Finally, I can say with certainty that Spring is here. The weather is warm, even hot at times, the trees are filling out with leaves, and we’re sailing again.  It just seemed like a long time coming this year.

Spring isn’t the only thing on our residents’ minds right now. A lot of people have contacted me about crime in our community. There is a serious concern that crime is increasing and that our proximity to Eastport and Annapolis City, in general, are to blame. I believe that these concerns are correct and that crime is increasing in Hillsmere, however, I don’t think it’s as bad as some people think. In other words, I don’t think we need to barricade our doors and keep the kids inside. We just have to be more vigilant and smart about how we live. I’ve been here about 16 years, but many of you grew up here and have lived here a lot longer than I have. Things have definitely changed over the years. Hillsmere, and the entire Annapolis Neck, have become much more urban. Unfortunately, along with urbanization, comes an increase in crime. Having moved here from a Philadelphia city neighborhood, we are used to the urban lifestyle. We have an alarm system that is on whenever we are not home and at night. We always lock our doors and our cars. We don’t leave valuables in our cars. Some years ago, our son had his wedding reception in a small union hall in Zanesville, Ohio. It was a hot summer day and right in the middle of the reception a thunderstorm rolled in. The reception turned into complete pandemonium as everyone rushed outside to close their car windows. People were coming back drenched from the rain. We just sat there eating our meal. As a woman sat down next to us, soaking wet, our teenage daughter turned to her and said “We’re from Philadelphia. Our windows are always closed and locked.”

Last month, I sent out an email about some disturbing activity in our community. Some people had been going door to door claiming to be selling magazines, running for office, and other stories. They had been dropped off by a van to “work” our neighborhood. One man, in particular, was very aggressive and scared a lot of people. One resident emailed me saying “Yesterday afternoon, around 2:00, a man came to my door on Sunset Drive. My 25 year old daughter was there alone. He told her he was running for some kind of political office. He had no clipboard, or cards. He wanted her to put our dog away so he could come in. He asked where her parents were, what kind of vehicle her dad drove, when someone would be home, and asked her if the dog would bite if he came in.” In my opinion, this was very dangerous behavior. The police were called and they did stop him. He was not arrested because, based on the information they had, he had not broken any laws. I contacted Captain Krampf, the Commander of the Southern District, and he had his Lieutenant contact me immediately. The police came back the next day and interviewed some of the people who had been approached. They also increased patrols in Hillsmere to make sure he was gone. This was an unnerving experience for many of our residents.

Unfortunately, we are still having problems with our security patrols. We just found out that, since the beginning of April, we have not had any security patrols from our private security company. Apparently, the person who had been working our community stopped working and they can’t get in contact with him. We were not billed for any patrols. There was no fraud involved. However, they are unable to provide a replacement. While we get this latest problem resolved, Randy, the person who does security at the beach on weekends in the Summer, will be patrolling the neighborhood to help fill in. We still have our one County police officer who patrols part time. We are investigating increasing our off-duty police officer patrols as well as hiring a more professional (read “expensive”) security company. The security budget for the fiscal year starting in July is already set, but we can ask the County to allow us to divert funds from other budgeted items to increase our security. If we decide to do this, we will need the community’s approval first. As of now, I have talked to a few board members about this, but no decisions have been made. Personally, I feel that we should increase our security budget significantly to get better and more complete security patrols. We spend about $45,000 per year on security. That’s about $35 per household per year. I think most residents would be willing to spend another $20 to $30 per year to have significantly increased security. You will be hearing more about this in the next few months.

Finally, on the security issue, I received numerous emails asking that we put up “No Solicitation” signs at the entrance, install a gate and have a security guard check people who enter our community, and similar suggestions. When we gave our roads to the County many years ago, we lost our status as a private community. Our roads are publicly owned and we cannot prevent anyone from entering our community. We cannot ban legal activity, such as solicitation. I appreciate the suggestions, but there is nothing we can do to implement them.

In the last Sea Breeze, I mentioned that we would soon be having a major event in our community. We are excited to announce that our community will be hosting the South River Federation 6th Annual South River Sojourn and Wade-In at the community beach on Saturday, May 31. It will start off at 8:30 am with a group kayak paddle up to Harness Creek. That will be followed by the Bernie Fowler-style Wade-In at 1:00 pm and a picnic sponsored by DNR. The wade-in is a unique way of measuring water clarity started by retired State Senator Bernie Fowler. It’s very simple. You wear white sneakers and wade in until you can’t see your feet. Everyone is invited to take part in the wade-in. There will be hot dogs and hamburgers provided. Please bring a side dish or dessert, if you’d like. Please RSVP by email at info@southriverfederation.net or call 410-224-3802. They need to tell DNR how many people to expect. In addition, they can give you information about renting a kayak for the paddle to Harness Creek. For more information, visit the SRF web site at www.southriverfederation.net/Sojourn.php. There is also a flyer in this Sea Breeze. South River Federation has been a great partner with our community. We are excited to be able to host this event. Please plan on attending. It will be a fun day for the whole family.

