Vic
Bradshaw
Frederick
News Post
(11/11/2003) For
the first time in months, residents of a
town subdivision appear to be on their way
to having their lives made a bit more
pleasant. Monday night, eight residents of
the Pleasant Acres development heard words
they’ve longed to hear. Dan Ryan
Builders, the company that built their
homes, will take steps to fix problems
with sediment control and the overland
flow of water through their yards.
The assistance
offer from Ron Morris, a manager for Dan
Ryan Builders, was a drastic change to the
approach taken by Dave Warrenfeltz, the
company representative at the previous
meeting. Instead of defensively denying
that the company was responsible for
problems or liable for damages, Mr. Morris
pledged to work with homeowners to resolve
problems.
The
sediment-control issue was handled
quickly. Mr. Morris readily acknowledged
that incorrect representations about
Frederick County requirements were made at
the previous meeting, and he said Dan Ryan
would work with county officials to make
sure sediment fences were properly
replaced.
Mayor Martin Burns
also quickly dispensed of issues related
to standing water in yards. He said that
after a significant rainfall on Oct. 29,
water puddles weren’t visible in yards
just 24 hours later. But the issue of
water flowing from yard to yard in the
development wasn’t as easy to resolve.
Mr. Morris said he
would visit the development the next time
it rained to see the problems personally.
He also said he’d have an as-built
topographical map made so the flow of
water through the subdivision can be
analyzed, and he seemed to indicate that
Dan Ryan Builders might build swales to
properly channel stormwater.
When residents
questioned whether the company would be
responsible for the cost of removing and
replacing fences they’ve erected, Mr.
Burns intervened. He said that because
neither Frederick County nor Thurmont has
regulations regarding how stormwater flows
when it rains, Dan Ryan Builders hasn’t
violated any regulation and isn’t
legally bound to repair anything. He went
on to say that homeowners may have to be
willing to bear some of the costs
associated with correcting the problem.
The town scheduled
the next meeting on the issue for Dec. 1
at 7 p.m. at the town office building.
