Out of the ashes of the Walmart proposal crashing and burning in Bel Air South, comes a question from Orioles Manager Buck Showalter's favorite, Captain Obvious: What's next?
What's next, obviously, remains to be seen. So far, both sides are saying the right things. The community, which for a couple of years strenuously opposed a proposed Walmart from coming into their neighborhood, is vowing to stay vigilant and monitor any and all developments for the site at Route 924 and Plumtree Road.
The nonprofit foundation that owns the parcel says it has heard the community and it is listening. A big box retailer, after the Walmart debacle, isn't in the near future for this site.
"It is still owned and controlled by the Haron Dahan Foundation, and the Foundation, based on the various inquiries, is not interested in a big box [business]," Robert Lynch, a Bel Air lawyer, who represents the owner of the parcel where Walmart wanted to build, said last week.
That's good news for the community, if only it plays out that way.
Last November, Walmart publicly abandoned its effort to close its store in Constant Friendship adjacent to I-95 at Route 24 and build a new super store farther north on Route 24 closer to Bel Air.
The Bel Air South community, long suffering from near gridlock at too many times of the day and week, stood up and said loudly they didn't want a Walmart.
They got their wish in November when Walmart walked away, ostensibly because they were "unable to reach agreement on an additional extension of the contract to purchase the site," as Walmart officials said at the time.
Walmart worked nearly three years on a plan to build a 186,000-square-foot store on the 35-acre property. The parcel is zoned B-3, which allows the highest density commercial development. It also sits in the midst of the development envelope, where the county has for decades funneled much of its growth and development.
It didn't matter when Walmart came calling. The giant retailer tried to get the project approved in the midst of an election that would pick a new leader, who would chart his own course.
The opposition in the Bel Air South community believes they chased Walmart away. It probably wouldn't happen with the next project.
Meanwhile, is Walmart looking for a new store site between Bel Air and I-95? It seems likely, given the company's prior claims that its Constant Friendship store is outdated and too small and in a less than desirable location.
"Why does Harford County need more development, especially in the 924 corridor?" Ted Janes, part of the Bel Air South Foundation that led the opposition, asked recently.
If the community focuses too much on that line of thinking, they will get left behind when the next proposal for that 35 acres comes along.
"If we do our jobs well, we don't get a bad product in the end," Bradley Killian, the county's planning and zoning director, said about the Walmart process.
"My advice to whoever comes in [next] would be to do some homework on their own and see what the community wants to see," Killian added.
If all the parties – the community, the property owner and the interested businesses – work together, there's a real chance all three will be satisfied. That's satisfied, not happy.
When it comes to development, in most cases, the only thing that makes the community happy is leaving the trees stand. With Walmart out of the picture, that's gonna happen for just a little longer – but not likely forever.