GAITHERSBURG, Md. - Plans to create a "science village" in one Montgomery County (web | news) community are raising some questions Wednesday night.

Outside Tami Mensh's door, lush green pastures could soon be transformed into a science village with 40,000 people working, living and eating there.

"I don't know if I should move," she said.

Johns Hopkins University reportedly bought Belward Farm in 1989 to build a central campus where scientists from all over can gather and do world-class research. While many support the idea, some say the university is overstepping its bounds.

The campus will include research, housing and retail buildings encompassing 55 acres of the farm. Officials estimate half the people who work there will have to drive but residents are wondering how that's possible with roads like I-270 already so congested.

Officials say by the time Science City is built over the span of two decades, transit will be in place to meet demands. "We will have both more transit to accommodate the people who live here and we will have more housing in the area," said David McDonough, the development oversight director.

The plan includes creating a light rail or bus service to run from the Shady Grove Metro to the development -- building five large interchanges and expanding area roads to eight-lane highways.

For Mensh, that means her quiet suburban neighborhood will feel more like a city. "I feel like I'm going to be on the side of the highway. It's like going from farm to freeway," she said.

Project planners say the buildings will be at least 200 feet away from the neighborhoods. A public hearing will be held Thursday night at 7 p.m. and a final vote will come in the fall.

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