Residents who live along a one-mile stretch of Hollywood Branch stream left a meeting with county officials last week reassured that a plan to renovate the waterway in 2011 would not leave them high and dry, some attendees said.

Planners used the meeting as a forum to hear neighborhood concerns on the renovation before preparing a more detailed plan for the project , which they say is necessary to rebuild eroded stream banks and improve water quality. Residents voiced a variety of concerns, including that their lawns would be damaged by the creation of construction entrances and that some of their beloved 50-year-old bamboo plants would be removed.

Dave Williams, a 45-year resident of the area, listened closely to the meeting and asked developers about the timeline and costs associated with the project. He said he was impressed at the amount of territory covered by developers and their willingness to work with residents as they solidify plans.

"I think that was clear in their presentation," he said. "It's not just them coming in and saying, ‘Look, this is the way it's going to be. ... Tough luck, we're going to do what we want to do.' "

The portion of the stream affected by the renovation runs from Midland Road to Cannon Road, along with a tributary that juts out at Burkhart Drive. It's an area that was deemed to have poor stream quality and was named the "priority" stream out of 10 miles of streams examined in the 2001-2005 Lower Paint Branch Watershed Study, according to county Watershed Planner Craig Carson.

Experts say the stream suffers from exposed sewage lines, roots that need support and could collapse, and stream banks that have widened and steepened over the years. In order to fix these issues, developers say they plan to remove some trees and replant native vegetation. They also said they plan on creating step pools and J-hooks, structures of rocks and tree trunks that help aerate water for aquatic animals and prevent erosion.

Resident Beverly Trushel warned Carson he needed to work with her to put in a weeping willow or similar tree along the stream bank and leave a patch of bamboo she says creates privacy and blocks out sound.

"I'm gonna be laying on the ground like you see in the news," she told Carson.

"Chained to a tree, or chained to the bamboo, huh?" he laughed. Many attendees said this kind of customized renovation makes them more comfortable with the county working on the stream, much of which is located on private property and requires residents' permission for repair.

The renovations can't come quickly enough for some residents. Lorraine Mosby, who lives on the corner of Burkhart Drive, said when a 40-foot tree fell from the stream onto her property, nearly hitting her house, she had to pay the thousands of dollars necessary to remove it.

She said she worries that waiting until summer 2011 to start renovations may be too late; other trees may fall into the "sinkhole" that exists at an area of eroded land along the stream, she said.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'll be a guinea pig," she said. "They can start tomorrow. ... Anything they do is a big improvement."