Doughoregan Manor

A man who lives on the eastern edge of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City has filed a circuit court appeal of Howard County rezoning to allow development of hundreds of new homes — a key part of a plan that allows some development in order to preserve the rest of the property. The Carroll family, descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, wants to develop part of the 892-acre property to raise money for restoration and maintenance of the estate that once comprised more than 10,000 acres, while keeping it in family hands.

It is well known that Ellicott City is home to Doughoregan Manor, the ancestral home of Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Last week, I learned that four of Carroll's granddaughters — Marianne, Bess, Louisa and Emily Caton — made their own mark on our county and the world. Martha Clark, of Clark Elioak Farm, hosted a book party for British author Jehanne Wake who wrote "Sisters of Fortune: America's Caton Sisters at Home and Abroad.

The Howard County Council will decide next month on a proposal that would add 500 acres to the county's Agricultural Preservation Program. While such issues are rarely controversial, neighbors of this Ellicott City property are asking officials to wait. Council members heard more testimony Monday on contentious land-use issues that are pitting neighbors against the owners of Doughoregan Manor, who want to preserve more than half the 892-acre estate and develop a portion of it. Funds from preservation easements and development revenues would allow the Carrolls, who are descendants of one of Maryland's founding families, to restore their historic estate.

A man who lives on the eastern edge of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City has filed a circuit court appeal of Howard County rezoning to allow development of hundreds of new homes — a key part of a plan that allows some development in order to preserve the rest of the property. The Carroll family, descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, wants to develop part of the 892-acre property to raise money for restoration and maintenance of the estate that once comprised more than 10,000 acres, while keeping it in family hands.

Philip Carroll, the 86-year-old patriarch of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City, died Saturday and was buried Tuesday at what was called a simple graveside service for fewer than two dozen people at the nearly three-century-old Carroll family estate. Mr. Carroll was a direct descendent of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Philip Carroll led a famously private family and had worked for years to keep the public away from the remaining 892 acres of a farm that was once more than 10,000 acres.

From wineries to windmills, the Howard County Council undertook to vote on a long list of big bills Thursday before starting the group's annual August recess. But one measure wasn't quite ripe, as it turned out. The winery legislation wound up being tabled until Sept. 7 for consideration of more amendments, but the council approved several significant measures without any disputes on the final votes. No council member voted against any of the legislation. Included were: •Approval of adding a 107-acre farm in Woodbine to the county's Agricultural Preservation program, which will mean $3 million plus interest for Mario and Serafina Manarelli over the next two decades.

A zoning change granted late Friday will enable descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, to build hundreds of new homes on a portion of Doughoregan Manor, their Colonial-era Ellicott City estate, while preserving the rest of the 892-acre property. The Howard County Council is due to vote Thursday on the final element of the complex arrangement: a contract that lays out all the elements of the deal between Camilla and Philip D. Carroll and the county.

Voter petitions: Backers of a fall referendum on Columbia's latest development plan voice disappointment and anger that more than a third of required petition signatures have been rejected. Page 2 Doughoregan Manor: The County Council unanimously approves the extension of water and sewer for an area where 500 homes are proposed. Page 3

The Howard County Council Monday night unanimously approved the extension of public water and sewer lines to a 221-acre site on historic Doughoregan Manor, the nearly three-century-old Ellicott City estate of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll's descendants hope to build 325 homes on the land just south of Frederick Road, and donate 34 acres to the county for a park, while preserving the rest of the 892-acre estate. Obtaining council approval to move public utilities is a vital step in that plan, though the land must still be rezoned for it to work.

The Howard County Council, in approving the general plan amendment to allow the old Carroll Plantation at Doughoregan Manor public water and sewer ("Howard council OKs water, sewer extension to Doughoregan homes," April 6) does not come as a surprise, but some of their reasoning in doing so does. Several times during their vote, council members made the point that they were voting in favor of the amendment "to let the process continue." It has become apparent to the neighbors that the council doesn't understand the process or the role of the developers rights and responsibilities agreement (DRRA)

Philip Carroll, the 86-year-old patriarch of historic Doughoregan Manor in Ellicott City, died Saturday and was buried Tuesday at what was called a simple graveside service for fewer than two dozen people at the nearly three-century-old Carroll family estate. Mr. Carroll was a direct descendent of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. Philip Carroll led a famously private family and had worked for years to keep the public away from the remaining 892 acres of a farm that was once more than 10,000 acres.

From wineries to windmills, the Howard County Council undertook to vote on a long list of big bills Thursday before starting the group's annual August recess. But one measure wasn't quite ripe, as it turned out. The winery legislation wound up being tabled until Sept. 7 for consideration of more amendments, but the council approved several significant measures without any disputes on the final votes. No council member voted against any of the legislation. Included were: •Approval of adding a 107-acre farm in Woodbine to the county's Agricultural Preservation program, which will mean $3 million plus interest for Mario and Serafina Manarelli over the next two decades.

A zoning change granted late Friday will enable descendants of Charles Carroll of Carrolton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, to build hundreds of new homes on a portion of Doughoregan Manor, their Colonial-era Ellicott City estate, while preserving the rest of the 892-acre property. The Howard County Council is due to vote Thursday on the final element of the complex arrangement: a contract that lays out all the elements of the deal between Camilla and Philip D. Carroll and the county.

Critics of a plan to build 325 homes on one part of historic Doughoregan Manor and preserve the rest of the Ellicott City estate attacked the complex proposal as a "manufactured artifice," as they tried this week to defeat a necessary zoning change. Opponents used the very intricacy of the multipart plan and the fact that Howard County's zoning board members also serve as County Council members as the basis for their argument. Several opponents also suggested that there might have been collusion between the estate's owners and county lawyers.

Howard County is preserving 662 more acres of farmland from development, including a key 500-acre chunk of historic Doughoregan Manor — the second-largest block of land to enter preservation in the history of the county's Agricultural Preservation program. Another 107-acre farm in Woodbine is set for a County Council preservation vote this month. The Doughoregan move is part of a complex deal with county officials that would allow the Carroll family, owners of the estate since Colonial times, to develop 325 new homes clustered in the northeast corner of the 892-acre estate and preserve nearly all the rest of the land.

The Howard County Council will decide next month on a proposal that would add 500 acres to the county's Agricultural Preservation Program. While such issues are rarely controversial, neighbors of this Ellicott City property are asking officials to wait. Council members heard more testimony Monday on contentious land-use issues that are pitting neighbors against the owners of Doughoregan Manor, who want to preserve more than half the 892-acre estate and develop a portion of it. Funds from preservation easements and development revenues would allow the Carrolls, who are descendants of one of Maryland's founding families, to restore their historic estate.

Howard County officials are full of praise for the descendants of founding father Charles Carroll for agreeing to preserve part of his summer estate permanently. And they hope the move is only the beginning of an effort to keep the county's largest tract of open land permanently free of development.Next month, the county's farmland preservation board will meet to decide whether to buy the development rights for 315 acres of historic Doughoregan Manor, which totals more than 2,000 acres and is the county's largest farmland area undisturbed by suburban development.