In the fight for a healthier community and Chesapeake Bay, advocates have taken legal action against Kent Island’s Chesterhaven Beach residential development project. On August 8, Kent Island residents, with support from Queen Anne’s Conservation Association (QACA), Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), and Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, filed a petition for judicial review in Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court regarding a recent County Board of Commissioners decision to designate sensitive land as a growth area for the Chesterhaven Beach project. An Application for Appeal was also filed with the County Board of Appeals objecting to the County’s action.
On July 9, County Commissioners voted to allow major residential development on 100 acres of waterfront land, much of which is in Maryland’s sensitive Critical Area. Passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 1984, the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area law protects land within 1,000 feet of high tide or tidal wetlands to minimize the negative impacts of new development on Bay water quality, habitat, and wildlife. The Chesterhaven Beach property includes 1.6 miles of vulnerable and ecologically important shoreline on the Chester River and Piney Creek.
The County’s decision undermines Maryland’s Critical Area law by circumventing requirements to obtain local and state land use change approvals known as growth allocation. It also sidesteps requirements in state law related to designating growth areas in local comprehensive plans.
Neighbors of the property, as well as environmental advocates in the Kent Island community, have voiced major opposition to the project. Not only is the project located in the sensitive Critical Area, but the ecosystem of forests, marshes, and wetlands where the development is proposed support wildlife, are important natural water quality filters, and are vital to Maryland’s resilience against flooding and climate change. Major conservation investments have been made near the property including oyster restoration and preservation and stewardship of the Piney Creek Wetland Preserve.
Development of Chesterhaven Beach runs counter to ongoing conservation in Queen Anne’s County, which recently reported 43 percent of farmland as permanently protected from development. The County Circuit Court and Board of Appeals are requested to review the petition and appeal application and consider the project’s compliance with all applicable laws.
CBF Maryland Advocacy Director, Alan Girard, issued the following statement:
“We can’t just ignore environmental law in the name of ‘growth.’
“The Queen Anne’s County Board of Commissioners is trying to go around Maryland’s Critical Area law by changing their Comprehensive Plan and allowing a 90-unit residential subdivision on extremely environmentally sensitive land. It would be devasting to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem if this decision is upheld. The decision runs counter to state and local law, as well as major land preservation milestones recently celebrated by County leaders. It could also be precedent setting for other Maryland jurisdictions looking to grow development in tidal areas.
“In their review, we hope Queen Anne’s County’s Circuit Court and County Board of Appeals agree that the approval of the Chesterhaven Beach development is, in fact, against the law and must not prevail.”
