(Aug. 10, 2017) Far from the done deal it was once suspected to be, the Carl M. Freeman companies, owners of the Bay Club on Libertytown Road in Berlin, confirmed it has abandoned plans to turn a portion of the property into a high-end campground.
“In our last communication, we shared that we were in the earliest stages of exploring a campground use for a portion of the property. After researching the opportunity further, we have decided not to pursue it at this time,” an undated email sent to Bay Club members and signed by Freeman Senior VP and CFO Dave Levitsky reads.
The Freeman companies own 700-plus acres in Berlin, 460 of which constitute the Bay Club, according to Levitsky. The company had previously sought a special exception to the parcel’s A-2 Agricultural zoning, which would allow the operation of the campground.
The formal hearing before the Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals, which would make the determination if the special exception were warranted, had been delayed at least twice since December 2016. The board meets once a month.
“We have ceased seeking any revision to our current zoning,” Levitsky wrote. “We will continue to operate The Bay Club to the same high level of expectations that we set for our members’ experience and assess opportunities that arise to make the best use of our undeveloped property to serve the greater community and enrich lives for generations to come.”
Opponents to the project had concerns about environmental impacts and traffic.
Hugh Cropper, the attorney representing the Freeman companies on the project said in April that he thought the 434-unit proposed campground would be very environmentally friendly.
In an interview with the Bayside Gazette in April, Cropper said other areas host 400-unit campgrounds on parcels one-tenth the size of the site proposal for the Bay Club. One-quarter of the sites would have been cabins, and a small percentage would be primitive sites, suitable for tents, Cropper explained. The balance of the sites would have been for recreational vehicles.
Those vehicles, Cropper said, are generally set up on sites rented for the entire season, with the residents towing their own cars along for the ride and to be used for everyday travel.
Late last year, three campground proposals emerged — the Bay Club, an expansion of Ft. Whaley and Ayres Creek.
In late April, Todd Burbage, owner of the former Pine Shores Golf Course, abandoned the idea of installing a campground along Ayres Creek because of heavy resistance from the community.
“It’s 100 acres, and it was all envisioned to be developed. About 85 percent is highly disturbed, as any golf course would be with irrigation and sand traps, and it was the right thing to do for Worcester County, but couldn’t placate everyone,” Burbage said in April.
Instead of a campground with space for 275-300 sites along with the existing headquarters for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Burbage said he would use the land for his original intended purpose — to live there.
The Ft. Whaley campground expansion from 210 to about 273 sites, the only surviving proposal at this point, was delayed in late June, as the owner, Sun Communities, decided to focus on completing the necessary wastewater treatment facility necessary to serve the site before focusing on campground construction.
“In our last communication, we shared that we were in the earliest stages of exploring a campground use for a portion of the property. After researching the opportunity further, we have decided not to pursue it at this time,” an undated email sent to Bay Club members and signed by Freeman Senior VP and CFO Dave Levitsky reads.
The Freeman companies own 700-plus acres in Berlin, 460 of which constitute the Bay Club, according to Levitsky. The company had previously sought a special exception to the parcel’s A-2 Agricultural zoning, which would allow the operation of the campground.
The formal hearing before the Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals, which would make the determination if the special exception were warranted, had been delayed at least twice since December 2016. The board meets once a month.
“We have ceased seeking any revision to our current zoning,” Levitsky wrote. “We will continue to operate The Bay Club to the same high level of expectations that we set for our members’ experience and assess opportunities that arise to make the best use of our undeveloped property to serve the greater community and enrich lives for generations to come.”
Opponents to the project had concerns about environmental impacts and traffic.
Hugh Cropper, the attorney representing the Freeman companies on the project said in April that he thought the 434-unit proposed campground would be very environmentally friendly.
In an interview with the Bayside Gazette in April, Cropper said other areas host 400-unit campgrounds on parcels one-tenth the size of the site proposal for the Bay Club. One-quarter of the sites would have been cabins, and a small percentage would be primitive sites, suitable for tents, Cropper explained. The balance of the sites would have been for recreational vehicles.
Those vehicles, Cropper said, are generally set up on sites rented for the entire season, with the residents towing their own cars along for the ride and to be used for everyday travel.
Late last year, three campground proposals emerged — the Bay Club, an expansion of Ft. Whaley and Ayres Creek.
In late April, Todd Burbage, owner of the former Pine Shores Golf Course, abandoned the idea of installing a campground along Ayres Creek because of heavy resistance from the community.
“It’s 100 acres, and it was all envisioned to be developed. About 85 percent is highly disturbed, as any golf course would be with irrigation and sand traps, and it was the right thing to do for Worcester County, but couldn’t placate everyone,” Burbage said in April.
Instead of a campground with space for 275-300 sites along with the existing headquarters for the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, Burbage said he would use the land for his original intended purpose — to live there.
The Ft. Whaley campground expansion from 210 to about 273 sites, the only surviving proposal at this point, was delayed in late June, as the owner, Sun Communities, decided to focus on completing the necessary wastewater treatment facility necessary to serve the site before focusing on campground construction.