Yes, you read that correctly.
As Captain Kirk once said, “You either believe in yourself or you don’t.”
So, after many years (39! I know it’s more years than our fearless new leader, Captain Kelly McCormick, P.E. is old, yikes!!) in the Civil Engineering, Planning and Surveying field, and vast experience with the necessary intergalactic battles with the respected Klingons at the City, County and State required to obtain approvals; and the inevitable delays caused by inconveniences like documents transported to the Office of Law and County Executive for signature that don’t rematerialize for weeks...
It is amazing to me that every New Year, regardless of how tired I am from fighting the Romulans the year before, I still say to myself in Kirk-like fashion (work with me here), “..Muuusssst get these subdivisions/site development plans approved by February and these permits prepared...so we can obtain permit approval in Spring and get clients to construction by early Summer!”
What I find more amazing is each year, with renewed energy and faith, I wholeheartedly believe in my own abilities and those of the Terrain Crew, that we will be successful in this enterprise no matter the asteroids that come hurdling our way or the black holes that threaten to engulf our best laid plans!
My hopes: In addition to minor subdivisions I’m wrapping up and moving to permit, the myriad of single-lot custom home permits that will invariably enter our orbit, and the hard work of this past year to fly the starship this far, we WILL get these permits approved this Spring and into construction by Summer!
Here are three projects I have lived long with and have prospered in knowledge, resolving the many design challenges they presented. I am particularly ready to finish these at warp speed:
Gaylor Road - Glen Burnie
Several years of back and forth with the County to get through Sketch and Final Plan has been completed with the recent recording of the Krause-Rainier Woods amended subdivision plat. Now we’re looking forward to working with Ret Retowsky. He’s the V.P. of A.R. Builders, Inc., out of Pasadena, MD. Together, we’ll permit a ten (10) lot cluster subdivision on Gaylor Road in Glen Burnie, MD.
This project had a triangular building envelope that required a unique public road and stormwater management design with modifications to forest conservation laws. There were concerns in the surrounding communities about drainage which presented additional challenges that we considered and addressed. Once constructed, it will provide much needed, moderately priced dwelling units in Anne Arundel County.
Rusty Red Road - Annapolis
Construction is complete for the infrastructure (road/utilities/bio-retention areas) and the house on Lot 5 of the McGuckian Subdivision on Rusty Red Road in Annapolis. With approved permits for Lot 4, we are looking forward to moving forward with the necessary construction surveys and obtaining the remaining approvals.
We’re now working on Lots 1, 2 and 3 on behalf of Sturbridge Homes & Sturbridge Development Company - Micheal DeStefano, President. After issuance of the first permit for Lot 5 and the infrastructure and initial submission of permits for Lots 1-4, new reviewers at the City of Annapolis required that we meet drainage and stormwater management design requirements both on an individual lot basis for these infill lots, but also as an overall subdivision. We’ve made major revisions, including more in-depth outfall studies to address larger stormwater volumes.
Given the modestly sized lots, the steep slope across the site and the large size of the proposed houses, the design required forced grading to direct flow to best management practices and to meet the builder’s specific elevations for house construction. Then we took additional time and effort to coordinate five separate permit sets - dependent on each other - which were reviewed simultaneously.
Terrain also completed a field revision to the roadside bio-retention area in coordination with contractor, D.L. Miller. The result is a unique design whereby the practice was ‘stepped down’ along the road grade to minimize excavation. Three cascading ponding areas and additional storage volume have proven invaluable to alleviate the City’s concerns about historic flooding in the area.
Our cohesive report and drainage maps, as part of the approval for Lot 4, can now be utilized with minimal adjustments from permit to permit. We expect the remaining permit re-submittals to be ‘rubber stamped’ allowing for the remaining houses to be constructed in close succession. These beautiful homes are in the sought-after neighborhood of Homewood near historic Annapolis. (Lot 5 now for sale – see image)
Dorsey Road - Glen Burnie
With approval of the Site Development Plan, we have been given the go-ahead to proceed with the grading and building permits for the re-development of the Legendary Trailers commercial site near BWI airport on Dorsey Road in Glen Burnie. Owner, Christopher Grimm can now demolish the current structure in disrepair and construct a much-needed new facility and parking lot. These improvements will make better use of the available space.
Landscape infiltration for stormwater management and landscaping is being designed by our consultant, Deborah Schwab, RLA. Our design minimizes construction costs while providing better traffic flow and improving safety from both a traffic and fire standpoint. State Highway Access and Airport permits will also be obtained for this project. (See site plan).
Captain James T. Kirk, once said, “A little suffering is good for the soul.” After, overcoming the challenges and frustrations encountered on these vastly different projects, I am immensely relieved to be moving to the permit phase and my soul is full of solutions gained and stockpiled for use in future projects.
This Vulcan has one final observation. Having moved into the new Terrain office, we’re under the competent leadership of our new female captain, and guidance from the stellar people at Howell.
As in Star Trek, the Terrain Crew is well on our way to being a more cohesive and diverse team. Beyond gender, our varied ages, experiences, skills and thought processes help in working together to increase our productivity and problem-solving capabilities. We’re positioned to better serve our clients and increase our financial success.
This leads me to remember the words of Kahn Noonien Singh (don’t ask me – I quit watching after Kirk and Spock) "Improve a mechanical device and you may double productivity. But improve man, you gain a thousandfold."
(P.S. At my advanced age, I am finding I use phrases younger people have never heard. So, for those of you that were confused by the title of this article, the actual phrase is “Hope Springs Eternal”. Hope is an optimistic state of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines hope as "to expect with confidence". Also, maybe start here https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-in-order#chronological-order for other references herein.)
