Enclave site purchase up to voters
Crofton residents urged to submit special ballot by Oct. 16
The Crofton Civic Association is telling propertyowners to check their mailboxes for a special ballot due Oct. 16, asking if they are for or against purchasing the seven-acre property where the Enclave at Crofton would have been built if plans for the project weren’t rejected last year by the county.
President of the association’s Board of Directors, Martin Simon, said the 2,642 property owners in the Crofton Special Community Benefit District have an opportunity to collectively purchase the site to preserve the land indefinitely. The cost: about $93 a year in additional property tax for the average single-family homeowner for 15 years. The average townhome owner would pay $54 more per year.
In a letter, the board told property owners they should make their voices heard and vote, as the issue affects “both your pocketbook and the future quality of life in Crofton.” About 13,000 people live in the district, Simon said.
“We, as a community, can either leave it to chance that no development will be approved by the County on this commercial (C-3) site, or we can be proactive and take control of our front yard’s future,” the board wrote. “It is up to [you].”
Simon said the board and the property’s owner William Berkshire have agreed on a maximum price of $2,656,250.
The purchase would be made using a loan, whichwould then be paid back with additional
property tax collected from property owners over time.
The County Council must approve the loan and tax increase, Simon said, and they require a majority of property owners’ support.
It is up to the people, he said.
There is some concern, however, that the board won’t get a majority of residents to respond. Of the 2,642 property owners, 1,322 must vote in favor to proceed.
While the application to build the Enclave was denied last year, other projects that don’t require modifications to county code could move forward with little resistance, Simon said.
He said the sale is a choice between controlling the lot through ownership or leaving it up to chance.
“It is a part of our charter as a tax district to buy real property,” he said.
County code says in addition to buying land, the tax district was established to maintain parks, fund community projects, provide police service and other services approved in the board’s annual budget request to the County Council.
Simon said they sent an online survey to the 700 people on the board’s email list, and 90% were in favor of the purchase. That prompted the board to send out the special ballots on Tuesday. The ballots are due back to Crofton’s Town Hall at 1576 Crofton Parkway by Oct. 16.
Last year, Planning and Zoning Officer Steve Kaii-Ziegler told a consultant for the 83-unit Enclave at Crofton project he was denying the application for failure to comply with county code, citing issues like failure to provide a recreation area and significant impact to natural features and construction encroaching onwetlands.
In December, Diamondback Investment Co. LLC, Brookfield Crofton Grove, LLC., and 1691 Limited Partnership said it would sue the county for improper delay and denial of the Enclave application.
Online state and federal records do not indicate such a suit has been filed.