La Plata, MD – At this point, Charles County citizens opposed to the proposed Watershed Conservation District (WCD) realize they are screaming into the maelstrom.
Even after a four-hour public hearing Wednesday, May 24, where opponents railed against it, the Charles County Commissioners appear prepared to pass the controversial measure into law. The amendment would place more than 37,000 acres on the western side of the county into protected status, limiting development to one house per 20 acres except in cases where a family could expand to 10-acre lots.
Environmentalists are praising the move, citing the need to protect the fragile Mattawoman Creek, claiming the fragile estuary—site of the lucrative Bassmasters tournament every year—is at a “tipping point.”
Opponents decry the measure, claiming such restrictions will affect the county’s tax base and devalue their land. They are also threatening to exact their revenge in the November 2018 election.
Jason Henry, a lifelong resident of Charles County from Indian Head, echoed the thoughts of many when he said, “If you want the land, pay for the land. Do what is right. The lack of transparency and respect shown to citizens of this county is shameful. The voters will remember this in the 2018 election.
“Clean house in 2018,” he added.
“We want to know how the down-zoning of all the acreage in the WCD will not have an adverse economic outcome to those citizens who own that land?” asked Brenda Bush of La Plata. “You have no right to take what is rightfully mine. The county is making an enormous mistake.”
Tom Desalba, a candidate for county commissioner in the last election, called the notion that Mattawoman Creek was at a tipping point, “Political rhetoric.
“This talk about tipping points is rhetoric, not science,” he asserted. “You should have taken it to referendum. Who do you think you are?”
Matt Wills of Bryantown called the proposal, “Over the top extremist zoning driven by some special interest groups, most of whom don’t even reside in the county.
“Federal, state and county laws already protect Mattawoman Creek,” he said. “Look at the people who oppose it. It’s over the top when the mayor of Indian Head [Brandon Paulin] and the town council oppose it. Two of your three state delegates oppose it. One of the most influential members of Maryland State senate, Mac Middleton opposes it. Edith Patterson opposes it. The NAACP opposes it. It’s over the top,” he asserted. “We can still file to put it to referendum, and Delegate Patterson is moving to address that issue with the state attorney general.”
William Dodson of Port Tobacco, who has spearheaded efforts to derail the measure, handing out signs that read “2018” before the hearing, said the commissioners’ efforts have “galvanized” citizenry.
“You’re pandering to radical environmentalists,” he charged. “You have told outright untruths. Nothing that we have said, the pandering, pleading, begging, has made no difference to you. There’s no truth and no transparency. We’re waiting for 2018. We’re done.”
The proposal did have its supporters, however. Besides the usual advocates, Joshua Coffman of Bryans Road owns 65 acres in the middle of the proposed WCD.
“I’m new to Charles County,” he said. “We moved here a little less than a year ago. Before that, we lived on Bear Branch in Laurel where we watched that community be completely destroyed by development. We watched the runoff turn most of it into a swamp. Dominion has proposed a sub-compressor station with two large smoke stacks spewing 28 tons of particulate into the surrounding environment.”
Deanna Wheeler, a school teacher from Nanjemoy, said that with unbridled development, the county has seen schools, “So overcrowded we have seven trailers. The average class size is between 28 and 31 students. If you want to talk about a tipping point, we’re beyond the tipping point with that. With the WCD, it would impact the development, which would also decrease overcrowding in our schools and give us time to catch up.”
The overall sentiment, however, leaned heavily against the measure.
“The Charles County Detention Center is only a mile from here,” said David Bassford of Marbury. “The inmates there, the only difference between them and you is that they are paying for their crimes and you’re about to.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com