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May 5, 2005
The Honorable Robert Ehrlich, Jr.
100 State Cir.
Annapolis, MD 21401
Dear Governor Ehrlich,
I am writing on behalf of Sprawled-Out Accokeek, a recently-formed civic group in Southern Prince George's County. Our goal is to work with relevant parties to manage the growth in our area in a way that serves both current and future residents' interests.
As you know, Prince George's County's crime rates are abysmal and much of PGC is not adequately covered by fire/EMS services. We believe that poorly planned development contributes to these problems. There is not an easy fix for either of them, but it is clear that unchecked development will exacerbate each.
HB-1129 will work against the PG community's efforts to protect citizens. Although the County is working hard to hire new police officers, they cannot bring in enough new recruits to ensure adequate coverage. We continue to lose an average of eight officers a month, and conditions here are so poor that it is very difficult to find new officers willing to join our force.
Firefighters and EMS technicians are not able to reach a huge percentage of the County in an acceptable amount of time. Already this year we have lost close to ten people in fires. New firehouses are planned, but are not expected to be completed for at least the next fifteen years.
Not only will new developments not be covered adequately, they will further jeopardize the safety of people already living in Prince George's County because police and firefighters will be stretched even more thinly than they already are.
HB-1129 is a serious threat to citizens' safety. Letting developers pay a fee to build houses that are known to be insufficiently covered by emergency services is immoral. That a surcharge was collected will be cold comfort to victims of fire, medical emergencies, or criminal activity who suffer or die unnecessarily because emergency personnel cannot reach them in a reasonable amount of time.
We implore you not to sign HB-1129. Please show Maryland that our safety is more important than developers' dollars.
Sincerely,
Kelly Canavan
President, Sprawled-Out Accokeek