WICOMICO COUNTY, MD - Some members of a small community off of North Schumaker Drive in Salisbury are speaking out against a planned development of 60 townhomes on adjacent land.
The Wicomico County Council approved a zoning waiver for the City of Salisbury to annex the property after a public hearing on Tuesday night.
The density allowed under the current county zoning is too low. The annexation process would allow higher density under Salisbury city code.
Ken Medearis was one of the residents who attended the public hearing in opposition. He also helped gather more than 50 signatures against the move.
One of the main concerns raised was traffic from people in the townhomes seeking a shortcut through the existing community.
"You're looking at probably another 180 car trips as a result of that development,” Medearis said. “Someone's going to get hurt."
Another neighbor, Eric Miller, said many elderly people and children live in the neighborhood without sidewalks.
“You know how kids dart in the middle of the street … I've seen it 100 times,” Miller said. “People who don't live here won't have the same respect for that that we do."
Wicomico County Council Vice President Jeff Merritt told WBOC News that approving the waiver was not an easy decision.
"The concern was that there's a five-year sunset on this,” Merritt said. “Should we have not approved the waiver, it would have been open for a density a lot more than what will be allowed by the current proposal and we definitely didn't want to see that."
Approving the waiver initiated the annexation process, which will now be taken up by the Salisbury Planning and Zoning Commission. Merritt said the commission must hold additional public hearings, giving neighbors more opportunities to voice their concerns.
