Reported Wednesday in the Calvert Recorder, the Calvert County Economic Development Commission officials (vice chairman, Ed Baddour) desire to construct a new business park in northern Calvert County. This proposal is exactly the type of effort that would harm the rural environment continuously defended since 1983, with the inception of the Dunkirk Area Concerned Citizens Association (DACCA). Citizens need to remember that businessmen with connections to the real estate and developer community may not always have in mind the best interest of the Dunkirk citizens.
DACCA has long supported reasonable efforts to bring high-quality, high-wage jobs to Calvert. The level of reasonableness was identified just last year when the voters of Calvert County made it clear they opposed the forces of rampant development who claimed they wanted to bring more jobs to Calvert County. That vision of increased development, new business parks, and increased residential development is not the vision the voters supported. A quick review of today’s statements and their meaning shows the true intent behind this latest assault to rural living.
Statement:
“Baddour’s vision for the county includes a new business park for Calvert County north of Huntingtown.”
Meaning:
Business Park in Owings or Dunkirk area (north of Lower Marlboro Road and west of Route 2).
Statement:
“To build the business park, the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners would have to rezone land to expand the amount of light industrial land, Baddour said.”
Meaning:
Public Water and Sewer would become required for Dunkirk.
Statement:
‘‘We would like the county’s support on it,” he said.
Meaning:
Rewrite the Zoning Ordinances beginning with the scheduled upcoming rewrite of the Dunkirk Town Center Master Plan.
Should the existing Dunkirk Town Center (where commercial developments may occur) be unable to accommodate such a business park, then one should not be placed in or near Dunkirk. Already, the boundary of the town center is larger than it should be. Even as far back as 1996, when surveyed, over 97% of the DACCA members disapproved expanding the town center boundaries.
It is not enough that a similar project in Lusby (Patuxent Business Park) is not successful. It’s a $2.5 million failure, yet these forces want to impose another such complex upon northern Calvert. DACCA has a great deal of concern that the primary goal of these forces is to attack Dunkirk with their sprawl objectives.
Realistically, these business parks (similar to those in Chantilly, VA and Columbia, MD and many other high density areas) serve well because they are in close proximity to particular customers (often the federal government). It would appear that high tech businesses near the Patuxent Naval Air Station have located nearby in Lexington Park (which appears these days to be quite a growing city). Who needs a 700,000 square foot 90 plus acre Business Park? Look around, no such large customer resides near Dunkirk and that’s just fine with us.
Our county is the smallest in Maryland (land area with 213 square miles). It is home to over 88,000 people and has one of the highest standards of living in Maryland. There are mo