis Canavan and broke into tears as Canavan defended delinquent Duball LLC and said everything was in order at the Challenger Estates subdivision, based on the nearly two decade old amended Wildewood PUD.
Donnelly was on vacations and upon return was shell-shocked to see her backyard completely denuded of 80-year-old trees. “It was like a moonscape for her,” said a neighbor, Luke Andrews.
Interestingly, county staff admit the development is in an ecologically senstive area.
As Canavan took the floor, large number of residents left the room on both days.
The new chair of the Planning Commission Stephen Reeves expressed concern on behalf of the affected neighbors. “It’s very traumatic for the residents. They are trying to clear everything,” Reeves told ST. MARY’S TODAY.
The natural woodland that is being decimated at Challenger Estates formed what is called the green “infrastructure”, according to the official Lexington Park Development District Master Plan. Two narrow green corridors cross St Andrews Church Road near Wildewood. “These corridors are important because without them hubs become isolated and especially the smaller hubs, become less able to ecologically self-sustaining,” the master plan reads.
At the Planning Commission update Duball LLC vice president Mike Wettengel, flanked by his boss Marc Dubick, tried to gloss over the situation and only addressed the Wildewood PUD in general terms. However, Planning Commission Susan McNeill specifically asked them what was going on at the Challenger Estates site.
On both days ,anxious resident overfilling the Room 14 at the governmental center jeered Canavan and Wettengel.
Wettengel and Dubick declined to answer questions of ST. MARY’S TODAY on what percentage of forests they intend to preserve at the so-called Challenger Estates.
Wettengel said Duball LLC would not be going for burning the trees though it can do so legally and that timber was being harvested. Making a swipe, Wettengel said some of the timber at Challenger Estates might end up at Commissioner Larry Jarboe’s (R Golden Beach) mill.
The 73.8 square mile St. Mary’s River watershed area has more than 100 miles of streams in 16 sub-watersheds that drain into the St. Mary’s River before the river becomes tidal
LUGM’s Jeffrey Jackman confirmed the woodlands at Challenger Commons was part of the green infrastructure but said in the absence of a regulatory program the developer can only be requested voluntary participation.
“This is fuzzy to the previously approved PUD,” Jackman said. “This (green infrastructure protection) did not seem to come into play at time the PUD was approved. That was in the earlier stage of the game,” he added.
The mission statement of the LUGM explicitly states the department is responsible to protect the natural environment and guide the orderly growth of the County, but in the case of Challenger Estates, the department seems to have abjectly failed to meet its stated objective.
At Wednesday’s follow up meeting, Canavan admitted the notification process to owners whose property abut major subdivisions needs to be changed as most them felt they were kept in the dark.
The Planning Commission update on Wildewood PUD and Wednesday’s meeting brought to the fore the fact that the 125 units at Challenger Estates has so far not been approved by the St. Mary’s Board of County Commissioners. However, the county staff informed the concerned residents the commissioners can do precious little as the Wildewood PUD was granted approval many years ago.
Many new changes in the Forest Conservation laws would not be applicable to the site, LUGM officials contend.
Planning Commission member Merl Evans, who is running for county president, invited the public wrath when he asked loaded questions to Canavan to persuade residents about the property rights of the developer.
“He should resign,” angry resident Mary Broadhurst said. She said she believed Evans was using his position as Planning Commission member to exploit the plight of the beleaguered residents to boost his campaign.
On Wednesday, Canavan assured residents he would hold talks with Lincoln Property Company to change the design to address concerns of the adjoining property owners.
Notwithstanding the high adverse impacts on the ecology, Canavan and Wettengel did not appear to make even a minimum commitment to preserve the 50-ft natural vegetation buffer most residents want.
“A road is not a buffer,” Broadhurst insisted.
The St. Mary’s County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance effective describes “Buffer, Critical Area” as a naturally vegetated area established or managed to protect, aquatic, wetland, shoreline, and terrestrial environmental from man-made disturbances.
