Owner of Sugarloaf considers rescinding public access

Aug. 24—Board members from the nonprofit owner of Sugarloaf Mountain said Tuesday that they'll consider closing the mountain to the public if the Frederick County Council approves a plan to preserve and rezone it.

The organization, Stronghold Inc., is strongly against the county government's Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan. Members of its board of directors reiterated that during Tuesday's County Council meeting.

"Stronghold opposes the plan as it is written. It tends to remove any and all personal property rights that we now retain," said John Webster, president of the board.

The mountain is free to the public for hiking, bird watching and other activities and programs.

Stronghold employs a full-time staff to operate the area's Strong Mansion event facility, manage resource projects, maintain the land and educate visitors.

Forest makes up most of Stronghold's land, which spans from steep, rocky sections of the mountain with oak and pine trees accustomed to dry conditions to bottomlands with wooded swamps and springs, Sugarloaf plan documents state.

The mountain and its surrounding land are home to a host of animals, including numerous bird species and predators such as bears, bobcats and mountain lions, as well as rare, threatened and endangered plant populations.

In a letter that the law firm McNees Wallace and Nurick sent on Stronghold's behalf to the County Council on Aug. 9, Stronghold requested that the county remove the organization's holdings from a proposed overlay zoning district meant to govern and restrict development.

The overlay covers nearly the entire Sugarloaf plan area and includes standards for the scale, intensity and impact of development on forest land; water quality; roads; and the surrounding community, Tim Goodfellow, the county planner spearheading the plan, has said. It prohibits land uses such as shooting ranges and clubs, carnivals, circuses, and industrial waste landfills.

In the letter to the County Council, Stronghold also requested that the council strike land-use designations, zoning and other comprehensive planning components for Stronghold from the proposal. Instead, it wants a separate process for the county to work with Stronghold to establish a zoning category specifically for the organization.

Goodfellow said Stronghold's proposed zoning district would allow all uses in agricultural and Resource Conservation zones, including hotels and dining areas.

Stronghold, though, promoted its zoning district proposal as a way to continue preserving the mountain.

Those who have spoken for Stronghold have said the organization has never been interested in developing the mountain.

The Frederick County Planning Commission did not support Stronghold's proposed zoning district before forwarding the plan to the County Council in July. County planners on Tuesday did not recommend that the council adopt it.

Stronghold is named for the late Gordon Strong, a patent attorney and conservationist who, during the early 20th century, acquired land that now comprises most of Sugarloaf Mountain and had roadways, landscaping and buildings constructed. Strong built two residences and raised his family on the mountain.

In 1946, Strong established Stronghold and a trust to fund preservation of the mountain, buy more land and maintain the forest lands, according to Sugarloaf plan documents. Strong, who died in 1954, left the land he purchased to Stronghold, which has adopted the mission of preserving the mountain.

Stronghold owns 3,400 acres within the plan boundaries, including Sugarloaf Mountain, at the center of the Sugarloaf area.

The mountain is one of six places in Maryland that the National Park Service has recognized as a National Natural Landmark, Goodfellow said.

The Sugarloaf plan would rezone and shield from development nearly 20,000 acres between Monocacy National Battlefield and Frederick County's border with Montgomery County.

The plan area encompasses nearly 900 homes and 2,400 residents, according to plan documents. It is part of the larger Livable Frederick Master Plan the county adopted in 2019 to guide development and preservation.

Proponents have said the plan is an effective way to preserve natural resources and ecosystems, including forests, water and wildlife. Opponents worry it will stifle development along parts of the interstate.

Tuesday was the council's sixth workshop on the proposal with county planners.

The council is scheduled to continue workshopping the plan into October. It must vote to adopt changes to the plan by Oct. 18. Otherwise, the 90-day window to consider legislation will have passed.

If the council does not approve changes by Oct. 18, the county will adopt the current version of the plan. The Frederick County Planning Commission held 10 workshop meetings over 10 months to finalize that version before forwarding it to the council in July.

Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan