November 3, 2022 Town Council Meeting - Citizen Questions

Centreville Town Council Meeting Council Meeting November 3, 2022 11/7/2022 “Neighbor to Neighbor” Conversations on Carter Farm 11/7/2022 2 Overview

1. Overarching concerns as to project’s stated unknowns

(“We do not have a business plan for the farm yet”)

2. Increasing concern as to the project’s viability/sustainability

(What is the impact of the pandemic, rising interest rates, inflation, etc.?)

3. Perception that you “can get much more for less” $ elsewhere

4. Request for crime/education/environment impact studies

5. Lack of detail on the proposed club house

6. Parcel 3C (multi-family) and 4 (commercial) not addressed in HOA

7. Concern for the remaining Carter farm home—upkeep/preservation

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1. What is the business plan for the farm? It was reported that a

business plan of the farm does not yet exist. Why is that?

2. There are varying definitions of the term agrihood. How does the

Carter Farm Project qualify as an agrihood? Why does it seem so different than other agrihood projects?

3. Clarify the benefits of being a mandatory CSA member and the total

individual subscriber cost. What does participation buy a resident that is a member?

4. There are serious questions about the Carter Farm “numbers“ as a

whole. How were the property tax numbers/the tax base determined?

5. Is the Town subsidizing the project for the first couple of years until

there is a positive revenue?

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6. The town will not have a new/expanded wastewater treatment

facility for at least 4 to 5 years after funding is secured. How will Carter Farm’s requirement for wastewater treatment be handled within this timeframe?

7. Can the traffic study be released in its full version to the public?

How are the existing traffic issues being mitigated?

8. Has a crime impact study been completed and if not when will it be

completed? Can the results be provided to the community?

9. Has a school impact study been completed and if not when will it be

completed? Can the results be provided to the community?

10. Has an environmental impact study been completed and if not

when will it be completed? Can the results be provided to the community?

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11. As a result of the current financial climate, is the project’s

business plan still viable? Considering the impact of the pandemic, rising interest rates, inflation, and other variables, do the market study and financial analyses need to be repeated?

12. Can the community see the full marketability study results?

13. What were the factors used to determine the Town of

Centreville as the best location for this project?

14. Why is a 5-acre farm preferable to a community garden?

15. The developer claims to have a plan for everything but the

entire plan is not shared. Can the community see the full plan?

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16. What is the benefit of a CSA farm versus developing more

lots?

17. Is section 8 a possible option in phase 2? What else are

potential options for phase 2?

18. Who is the builder? Project developers have indicated they

don’t yet know. Can the community meet with the builder and look at the site plan?

19. There are concerns about construction costs. The average

cost for builder grade materials is $170 a square foot with a structure costing approximately $300K to build a 1600 to 1800 square-foot home. With an average mortgage rate on top of that at 7% or more, and having to subsidize a farm, a person could buy much more for the same/less. How does a Carter Farm home purchase make sense in light of these dynamics?

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20. In the site plan, the architect is shown as a contractor that works as

an individual out of his home. Should the developers be using more reputable/robust architects and contractors?

21. The townhouse elevation has still not been provided. Can the

community see these plans?

22. There are concerns about the fourth note in the Growth Allocation

ordinance document. This note states that “the [Planning] commission remains concerned about the viability of sewer capacity in the state and condition of the wastewater treatment plan itself and wants the council to make sure that they remain enough allocations to serve the full needs of the PUD.” The EDU allocation must be approved in whole, rather than by individual phase (one section at time). If all EDUs are approved (based

on a May 19, 2022 project hearing document… slide #23) the town’s capacity will be at 102%! The town simply cannot approve more than 100% of its limited wastewater treatment units/resources. Can you address this?

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23. The house property is used as part of a defined green space footprint

but then it is excluded in other documents. Can this be explained?

24. There is a lot of “this is what we hope to be able to do“ versus actual

plans in many discussions between community members and the developer. Can you please help the community feel more confident in more solid versus hopeful planning?

25. What are the specific plans for the restaurant? Noting that many

restaurants fail, what is the contingency plan for that space/building if it is not viable over time?

26. In one of the project documents there’s an excerpt that says there is

“no limitation on commercial.” What, if any, limitations are the developers willing to concede for the commercial footprint of this project over time?

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27. The Carter Farm traffic study doesn’t reflect the actual traffic

numbers reflected in the previous project that is detailed in the Feb 2015 approved growth allocation. Why is there a discrepancy?

28. Some residents have spoken with prospectors/site reviewers from

Ryan Holmes that do not believe the Carter Farm Project buyers will come. Please address concerns that residents have in light of this dynamic and assure community members that buyers will in fact come.

29. Will the phase 1 residents know the farm around them will be

shrinking in size over time?

30. How will all of this land be tilled while the massive infrastructure will

be built?

31. Who is currently responsible for the old Carter farm house? It is

deteriorating inside, with reports of black mold. Is somebody going to ensure upkeep and repair in the immediate future?

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32. Many of the project comparisons are for other states that have very

different communities and geographies. Can project developers point to the one community that has an Agrihood project that is MOST like Centreville/the Eastern Shore of Maryland?

33. Parcel 4 (commercial) is not addressed in the HOA, nor is parcel 3C

(multi-family) Why is this? How are these parcels to be affected by the

HOA?

34. There is no detail provided on the proposed “clubhouse.“ As it is

referenced in the HOA documents/benefits, only 25 houses in parcel 1 are responsible for the clubhouse. Is this correct? The source of this is “HOA analysis; reserve replacement costs,“ 8/31/22 presentation)

35. Why are the second-story units of the parcel 4/commercial

structures referred to as “live – work”? What does this mean?

36. Can you describe in detail, and annotate specifically on the site plans,

the covered parking areas? Are these for golf carts?

11/7/2022 11 Next Steps

1. Publish questions on town web site (same location as traffic study)

2. Solicit continued answers from developers

3. Publish answers/additional info at next mtg and on town website

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