It also describes a “Buffer” as a strip or area of land, identified on a site or in a zoning ordnance, established to separate one type of land use from another land use. Normally, the area is landscaped or kept in open space use.
Residents felt it was a white lie when Wettengel said Challenger Estates would add their property values.
Resident Luke Andrews said his house itself was face the densest part of the development. “All the traffic will be facing us,” he pointed at the developer’s blueprint. “You can not look at the noise,” Canavan told him curtly.
Other residents lamented the developers were trying to pluck off the trees as fast as possible. “I heard the tractors on Saturday. They are trying to get all these trees out before anyone can stop them,” said Donna Granger, a resident of Louisdale Road. She said the community at Wildewood has been a family community where the neighbors took pains to know each other and form family friendships but all that was now being sacrificed at the altar of the developers’ lust.
Wettengel was sounding paternalistic even towards the planning commission members. “That’s a very good question,” he told Susan McNeill twice.
“Maybe you could help me,” Wettengel responded to a query from Broadhurst, when she asked if the Challenger Estates has got some kind of a Congressional funding for Navy housing. Wettengel’s wife Teena Wettengel works for the Department of Defense.
“Rather than being a God-made forest, it would be a man-made garden,” Reeves said.
He said the people are frustrated why the developers should go to the very edge of their property. “The trees have been there for 30, or 40 or maybe hundred years,” he said.
At Wednesday’s meeting Wettengel tried to pass the buck on to the Navy and the Lincoln Property Company, saying Duball LLC was only doing what the two entities had asked them to do so.
Mary Ruth Horton, appearing as a citizen, made an impassioned appeal to the developer to behave as good neighbors and provide some relief to the adjoining property owners. She said the original developer was very conscious about the issues.
“We just don’t understand the terminology,” she said about the presentation made by Wettengel and county staff.
Horton wanted to know when the approvals for the massive development was granted and Luke Andrews said if Horton, who as chair ofthe Office on Aging is a regular at the Governmental Center, did not know anything about the project how could the other residents possibly know anything about it.
“Even now we cant’ get out of the St. Andrews Church road. Will route 4 be able to handle all the traffic?” Horton, who seemed careworn, asked.
Canavan said a signal’s system would be installed that would ease the traffic situation but his explanation was jeered by the residents.
Horton said everybody knows navy personnel have various working hours. “This means there will be traffic all times of the day,” the senior resident said.
“We understand these are business decisions,” she said, adding though Duball LLC may have the legal right to do what they want to do but questioned the morality of plucking off the lush green trees.
Broadhurst spoke in the manner of a lawyer. She said the buffer is really a problem as the developer was talking about a 50-ft buffer, which includes a 30-ft wide road. “A road is a structure. The Webster dictionary describes it as a work of civil engineering,” she said.
She said when she would peek out of her bedroom window all she would be able to see would be garages. “It’s so invasive,” she said.
She said Challenger Estates would bring down the quality of life of the people of the area. “The development is in the headwaters of St. Mary’s River. We will end up without it,” she warned, calling for re-evaluation of the Wildewood PUD.
Canavan blamed grading without permit and excessive clear-cutting the work of an energetic contractor. “You have to clear lands,” Canavan said, admitting that he too did not belong to the county and at first had a hard time understanding the issues.
He said Duball LLC was in compliance with the original Wildewood PUD.
Evans faulted Duball LLC for not taking the neighbors into confidence about their plans and denied he was hand in gloves with the developer.
“All we are facing is a brick-wall.,” Horton told the Wednesday meeting.
Evans said it seemed as if history is repeating itself as St. Andrews Estates residents were protesting Challenger Estates, but when St. Andrews Estates was coming up there were similar concerns. But one resident corrected him and said that St. Andrews Estates development was not as massive nor as rapid as Challenger Estates. “That was done in increments,” said Eilene Hishop.