The developer of 285 acres of farmland in northern Frederick is seeking another 250 acres from the city, according to land use attorney Bruce Dean.

However, the developer of Crumland Farm does not intend to increase the number of houses or commercial space it originally planned.

In 2009, the city annexed 235 acres of the Crumland Farm property along U.S. Route 15, which is projected for as much as 1,200 homes and 1.3 million square feet of commercial space. Plans have not changed, but the additional acreage decreases the number of homes per acre from 9.2 to 4.5, and increases the percentage of open space from 26 percent to 30 percent.

The new annexation request increases the number of single-family detached houses and townhomes and decreases the number of multi-family homes. The original plan called for 300 single-family homes, 150 townhomes, and 750 multi-family homes, while the combined annexation plan calls for 700 single-family homes, 300 townhomes and 200 multi-family homes.

“Instead of looking like Bethesda, it will look like Whittier [in Frederick],” said Mark Fries of Rodgers Consulting, who represents developer Foulger-Pratt of Rockville, on the project.

Fries said the demand for single-family homes in Frederick comprises 60 percent of housing demand in the county, and the change reflects that demand.

Foulger-Pratt commissioned a fiscal impact study from the Sage Policy Group, Inc. that projects that under current tax rates, the city will collect $4.4 million annually. The county would collect almost $11 million, and the state $23 million, according to the study. Figuring in the cost of services provided, the study projects $1.3 million in annual surplus for the city and $3.5 million for the county.

The developer is restricted to building 450 homes until an interchange at Biggs Ford Road is built. Building will begin in 2012.

Former Frederick County Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D) directed a petition effort in 2009 to stop the northern annexations, and voted to deny rezoning on the project. The current board reversed that vote, allowing developers to proceed with plans.

Hagen, who also serves as director of Envision, a nonprofit organization that encourages civic participation, said the change will result in sprawl.

“If the goal is simply to take 1,200 homes and 1.3 million square feet of office space and spread it out over a larger area of open farmland and woodland, I will not support it,” he said.

Hagen suspects that developers may seek to renegotiate the conditions of the annexation that will delay full development of the land until after the Biggs Ford Road interchange is built.

“Anybody who knows anything about state funding knows the Biggs Ford Road interchange is just a highway ramp short of a fantasy,” Hagen said. “It is possible this is an opportunity to renegotiate the entire agreement and all the requirements and parameters ... [so that] they can move forward without interchange being built.”

But Dean said his clients are asking that the same conditions be placed on the new annexation as the original annexation.

“We also expect the City of Frederick will not seek to impose any additional conditions or burdens on these properties, given that no additional development potential is being requested,” he said.

kheerbrandt@gazette.net