We need your help!! Send a letter to Governor Hogan explaining why Kent County should not be selected as the location for a third Bay Bridge crossing. You may choose from the list of suggested talking points listed below to assist you in writing your letter. The website limits the length of the letter, so only select one or two topics and personalize.
Step 1: Contact the Governor’s office at http://governor.maryland.gov/contact-the-governors-office/
Step 2: Choose “email,” complete the form, write your letter, and submit.
Step 3: Send copies of your letter to these Cabinet Secretaries:
joe.bartenfelder@maryland.gov- Agriculture
robert.mccord@maryland.gov – Planning
secretary@mdot.state.md.us- Transportation (Pete Rahn)
Suggested Talking Points (Note: website limits letter to 2000 characters)
- Local control of our county is very important. Our Comprehensive Plan has clearly stated in the last three updates that Kent County opposes a Bay Bridge that terminates on our shore.
- Protect our prime soils. Seventy-five percent of Kent’s land is in agriculture, with 54% rated as prime. The protective zoning for the ag district has enabled farms to prosper without competing commercial uses eroding away the land mass needed to keep agriculture viable. A bay bridge and approach highways cutting through the county chewing up hundreds of acres of farms would have a devastating impact.
- Protect historic sites. Scattered throughout the county are many historic sites and homes making it difficult to design a bridge/highway corridor that would not affect one or more of these places. Of particular concern is Caulk’s Field. The most likely landing point for a bridge to Kent would be in or near Tolchester, which could put Caulk’s Field in the crosshairs of a highway. Noted War of 1812 historian and author Scott Sheads says in his book, The Chesapeake Campaigns 1813-15, that Caulk’s Field “remains one of the best preserved 1812 battlefields in America.”
- Protect open space. Kent County is known for its wide expanses of fields, woodlands, and water views. The state and other organizations have invested millions of dollars to protect farmland, open space, scenic byways, and forests in Kent County. Many of these preserved areas would be in the pathway of any large bridge access highway.
- Protect fisheries. A major fishery in the Bay would be directly affected should a bridge be built from Baltimore County to Kent. Construction would take 2-3 years, would disrupt the habitat of several species of fish, and impact the livelihood of watermen.
- Protect our small, beautiful county. Kent County is unique with its historic colonial county seat, quaint villages and towns, open vistas, and tranquil atmosphere. All those characteristics will disappear as Kent will be transformed into a suburb of Baltimore if a third Bay Bridge comes here. Just look at what happened to Kent Island!!