Rising Sun approves MOU to allow entrance road across town land for Stevens Preserve

The Mayor and Commissioners on May 20 approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to document mutual commitments between the town and the Stevens Preserve developer regarding construction of an entrance road across town‑owned land.

Town Attorney Jay Gullo said the agreement is intended to give the developer assurance that the town will permit use of a segment of town property for an entrance road while preserving town control. "The entrance road would go across property that the town owns," Gullo said, adding that the town and developer still need to resolve details where the proposed route crosses an old railroad right‑of‑way currently held by the county. Gullo recommended inserting a six‑month commitment in the agreement to balance town flexibility and the developer’s need to proceed with design work; the board agreed and adopted the MOU.

The MOU does not obligate the town beyond the limited commitment term but is designed to streamline developer design decisions so work does not begin only to discover an access crossing is not available.

Next steps: staff will finalize the MOU with a six‑month commitment period in the blank identified in the draft and return executed documents as appropriate; the county’s disposition of the railroad right‑of‑way remains a dependency.