U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest joined yesterday with those supporting legislation that would limit the size of a 3,200-home golf resort planned near the entrance of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
"We have a juggernaut of developers seeing open space where they can develop houses," said Gilchrest, an Eastern Shore Republican. "Do we sit back passively so we can be consumed by more impervious surfaces and more landfills?"
Gilchrest spoke at a hearing in Annapolis on a bill sponsored by state Sen. James Brochin, a Baltimore County Democrat, that would prohibit construction in environmentally critical areas within 1,000 feet of rivers flowing into national wildlife refuges.
FOR THE RECORD - An article in the Feb. 15 editions of The Sun incorrectly reported Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s position on a proposal to prohibit construction in environmentally critical areas within 1,000 feet of rivers flowing into national wildlife refuges. The governor has not taken a position on the legislation, according to Henry Fawell, a spokesman.
The Sun regrets the errors.
The legislation is targeted primarily at the proposed $1 billion Blackwater Resort near Cambridge, which would include a golf course, conference center and retail complex on farmland and wetlands.
About a third of the 1,080-acre proposal is in a state "resource conservation area" that is within 1,000 feet of Little Blackwater River, which flows into the Blackwater refuge and the Chesapeake Bay.
Brochin's bill would not stop the project, but it would prohibit construction of the golf course. About 200 homes would have to be located farther from the water.
Versions of the bill have been endorsed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Waterkeepers Alliance and residents who oppose the growth.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has warned that the development could have "significant and long-lasting impacts" on Little Blackwater River and "affect our ability to restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay."
But Brochin's bill is opposed by Cambridge and Dorchester County elected officials, who argue that their community needs the growth and the millions of dollars of investment.
Also opposing the legislation are the Maryland Association of Realtors, the Maryland State Builders Association, and the state Critical Area Commission, a majority of whose members are appointed by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Martin Madden, chairman of the commission, which is charged with protecting environmentally sensitive areas around bay tributaries, said yesterday the legislation could have "unintended consequences."
Madden pointed out that along with the Blackwater refuge, the bill also would limit growth in many other areas. The bill would prohibit development near tributaries that flow into the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Kent County, Martin National Wildlife Refuge in Somerset County, Susquehanna National Wildlife Refuge in Harford County and the Patuxent Research Refuge in Anne Arundel County.
Henry Fawell, spokesman for the governor, said Ehrlich will not intervene to oppose the project and will not support Brochin's bill.
State Sen. Richard F. Colburn, a Dorchester County Republican, engaged in a sometimes bitter debate with Brochin.
Colburn said that Brochin should mind his own business in Baltimore County and not meddle in the affairs of local governments on the Eastern Shore. Brochin countered that the development is not a local issue because a national wildlife refuge could be endangered.
State Sen. Andrew P. Harris, a Baltimore County Republican, said the legislature has to be careful not to be unfair to the developer, Duane Zentgraf. "Is it fair to change the rules under which businessmen and businesswoman operate, without compensation?" Harris asked.
tom.pelton@baltsun.com
