Hearing displays split on Bowleys Quarters project

To its opponents, the proposed condominium project on the Bowleys Quarters waterfront would be a monstrosity, a blight on the landscape the size of the playing field at M&T Bank Stadium.

Its supporters, many of them of retirement age, enjoy the prospect of moving into the 36-unit building and enjoying the view of Galloway Creek - and leaving the yardwork to others.

A public hearing last night on the subject, held by the Baltimore County Planning Board, was a standing-room-only affair and amply illustrated the divergent views of residents of the eastern county peninsula. They have battled over the plan ever since Milt Rehbein, owner of the Galloway Creek Marina, proposed building the condo complex on the site more than two years ago.

Ron Walper, a Bowleys Quarters resident since 1980, told the board - which met in the County Council chambers to accommodate the crowd - that the three-story structure - 331 feet long and 88 feet wide - would be "compatible with our Wal-Mart and Target buildings," a far cry, he said, from the single-family homes and marinas that typify the area.

"Who will say enough is enough?" asked Walper, whose one-story house was destroyed by Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003 and who rebuilt on the same spot. "Will this planning board allow marinas to convert to high-density housing? I request that you do the right thing."

But many people - some of them residents of the area, some not - stood and said that the right thing would be to approve whatever variances Rehbein wants and get the complex built, a move they hope will boost property values in an area left devastated by Isabel.

"It's a viable, reasonable use for this community," said Richard Pitz, whose family has owned property in Bowleys Quarters for 70 years and who prompted a murmur of dissent from the crowd when he asserted that "all the neighbors are in support of this."

Undeterred, Pitz continued. "Developers are going to come down here," he said. "You're not going to stop them. We have to look for wise development."

Opponents are worried not just about the size of the building but that its approval could set a precedent for other marina owners to sell to developers, forever altering the atmosphere of a place that has more boatyards than traffic lights.

Current zoning for Rehbein's 2.5-acre property would allow 22 homes to be built there. To obtain approval for the larger complex, he applied for a "planned-unit development," or PUD, a designation that, while subjecting the plans to public hearings, eliminates certain zoning rules if the project is deemed a benefit to the community.

Based on the support of a residents' group called the Bowleys Quarters Improvement Association, Joseph Bartenfelder, the county councilman in whose district the peninsula lies, introduced the condo project as a PUD.

The looser designation infuriated other residents, who formed a second group, the Bowleys Quarters Community Association, specifically to wage war against the project and stop "potential unrestricted overdevelopment of the area," its Web site says.

Kim Sullivan, who said she is a fourth-generation Bowleys Quarters resident, told the planning board that she was one of 400 people who signed a petition against the project. She asked board members to consider the need to protect Chesapeake Bay waterfront areas, to "look at this structure in comparison to the existing homes" and to imagine "how you would have to handle this if it were thrust upon your community."

The proposal for the Rehbein property, currently used to repair and store sailboats, yachts and other vessels, calls for the removal of 151 boat slips, leaving 36 - one for each condo owner. A 12-acre lot across Burke Road, also owned by Rehbein and used for boat storage, would be converted to a "natural habitat" area, the proposal says.

"I know the developers, and I know they'll build a quality project," Zivah Ring, who lives 15 miles from Bowleys Quarters and plans to move into the condo building, said during a break in the meeting. "When you have something modern and new, you attract new people to the area."

The planning board has scheduled a vote on the project for Sept. 18.

Related topic galleries: M&T Bank Stadium, Bodies of Water, Chesapeake Bay, Local Authority, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Rivers, Retirement

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