Carroll County's Planning and Zoning Commission this past week voted to approve a 101-home development along Slacks and Arrington roads in Sykesville -- after initially denying the plan due to a miscommunication.

The commission voted 5-0 to approve Eldersburg Ventures, developed and owned by a Columbia-based subsidiary of Lennar Corp., which has its headquarters in Miami.

The commission first voted 3-2 to deny the plan based on members' belief that a proposed extension of Raincliffe Road to Arrington Road would create a sharp turn for drivers trying to access the development.

However, Eldersburg Ventures representatives huddled with the commission after the vote, and pointed out that the markings on the map showed that Raincliffe would be graded on a curve, but the intersection would come to a T.

As part of the public works agreement with the county, the developer would bring Slacks Road up to standard by widening it and repaving it, said Kimberly Golden Brandt of the Carroll County Bureau of Development Review.

The developer would also extend Raincliffe Road to meet with Arrington Road heading southeast -- but a connection to the existing Raincliffe Road is muddled.

The developer and property owner Wayne Arrington must agree on where the road should be. Arrington lives on the corner of the road that bears his name, and Slacks Road

Arrington told the commission that he was close to an agreement over the summer, but has since been further apart.

"They haven't satisfied me to get that road through there," he said.

"They've hurt my feelings, and I'm going to be harder to deal with," he said.

Arrington said the roads would see too much traffic thanks to the development, another townhome development on Raincliffe Road and Route 32 and development in Carrolltowne.

As part of an agreement between the county and developer, the developer also must provide plans to address sight distance at Buttercup and Raincliffe roads, Brandt said.

A small amount of soil will need to be removed due to lead contamination, said Mark Rodano, vice president of Geo-Technologies Associates. The property was formerly a shooting range.

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