You can if you live on the water, or within 1000 feet of tidal water in Maryland, you had better be aware of restrictions imposed within this Cheasapeake Bay Critical Area. For instance, if you cut that tree down on your property to get a better view of the water, you could face both civil and criminal charges. Yes, that wasn’t a typo…criminal charges.

A homeowner was recently sued by the State for cutting down trees on his waterfront property to get a better view. He was sued simultaneously in both Civil and Criminal Courts.

His fine in Civil Court exceeded $10,000, and he got lucky in Criminal Court with a Probation before Judgement. He is also required to get permits for the work he already did, as well as plant trees and shrubs to replace the missing ones. Along with his legal expenses, this was a very expensive lesson.

Recent State laws now allow for prosecution of offenders in both Civil and Criminal Courts. Anne Arundel County is being particularly aggressive with this stance.

Maryland waterfront homeowners, and any homeowner in the Critical Bay zone, should take heed that any activity involving trees, shrubs and underbrush should be reviewed with the County beforehand.

According to the County website, “Except for routine grass cutting and maintenance of existing garden and landscaped areas, removal of any existing natural vegetation within the Critical Area buffer or protected forests or woodland is subject to prior approval through the Code Compliance Division. Call (410) 222-7441 for information on obtaining a standard Buffer Management Plan or Forest Management Plan.”

Plan to err on the side of caution before making any landscaping changes to your waterfront property…call the County first to see if the work you’re planning on doing is legal.

I can tell you that Crofton REALTORS® are trying to figure out what’s going on with the real estate market in the last two months. No, we don’t always have the answers. After a great start to the year, the market seems to have stalled, especially when viewed by the declining market in August and September sales in zip code 21114.

With interest rates still very low for qualified buyers, and prices in Crofton now at an affordable rate, throw sellers willing to negotiate into the mix, and you’ll understand why the market activity numbers are puzzling. September was down -33% from September of last year, and down 24% over August 2011. What’s going on?

If I had to put my finger on it, I would say that buyers are fearful of the economy in general. Buying a house is going to be one of the largest financial transaction they’re going to make in their lifetime, and the general economic malaise that has been suffocating the country is still here. Crofton, MD, and several other communities, are being affected by larger economic issues. Those too will pass.

One positive indicator is pending contracts. While they aren’t trending up, they aren’t trending down either. From the looks of it, we’ll be sliding sideways in market activity as we go into the Fall and Winter months.

As you know, when sales goes down, other indicators take a hit as well. The median price is down slightly, and the average days on the market has jumped. These indicators generally track pretty closely with sales.

Buyers, I hope you can see an opportunity to get into a great Crofton, MD house before competing buyers make the connection.

If you’re not working with an agent, and would like to get into a great Crofton, MD home…call Rich at 443-995-9595.

If you live in the section of Crofton, MD that is governed by the Crofton Civic Association, you are invited to attend the Fall General Membership Meeting on September 19, 2011 at 7:30 PM. The meeting will be held at the Crofton Elementary School, on Duke of Kent.

State Senator “Big” Ed Reilly, a Crofton resident, will be the guest speaker. Also on the agenda, and of interest to many Crofton residents, is a report on redevelopment plans for Lake Louise, the Gateway to our community.

This is a great opportunity to meet and greet other Crofton residents, renew past friendships, learn about what our elected officials are doing, and have an input. Yes, have an input. I have found that the CCA elected officials actually listen. A rarity in 2011.

Join other Crofton residents on September 19th and get involved in keeping our community on the Money Magazines list of Top 100 Cities in the country.

Crofton MD Homes for Sale:
2109 Laurance Court, Crofton, MD 21114
1614 Ebbotts Place, Crofton, MD 21114 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, power is out in some Crofton locations. It’s pretty hard to get fast food right now, and that’s probably a good thing.

One of the safety issues is the fact that traffic lights are out sporadically around Crofton. When a traffic light is out at a crossing, it becomes a serious safety issue. This is a light at a busy intersection where a County road intersects with a local road. The County road is pretty busy and many drivers come barrelling down without even giving a thought to stopping at the intersection.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the busy County road, or the local road, when a traffic signal is out, everybody is supposed to come to a four way stop, and then fight it out to see who proceeds first.

I went by this intersection earlier this morning, and all I can say is it’s an accident waiting to happen. Crofton residents beware, and be safe.