Aug 24, 2007 7:31 pm US/Eastern
Court Of Appeals To Hear Terrapin Run Dispute
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ―
Maryland's highest court will hear in December a dispute over a 4,300-unit planned community near the Green Ridge State Forest in rural western Maryland.
In documents filed Wednesday, the Court of Appeals agreed to hear Trail v. Terrapin Run, a disagreement over how closely a proposed land use must hew to a county's comprehensive plan.
Opponents of the development planned by PDC Inc. of Columbia appealed to the high court after the Court of Special Appeals ruled in April that the Allegany County Board of Zoning Appeals acted appropriately in declaring the project "in harmony with" the county's comprehensive plan in 2005.
The Court of Special Appeals ruling overturned a 2006 Allegany County Circuit Court decision that the zoning panel should have applied a higher standard of whether the land use was "consistent with" the plan.
Opponents maintain that the bar should be set even higher by requiring "conformance" with the comprehensive plan. They also argue that the development would jeopardize water supplies, stream quality and the area's rural character.
The Court of Appeals also granted motions by state Department of Planning and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to participate in support of the project's opponents.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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