Dear County Commissioners and Town Council Members:

The citizens of Centreville, Maryland request that any further support of, concessions to or approval of the proposed low-income apartment projects at Spring Street and near the Acme by the County Commissioners, Town Planning Commission and/or Town Council be halted. We also request that any prior approvals and/or concessions be rescinded as we believe proper procedures were not followed. We cite the following reasons why these proposed developments should not be supported:

- The proposed project is not workforce housing, by the County's own definition, but rather low-income apartments that will allow the use of Section-8 vouchers.
- Centreville already provides the largest share of low income housing in Queen Anne’s County;
- The model for concentrated low income housing is a proven failure that is being abandoned by other jurisdictions in favor of dispersed low-income housing.
- The cost of services from the Town for the development (police, emergency services, water/sewer improvements, etc.) outweigh any potential tax revenue to be gained.  This will cause higher taxes for the remaining residents to pay for the increased services required.
- The concessions granted or to be granted will also lead to higher taxes for the remaining residents to make up the lost tax or fee revenue.
- Events surrounding the Spring Street project constitute a substantial change from what was initially proposed that we believe is inconsistent with the surrounding neighborhood. This includes a change in use from senior housing to townhomes and condominiums to low income housing as well as the change in zoning from R2 to R3, which creates much higher densities of housing units than currently exists in surrounding neighborhoods.

We feel that such a change in our residential neighborhood is not appropriate. Such a substantial change in the character of our neighborhood warranted a thorough discussion with the community by the County Commissioners, Town Council and Town Planning Commission. However, since citizens are not allowed to ask questions at meetings and air concerns when presentations by developers are made to the Planning Commission, this Petition should serve to alert our elected officials regarding our intent.

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