Eric Hartley: Growth fight first of many in west county

Standing on her front porch, Mary Louise Lyman can see the future of west county.

In the fields off to the right, a developer wants to build 77 homes on 22 acres. To the left, another 44 are proposed on 15 acres.

Lyman and her husband, Phil, like their neighbors, think the projects would irrevocably alter what Phil Lyman calls "a little corner of rural Maryland that's been preserved."

The Lymans own one of 14 houses off Old Dairy Farm Road, a narrow officially designated historic road in Gambrills. Six owners have sold to the developer, which would raze their houses, and eight are staying, Mary Lyman...