Frederick leaders are defending a planned expansion of the city's northern and western boundaries, which would turn nearly 500 acres of farmland into homes and businesses.

The farmland consists of three properties: the 100-acre Summers Farm at the southwest corner of Mt. Phillip Road and U.S. Route 40; the 111-acre Thatcher Farm on the east side of U.S. Route 15 and Biggs Ford Road; and the 285-acre Crum Farm on the west side of Route 15 and Willow Road.

The city's Planning Commission recommended earlier this month that the Board of Aldermen annex the three properties.

But, Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) and the aldermen have been confronted with criticism from a number of opponents, including Frederick County commissioners, who believe that the city is rushing into the plans and ignoring the fact that the annexations could further congest the city's roads and borders and affect residents' quality of life negatively.

Holtzinger said the concerns are moot as the annexations were slated to begin two years ago, and are supported by both city and county development plans. The properties are included in the city's 2004 Comprehensive Plan and the county's region plan.

"I think people say we've been hurrying, but we haven't," he said. "None of these are going to pop up overnight. I think we're simply carrying out a plan that's been in the works for quite some time."

The annexations were planned around infrastructure outlined in the city's growth-control ordinance, Holtzinger said. Moreover, they would help pay for the city's share of the water supply agreement with the county, which includes a $50 million pipeline to the Potomac River.

"We have to carry these plans out, or we're going to be paying a big water bill for nothing," Holtzinger added.

Contributions from developers would also help pay for needed road improvements, such as an interchange on U.S. Route 15. At least two of the property owners have included plans for contributions to road projects.

"I'm not sure that any one particular development is going to pay for a whole interchange, but I do think there is opportunity to get substantial contributions," Holtzinger said. "And that alone, with state participation, will help us get those improvements put in place."

Some Frederick County commissioners have come out in recent weeks strongly against the annexations, calling for more control over what the city annexes and a revision of how the city and county interlink their growth plans.

Commissioners have the power to delay annexations for up to five years by denying zoning requests.

"Somebody's putting their land-use decision ahead of people's lives, there's no other way to put it," Commissioner John "Lennie" Thompson Jr. (R) said last week. Thompson's main concern is traffic, and that the city is planning to burden already dangerous roads.

"At some point someone needs to take responsibility for adding more death traps, and adding more development is not going to do that," he added.

Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D) has also led a campaign in recent weeks against two of the annexations, and addressed the aldermen and mayor last week at a workshop.

Aldermen grilled Hagen about how the county could help the city improve its roads and traffic problems, a discussion he used as evidence of why the city shouldn't move forward with the annexations.

"If we're adding major development [and] stress to a road where we're already falling behind … how is that making it anything more than digging a deeper hole," Hagen asked.

The Summers Farm property was the only annexation that drew opposition from an alderman. "We can't seem to take care of that area of the city already," Kuzemchak said. "I am certainly not inclined to move forward with this one."

However, Kuzemchak said that she saw value in the other annexations. "The properties that are right outside the city — I think it's a good thing to have a say in their development," she said.

Alderman David "Kip" Koontz (D) said he believed that while the city should take all of the concerns into consideration, the annexations will pan out well for the city's growth.

"We've been very deliberate in our approach to growth," Koontz said. "I also think as municipalities, we're expected to create our own destiny. And, that's what we should be allowed to do."

E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.

Summers Farm

-100 acres, located at southwest corner of Mt. Phillip Road and U.S. Route 40

-Proposed for mixed-use development

-50 to 60 acres can be developed

-Maximum of either 387 houses or 428,000 square feet of non-residential

-Proposed elementary school site

Crum Farm

-285 acres, located at the northwest corner of U.S. Route 15 and Willow Road

-Proposed for mixed-use development

-Potential for 1,060 housing units

-1 million square feet of commercial space

-Concerns include effects on Heart of Civil War Heritage Area, Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway and Journey through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area

Thatcher Farm

-111 acres, located at U.S. Route 15 and Biggs Ford Road

-Proposed for manufacturing/office space

-Maximum of 1 million square feet of office space

-Large amount of floodplain

-Concerns include effects on Heart of Civil War Heritage Area, Catoctin Mountain Scenic Byway and Journey through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area