The following request has been sent to the Planning Commission requesting they DENY the current proposed expansion of Westminster Canterbury.

Dear Ms. Oliver and Planning Commission Members,

On behalf of the Shore Drive Community Coalition (SDCC), we formally request that the Planning Commission “DENY” the subject request from Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay (WCCB) for a modification of conditions to build a 4 story parking garage with 22 story tower senior living facility and a 7 story memory unit facility connected by enclosed elevated pedestrian bridges over public roadways.

The SDCC is a 20 year old umbrella civic organization representing many neighborhood civic leagues, condo and homeowner associations along the Shore Drive corridor. At our February general meeting, we unanimously voted on the following motion regarding the current proposed WCCB development,

“The Shore Drive Community Coalition opposes the Westminster Canterbury expansion proposal as it is in violation of the Shore Drive Overlay density restrictions and the Business 901 height restrictions”

We understand that it’s the Planning Commission responsibility to review projects and determine if they are in accordance with existing City codes and to allow variances based on hardships. As our motion states, the proposed project is considered multi-family senior living housing that violates the following City codes and has no hardships.

• Shore Drive Corridor Overlay Section 1704- Density requirements of maximum 24 units per acre.
• Business District Section 901 – Senior housing building height restriction of 165 feet.

The SDCC feels that this project would also set a harmful precedent for future development requests of high density tower structures in Business B2 and B4 zoning that would be incompatible with the surrounding residential and lower density multi-family dwellings that make the Shore Drive Corridor unique.

Thank you for your consideration in denying the subject application,
Todd Solomon – SDCC President