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AVAILABLE TODAY on ICC Right of Way: Connie McKenna,
president, Shady Grove Woods Homeowners Association; and mother of
asthmatic child; 301-906-2453 (cell) Joseph Derasmo, lawsuit attorney, 301-762-8865 (office) |
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Neighborhood Fights Back with New Legal Challenge to Intercounty
Connector Plan Highway Path Will Originate on Homeowners’ Land; Homeowners Association Says It Will Resist Taking of its Private Land for ICC Construction March 28, 2007, Derwood, Md. -- In Rockville today, a homeowners association filed a lawsuit in state court to challenge the economic feasibility of the Intercounty Connector, a proposed toll road with western entrance ramps in Derwood, Md. The Shady Grove Woods Homeowners Association now has property in condemnation proceedings for ICC construction. This is the third lawsuit to challenge the legality of the proposed ICC. Today’s filing comes on the heels of the state’s announcement that it had awarded a contract to build the first leg of the ICC, which will originate on property owned by the homeowners association. Connie McKenna, president of the Shady Grove Woods Homeowners Association said, “The awarding of this contract is a slap in the face to community members who are still counting on the judicial process. Two lawsuits are pending in federal courts, and ours is now filed at the state level. We need to hear from impartial judges who are removed from Maryland’s aggressive builders’ lobby. We think it would be wise for our governor to wait for the measured analysis coming from the courts.” The HOA is filing the lawsuit to protect two parcels of its land which would be used for elevated ramps at the Western entrance of the ICC, off Shady Grove Road and I-370 in Derwood. Eight HOA members will also lose portions of their backyards. The state, in replacing this private buffer of common land and backyards with multiple elevated highway access ramps, will expose homes and families in unprecedented near proximity (25-50 feet from their back doors) to intolerable noise and toxic vehicular emissions. A number of children in the homeowners association suffer from chronic asthma. Recent medical research clearly points to highway proximity (500 – 1500 feet) not only as a trigger of asthma and respiratory illness, but more alarmingly as a cause of lifelong damage to children’s developing lungs. The state of California has passed legislation blocking the construction of schools within 500 feet of highways. The ICC is slated to be within 25-1500 feet of homes, schools and parks. At this time, two lawsuits filed in December by environmental groups are in federal courts. This HOA lawsuit, in contrast, was filed in the Maryland court. Its unique focus is Maryland state law which requires a study of all possible alternatives to assess the economic feasibility of transportation projects. The lawsuit is particularly timely with the state of Maryland headed towards a budget shortfall of $1.3 billion and new pressures from base realignment [BRAC]. Appended to the lawsuit is a report issued last week by 1,000 Friends of Maryland, detailing the opportunity costs to the entire state in building a $3 billion highway in Montgomery County. VISUALS: Shady Grove Woods HOA land on ICC right-of-way; homes within 25-50 feet of highway; SHA surveyor stakes |
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