Fort Meade Expansion Ignites Fears

Sheriff George F. Johnson IV, the Democratic candidate for county executive, is less critical of the current administration. "It's going to be absolutely paramount that we continue with what's already in place," he said. "We definitely have to be prepared and have our finger on the pulse of every issue."

County officials say they have been planning for growth at the base, which is in the western part of Anne Arundel, near Howard. The county's general development plan, adopted in 1997, projected that most of Anne Arundel's 55,000 new jobs over a 25-year period would center in the western part of the county near Fort Meade, the National Security Agency and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Joe Rutter, the county's planning and zoning officer, said the county's readiness for the new jobs at Fort Meade was a selling point for Defense Department officials deciding the base realignment and closure plan, known as BRAC.

Rutter disputed the notion that the region is suddenly being hit with a wave of new development. "It's more that the projects that were in the pipeline are moving more aggressively toward construction," he said.

Residents in Maryland City, just west of Fort Meade, scoff at the notion that the infrastructure is ready for the influx of workers. Their predominant source of concern is the condition of Route 198, which stretches through Montgomery County and Laurel and narrows from six lanes to two near Fort Meade.

Traffic on the narrowest stretch, just east of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, approaching the base, has more than doubled over the past 35 years, according to the State Highway Administration.

And that is precisely the area, near the Patuxent Research Refuge, where Arundel Gateway would be built.

"I'm 68 years old," said Adele Haas of Maryland City. "I know that development's going to come. Let's make sure the infrastructure's ready."

John Stamato, president of Annapolis-based Ribera Development, the firm behind Arundel Gateway, said he and other developers will either directly or through payment of impact fees help improve roads, water and other needs in the area. His meeting with community leaders is a reflection of his company's efforts to work with residents, he said.

In addition to the townhouses and condominium units designed for new workers at Fort Meade, he said, Arundel Gateway would include the type of upscale shops, stores and restaurants that residents say the area lacks.

"The surrounding community is very aware of what's happening with BRAC and the jobs coming there," he said. "On this property, we're trying to meet the needs of what's coming with BRAC."

Some residents are not so sure, particularly as they hear about more projects planned for their community.

"This is the start of it," Haas said. "If there's any piece of green, then you know the developer's going to be requesting that land."