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Apr. 7, 2011
By a vote of three to two, the Garrett County Planning Commission yesterday decided to proceed with the proposal of adding mountain ridgeline protection text to the county’s 2008 Comprehensive Plan.
The vote was as follows: “In Favor of the amendments” – Troy Ellington, Tony Doerr, and Bruce Swift; “against the amendments” – Tim Schwinabart and Gary Fratz. George Brady was in attendance and did not vote. Committee members Bill Weissgerber and Jeff Messenger were not in attendance.
The commission has forwarded its decision to the Garrett County commissioners. The final decision to proceed or not to proceed with amending the plan will be addressed by the commissioners during a public meeting on Tuesday, May 3, at 10 a.m. in their meeting room at the courthouse.
The commissioners and Planning Commission held a joint public hearing on the issue on March 8, so there is no requirement for them to hold another public hearing, county administrator Monty Pagenhardt noted.
The amendments would recognize ridgelines as sensitive areas in need of protection from development, including wind turbine construction. A sentence may also be deleted from the comprehensive plan that reads as follows: “The county further acknowledges property rights of the owners of land that is suitable for wind power facilities to use their property for that purpose.”
The plan is not a regulatory document, but it does suggest how the county should more forward with growth. If the commissioners adopt the amendments, corresponding ordinances will have to be drafted that would establish regulatory control of ridgetop development through subdivision, sensitive area, and, possibly, zoning controls. It would also have to be determined which specific ridgelines would be earmarked for protection.
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