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Commission approves amendment to Sunday Silence Court to relocate emergency access and adjust lot count
Summary
The Planning Commission approved an amendment to the Bully Rock subdivision’s Sunday Silence Court (building permit 2024-0339) that reduces lot count from 41 to 40, relocates an emergency access, and modifies road configuration; commissioners and public asked for continued attention to lighting and buffering.
The Havre de Grace Planning Commission voted May 15 to approve an amendment to a previously approved preliminary subdivision plan for Sunday Silence Court (building permit 2024-0339). The amendment reduces the approved lot count from 41 to 40, relocates an emergency access about 150 feet south and modifies Sunday Silence Court to eliminate a cul-de-sac and provide access to an adjacent parcel.
Director of Planning Jeffrey Goins said the department had reviewed the amendments and found them to comply with the applicable regulations. The change that garnered the most public attention was the relocated emergency access: department staff and the applicant said the new location reduces slope, widens the access for emergency vehicles, and addresses concerns raised by the city’s fire services.
Applicant consultants said they updated landscaping plans to increase buffers between the proposed houses and existing homes on Peace Chance Drive and to screen lighting from the nearby condominium parking area. Commissioner Chip Place called for careful attention to screening of existing parking-lot acorn-style lights and recommended mature evergreen buffering to keep glare off adjacent yards; the applicant said a revised landscape plan had been submitted and the department would review it during final plan approval.
Several Greenway Farms and Bully Rock residents spoke in favor of stronger buffering, reiterated concerns about potential construction traffic using the Greenway Farms intersection on Route 40 and asked that construction access be limited until intersection improvements or traffic mitigation are agreed. The applicant and city staff said title and easement questions for the parcel involved in the emergency-access relocation were under review; staff said the city can pursue property-acquisition mechanisms if necessary to secure the emergency access for public use.
The commission approved the amendment on a 5–1 vote. The department will continue to review and approve final landscape, forest-conservation and stormwater plans, and the applicant must meet departmental and public-works requirements before permits are issued.
Votes at a glance: Building permit 2024-0339 — amendment approved, 5–1.
