Developers of a commercial tract in the Hickory area north of Bel Air are seeking county approval of plans to expand the retail and dining offerings on the site.
The site, known as Hickory Commercial, is on Route 1 between Granary Road and Bynum Road, just north of the junction of Route 1 and the Bel Air – Hickory Bypass.
Current businesses on the site include a 7-Eleven convenience store and adjoining gas station, a Waffle House and McDonald's restaurants, the Harford Pharmacy and the Hickory Station Pizzeria & Grill.
Caldicot Properties LLC, of Bel Air, plans to subdivide a 6.62-acre parcel around of Bynum Road and Route 1, and then build a 7,600 square-foot restaurant, a 10,800 square-foot building for either retail or restaurant use and then a 1,000 square-foot utility building.
The plans were reviewed by the Harford County Development Advisory Committee on March 4.
"These are preliminary plans to move the project forward, basically," Kevin Geraghty, managing member for Caldicot Properties, said during a recent interview.
The lots will be within land north and south of Bynum Road that is occupied by a county water tower. It is also bordered by Route 1.
"We don't have users yet," Geraghty said of potential tenants." We are about to start marketing."
He said the retail building will be near the water tower, and the restaurant will be behind the existing McDonald's.
A traffic impact analysis of intersections along nearby roads, including Route 1, Route 23, Route 24, Water Tower Way and Granary Road has been submitted to the county's Department of Planning and Zoning, according to the minutes of the meeting.
State Highway Administration officials did not have any comment about traffic access to the proposed lots, since the access from Route 1 "is adequate, and no further access is proposed to a state road," committee chairman Moe Davenport read from an SHA report, according to minutes of the DAC meeting.
Two traffic improvements, including a left-turn lane with a raised median at the intersection of Route 23 and Water Tower Way, and then a two-way center turn lane at the access from Granary Road to Route 1, are required in accordance with the county's 2010 approval of the preliminary plans for developing the initial Hickory Commercial lots, according to the minutes.
The Department of Planning and Zoning has required the developers to prepare and submit a wetland mitigation plan, which they have done, and the plan is being reviewed by Planning and Zoning staff.
Staffers with the county's Division of Water and sewer want the developers to revise their plans to show how "adequate water pressure" for the lots will be obtained for development, to show the accurate location of the water tower, and the plans must show how one of the lots will be connected to the county's public water system.
One area resident, identified in the DAC minutes as Len Petrey, of Forest Hill, expressed his concerns about McDonald's traffic along Bynum Road, and he asked if officials have any plans to deal with the situation, including installing a traffic light.
Davenport said the traffic study is under review, and a four-way stop is being considered for the location.
Petrey noted he has seen many fender-bender traffic accidents, speeding and traffic backups, and he did not think a four-way stop would be enough, according to the minutes.