Even though the public hearing won't be until next month on legislation to approve a new county master plan – called HarfordNext, future development issues took center stage during Tuesday night's Harford County Council session, as two people expressed sharp views about what their respective areas need or don't need in the future.
The key to boosting the county's economy is focusing on redeveloping the Route 40 corridor and investing in schools in that area, Ryan Burbey, president of the Harford County Education Association, the local teachers union, told the council.
He made his comments after Bill Wehland, a leader in Bel Air South Community Foundation and its fight against a proposed Walmart store on Route 924, said he hopes county officials learned from the failed Walmart project that the infrastructure of the 924 corridor cannot handle more development.
Neither man is a stranger to speaking at council meetings.
Wehland wondered if the county considered a park or open space for 924 instead of another "big box" store or large-scale commercial development.
Meanwhile, Burbey, an Aberdeen resident, said: "I would love a big box store in Aberdeen. Move one in, please."
Their impromptu comments were of the sort County Executive Barry Glassman said earlier in the day he hopes to see during the two-months the HarfordNext plan is before the council for its approval. The HarfordNext legislation was introduced earlier in Tuesday night's council meeting and will have a public hearing on June 7.
One of the points of the plan, Glassman said, is to get people talking about what the county should look like in the future.
Burbey said the Route 40 area already has infrastructure in place, and development should be incentivized in that corridor, despite the common hesitancy in investing in supposedly high-risk neighborhoods.
"How do we fix that problem?" Burbey said, replying that the answer is to invest in schools. "When the schools turn, the economy turns. When the schools don't turn, the economy doesn't turn."
Burbey also thanked Glassman's administration for "reprioritizing people over projects" in its first two budgets, but he also said the reality is the county is "starving for revenue" and needs to encourage development – or redevelopment in the case of Route 40 – that will bring jobs.
"What at-risk communities need desperately is reprioritization on our public schools, public transit," he said. "These communities are closer to the vital arteries that get you to where you need to be for a job."
Burbey said he would love to have a movie theater in the Aberdeen area, and "I am sure the people in Edgewood would do a backflip to have entertainment and shopping within their area. Why isn't that happening?"
"As an Aberdeen resident, I do not want a new library. I do not want a community center. I do not want development that will not bring jobs, that will not grow our schools," he said.
The county needs the Route 40 "communities to buoy the rest of the county, rather than be an anchor," he added.
Charles Kearney, the council's attorney, interrupted Wehland during his comments to remind him not to discuss HarfordNEXT directly, because council rules prohibit legislation from being commented on the same night it is introduced.
Wehland was not happy about that, but he nevertheless focused on his concerns for the Route 924 corridor between Bel Air and Abingdon and his disillusionment with the County Council and the county administration in general.
"I have talked to many citizens and neighbors, and they kind of believe coming here to this chambers and speaking out on an issue that concerns them is a waste of time," Wehland said. "They don't trust the administration. They see it as business as usual. That is sad."
Wehland said he believes that is why very few residents speak at the council meetings and, "unfortunately, based on my personal experiences," he said he is starting to feel the same way.
He said it has become obvious to "anyone living in the development envelope" that the Route 924 area is filled with major developments like Evergreen Woods, Richardson's Legacy and, most recently, MedStar Health's new medical arts building
Wehland argued the county's rules allow it to decline development that threaten to adversely affect public welfare or create dangerous traffic conditions.
"In my opinion, it has become increasingly apparent that council members do not want to be involved and only seem concerned about developments in their own districts," he said.
Bills approved
Also at Tuesday's meeting, the council approved bills to change requirements for personal-care boarding homes and to repeal county requirements for licensing of closing-out sales.
Councilman Jim McMahan said the latter was especially needed.
"This caused people who want to go out of business to get a special license to go out of business," McMahan said, arguing that made "no sense."