SACReD History  

Citizen Empowerment

SACReD has encouraged and supports those groups and individuals who are seeking to preserve the Bay, vital wetlands, sensitive ecology, and the quality of life inherent in the Bay community.  Citizen involvement is imperative in the community, planning and zoning processes, and environmental planning.

Franklin Point

SACReD fought for years to preserve the 477 acres of Bay front property known as Franklin Point.  Thanks to this organization's hard work, in 1999 the State of Maryland and Anne Arundel County entered into an unprecedented agreement to purchase the land from developers for $5.8 million with Project Open Space funding.  Today SACReD is continuing its fight to preserve this parcel of land in its natural state while providing for public access to its rich environment and educational opportunities.

The Bay Weekly ran an article on the victory.

Deale Commercial Complex

This project was the largest strip mall planned, to date, south of Edgewater, MD.  It was to include six or seven retail stores, a fast-food restaurant, and a 55,164 square foot Safeway supermarket.  The site, at the corner of MD Routes 2596 and 258, encompasses approximately 16 acres, much of it forested, non-tidal wetlands.  However, because of the important work of Deale-Shady Side Small Area Planners (SAP) and SACReD's hard-fought battle to preserve the SAP's recommendations on zoning, nine acres of the property that were zoned C-3 have been downzoned to C-1, limiting the size of any one commercial building to 25,000 square feet.  The company's seven acres zoned R-5 have remained residentially zoned.

SACReD engaged in an intensive educational, legal, public opinion, legislative and action campaign designed to reduce the size and environmental impact of this strip mall.  Widespread support from other environmental organizations, particularly the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Environmental Protection Association, and State legislators stalled the project.  The company ultimately announced it was abandoning plans for the mall.

The Washington Post ran an article on the final outcome of the fight.

Commercial & Residential Development

The preservation of Anne Arundel County's natural resources and unique way of life is being threatened by commercial development that fails to address the needs of the community and the environment.  SACReD works with State and County officials to develop both short- and long-term plans for our local environment.  SACReD is striving to "Stall the Sprawl" of big box stores, strip malls, and congestion from Metropolitan Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis.

South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD), a non-profit, 501(c)(3)
organization whose mission is to work toward a sustainable Southern Anne Arundel County,
Maryland community through research, education, and action.

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