Public hearing held on two water and sewer amendments; commissioners defer vote to January

Queen Anne's County Commissioners held a public hearing on Dec. 10 on proposed amendments to the county's comprehensive water and sewer plan for two projects — a Barnstable/Lowry Farm proposal and the Aspire at Ewing Farm project in Graysonville — and heard extensive testimony from developers, planning consultants and residents before taking the item under advisement and scheduling a vote for January.

The hearing covered two separate requests to redesignate parcels in the county master water and sewer plan so each property could proceed toward subdivision and site-plan approvals. County staff described the Barnstable/Lowry Farm submission as a roughly 13-acre site proposed for 82 townhomes, with an estimated wastewater demand the notice lists at 20,500 gallons per day. The Aspire at Ewing Farm submission, described in county materials and by applicants at the hearing, was presented as a larger planned residential neighborhood with townhomes and single-family lots; transcript materials record the applicant’s figures as “72 townhomes and ‘2 18 single-family lots’” and a projected wastewater demand of about 72,500 gallons per day (as read in the hearing record).

Developer and applicant representatives emphasized consistency with county planning policies. Joe Stevens, representing K. Hovnanian, said the amendment “is really just one step” to allow the project to…