The Beach Strip lawsuit is entering its, hopefully, final phase. There will be a hearing on our appeal on June 10. There will probably not be a decision until this Fall, at the earliest. There have been some developments that produced some very interesting results. When HSIA had the beach strip surveyed in 2003, it showed that the beach had eroded significantly at 103 and 105 East Bay View. In fact, there was no land above the mean high water mark at one spot at 105 East Bay View. As you may know, the mean high water line is the boundary where private property begins. The state owns any land below the mean high water line. That is generally a true statement. After Hurricane Isabel, the land at 103 East Bay View was severely eroded. The owner, Judy Steinberg, a former HSIA board member, had a stone revetment installed that extended the dry land by an additional four to five feet. Since there was always some community property, albeit inches, behind her house, we believed that the stone extended and basically reclaimed our property by moving the mean high water line. She subsequently built a set of steps down to the water. The board has been very concerned about protecting community property from encroachment and possible adverse possession. After all, it was the inaction of the board over the last several decades that got us into the beach strip lawsuit. Last year, the board approved telling the Steinbergs that they either had to remove the steps from our property or sign a letter acknowledging that the property belonged to HSIA. We have no problem with waterfront residents having steps down to the water as long as it can’t be used to justify taking our property in the future. They refused and hired Will Simmons, the same lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the beach strip lawsuit. We hired one of the top lawyers in Annapolis in issues of riparian rights, Charles Schaller. He agreed with our position but also told us something very interesting. Apparently, the law about the mean high water line doesn’t always apply. That law was passed in 1864. In the 1700's, Lord Baltimore made land grants (also known as Land Patents) to certain wealthy families. If our community was part of such a Land Patent, then we would own the land under the water to where the land existed at the time of the patent. We had a title search done to trace the Steinberg’s title all the way back to that time. We were excited to learn that Hillsmere was part of a Land Patent granted to Henry Hill on June 30, 1736. This predates the Declaration of Independence by 40 years! The Land Patent was known as “Hill’s Delight.” It covered the area from the head of Smith’s Creek to the head of Harness Creek. That includes all of Hillsmere south of Hillsmere Drive and Duvall Lane as well as most of Quiet Waters Park. According to preliminary calculations, we own approximately 50 to 60 feet of land under the water behind 103 East Bay View Drive. Simmons has not responded to our letter yet. However, the Steinbergs have put their house up for sale and it is now under contract. I sent a certified letter to the realtor informing her that HSIA owned land toward the water from their platted lot. They responded that we were wrong but also said the potential buyers had been informed of the claim. There have been no lawsuits filed and, hopefully, this will be resolved without any litigation. Copies of the 1736 document and a map showing the Land Patent can be viewed on our web site.

We are still investigating spraying for mosquitoes. However, the board is divided on whether this would be effective and/or desirable. In the meantime, Ingrid Tepelmann, a Hillsmere resident, volunteered to talk to the Maryland Department of Agriculture to see how we could combat our mosquito problem, especially the Asian Tiger mosquitoes. She found that while spraying may not work, there are simple methods we can individually use that are very effective. The best method is to remove any standing water such as from gutters and other containers. In addition, you can use Mosquito “Dunks” to place in these areas. Her article appears on pages 14 and 15 of this issue. Please read the article and take the necessary steps to protect your property and your family. I want to thank Ingrid for her efforts for our community.

Many people responded with information about the homes in Hillsmere with multiple families living in them. I now have a list of addresses. Now we need to gather documentation by counting cars, taking pictures, and talking to neighbors. If anyone would be willing to help get this done, please contact me by email at president@hillsmereshores.net or call me at 410-263-4102. You won’t be asked to approach the properties we are investigating.

I want to end on a positive note. Even though I need to discuss crime, lawsuits, and homes turned into boarding houses, please keep it all in perspective. We live in a great community, full of wonderful people. We need to address these negative issues in order to keep our community the wonderful place that it is to live and raise a family. We’ll be having several community events this summer, including beach socials and a party at the marina where everyone in the community is invited. I hope to see you at one of these events. Come down and have fun and meet some of your terrific neighbors.

-Bill Shuman
President, Hillsmere Shores Improvement Association