Yesterday afternoon the Maryland Department of Environment published a decision that validates the near-universal call from citizens of Talbot County: RESET LAKESIDE!
POINT #1: The Developer DID get its long-awaited discharge permit for the new Lakeside sewer plant—a legal prerequisite for further development–to be built on the east side of Route 50 at the headwaters of pristine Miles Creek.
POINT #2: That MDE permit (actually a “final determination,” here) is for a 100,ooo gallon-per-day plant–less than 20% of the 540,000 gallons-per-day capacity the Developer assured Talbot County was the basis for the approval granted by the Council under Resolution 281 in 2020.
There you have it: the foundation for the County’s approval of Lakeside (flawed and inadequate as it was) just fell away. Kaput. Gone. Adios.
Consequently, Talbot County finds itself sitting with hundreds of acres of land legally designated as IMMEDIATE PRIORITY for development (and intended for high density residential, no less), but which has no sewer service at all. And MDE has just announced it will not be granted capacity as matters stand. So, what’s wrong with that picture??? Everything.
A year ago, our Planning Commission found Lakeside “inconsistent” with the Talbot County Comprehensive Plan, for other reasons completely (Lakeside adding pollution into La Trappe Creek). But had it known that the project would not get an MDE permit for the sewer capacity as the Developer represented, do you think the Commission would have designated the entire northern half of Lakeside for “immediate development” in the first place? Of course not.
Even the County Council majority, led by President Chuck Callahan–an outspoken supporter of Lakeside and provider of the key vote in March— likely would not have approved Resolution 281 had he known the promised MDE permit was not forthcoming.
Now, we must elect to the County Council candidates who will complete the job, who will adopt a resolution backing the Planning Commission and requiring Lakeside to be brought back for consideration anew. We still have to discuss, for the first time ever, schools and traffic and public safety—and whose tax money is going to pay for all that.
But now the developer has one more item to explain: Why would “immediate priority” be appropriate for a huge swath of land that has no sewer service?
And folks, YOU get the credit for MDE gutting Lakeside’s plan for sewer service. Exactly a year ago today, about two hundred citizens filled the Talbot County Community Center on Route 50 to object to MDE’s grant of a spray irrigation permit that would have allowed, on many days, up to 1.5 million gallons of treated sewage effluent to be sprayed on fields at the headwaters of Miles Creek, that genuinely pristine tributary of the Choptank. Not a soul spoke in favor. So many were articulate on differing points, each in their own way. Written comments of real impact were also submitted by experts and scientists, including those from ShoreRivers and Chesapeake Bay Foundation and elsewhere.
And—who knew—MDE responded. It took a year, but here we are.
The new Talbot County Council needs to finish the job. Vote for TIP endorsed candidates, Republican or Democrat, who have committed to “hit the reset button:” Lesher, Dappert, Haythe, Jackson, Kane, Mielke, Montgomery.
Go to ResetLakeside.org for more information.
Dan Watson
The Talbot Integrity Project
Easton
Eva M. Smorzaniuk MD says
Again thank you Dan for spearheading this effort but also recognizing that voters can have impact when they act together! We can still change the course of this monstrous assault on the well being of Talbot County by voting for the right people for Talbot County Council, and continuing to voice our opinion to them and MDE.
douglas firth says
Thanks for all of your efforts Dan. While the MDE took a long time, it is clear they realized they were misled and are trying to reset. You have been tireless in your efforts to fight for protecting our county. For 20 years people have debated this issue but many, myself included, believed this could never happen to Trappe and we were complacent. Now it is not only Trappe being threatened! Now our beloved county has 2-4 major developments looming on the horizon which have numerous dire consequences for our roads, schools, environment, and overall quality of life. Many people moved here to get away from all of the problems that over-building causes. It’s time to vote for a New and Improved Talbot County Council to prevent this from happening. The only way to prevent over-building is to elect those individuals who are going to welcome smart (not destructive or environmentally harmful) growth. Voters have power. USE IT TO STOP THIS INSANITY! This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue for all of us who live here and want to protect our beautiful county. Vote for Lesher, Dappert, Haythe, Jackson, Kane, Mielke, and/or Montgomery.
Jerry McConnell says
Pretty work. Congratulations. Some sort of celebration is really in order.
Maybe now Mr Callahan can muster up Bob Rauch and some other cronies to figure out how to make 300,000 gallons of sewage evaporate. Then, we can all pitch in together and finance a mile long overpass to carry Rt 50 safely over the one stoplight, two gas station, three vegetable stand Trappe metro area.
Carol Voyles says
Might we consider it ironic that a majority born-here county council approved an unprecedented level of development for Talbot County?
Reed Fawell 3 says
This MDE decision on Lakeside’s sewer wastewater raises a host of questions pertinent to Lakeside’s future on the basis of wastewater alone. But that issue, with its attendant complexities and problems, are only the beginning of the many problems and issues that Lakeside’s future development portends for Trappe, Talbot County and the entire region that encompasses the entire Chesapeake Bay and Delmarva Peninsula.
For example, here’s another big question: Does the site plan for Lakeside meet these requirements of its approved PUD? Consider this quote taken directly from the Introduction to Lakeside’s PUD:
“Lakeside, Planned Neighborhood District, Design Guidelines
INTRODUCTION
Intent
The Town of Trappe established the Planned Neighborhood (“PN”) District to permit master planned, mixed-use developments in areas designated appropriate for such by the Comprehensive Plan. The Town seeks to promote and control new development as an extension of the Town, such that new development will be conceived and built as a natural extension of and with respect for the Town’s urban fabric, scale, and historic and architectural character.
The Lakeside (formerly “Trappe East”) Master Plan envisions a pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use development where streets, open spaces, buildings, and uses support a neighborhood and community-oriented quality-of-life typical of small towns and villages. These Lakeside Planned Neighborhood District Design Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as the “Design Guidelines”) serve to define these physical and visual characteristics of Lakeside and articulate the design criteria and methods appropriate to implement the Master Plan and Town’s vision for a walkable, mixed-use community.
The Design Guidelines establish principles for land development in order to, among other items:
1. Preserve and extend the Town’s historic character through the design and placement of new buildings and public spaces.
2. Create high-quality street spaces by using buildings to form a pleasant, convenient and safe environment designed for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.
3. Enhance the viability of local businesses and reduce car travel demand by focusing growth in appropriate locations.
4. Provide guidance to property owners and occupants about considerations that influence what may be built on their land or their neighbor’s property, while allowing flexibility for developer and builder implementation to accommodate a market-driven mixture of land uses and housing options.”
End of Quote.
Now, please compare those words in the PUD to the site plan attached to the PUD and ask yourself if:
Lakeside, as site-planned, is in violation of and contrary to its own PUD.
And if instead, Lakeside is little more an 1950’s style massive single use residential subdivision modeled after the Levittowns built in New York and Pennsylvania in the 1940s and 1950s, with regional shopping center attached, except only that these Levittowns had significantly more interior amenities than Lakeside. And also had far better on-site and off-site public infrastructure than Lakeside, including roads, mass transit, sewage, schools, and public services and facilities of all sorts.
And also note that these Levittowns were NOT built on lands, and within a village, that were within an environmentally, socially, and historically fragile location of regional and national importance.
And, if the foregoing questions be answered ‘yes’, why does Lakeside as site planned not violate its own PUD as well as The Comprehensive Plans of the town of Trappe and Talbot County as well as the “smart growth” and environmental laws of the Maryland Code, and it’s state’s regulations?