Walmart has received approval for limited access from Route 924 for its controversial proposed Bel Air South store, catching Harford County officials by surprise.
The Maryland State Highway Administration said in a letter to the county in the past week that southbound 924 traffic would be allowed to turn into the 33-acre proposed Walmart site south of Plumtree Road between Route 924 and 24. Traffic would also be able to make a right turn onto 924 from Walmart.
The move is a sudden reversal from SHA's previous denial of the 924 access to Walmart, a denial that was advocated for by the Harford County Council and the prior county administration and is supported by the current one.
An opinion shared among some county officials, as well as many community opponents, holds that blocking access to the site from Route 924 would dissuade Walmart from building at that site. Walmart has been working on plans for the store since 2011.
"The decision for access on MD924 to the proposed development provides a transportation benefit to the overall roadway network, by both reducing vehicular traffic entering the site from Plumtree Road and reducing vehicular traffic exiting the site onto Bel Air South Parkway," Steve Foster, chief of SHA's access management division, wrote.
Copies of the letter were sent to Harford Sen. Bob Cassilly and Del. Susan McComas, SHA spokesperson David Buck said. The two legislators, who could not be reached for comment, represent the area where the Walmart is planned.
State officials considered the input of Harford County planning and zoning officials, including a resolution approved by the County Council asking to deny the 924 access, according to the letter.
Harford County Executive Barry Glassman said Tuesday his administration never asked for the reversal and has not made any new approvals for the Walmart project.
"We remain consistent with the county position and we did not grant [the access]," he said, adding the county's planning and zoning department is reviewing SHA's letter.
"We are reviewing that letter and we have not granted any final approval," Glassman said.
Councilman Jim McMahan, one of three council members whose districts cover the Bel Air South area, said Tuesday he "was hit like a ton of bricks when I found out this within the last 24 hours."
He said he has sent several letters to SHA warning about traffic problems at that site.
McMahan said he was very surprised the state's notification of the access, which he said was sent to the county on Jan. 21, ahead of the letter to state officials, did not even mention him.
"It was such, in my thinking, a back-door decision. I am flabbergasted. My constituents should be insulted. I know the current administration has assured me that they support the [council] resolution [denying access]," he said.
On Oct. 2, 2012, amid public furor over the Walmart plan, the previous county council passed a resolution co-sponsored by McMahan and three other members, which urged SHA to deny the Route 924 access. Although conceding the request was non-binding on the state, the resolution points out the council was bringing forth concerns of citizens "that the council determines should be taken into consideration in the decision process."
Almost a year later, on Sept. 30, 2013, SHA's Foster wrote a letter to the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning stating: "While the developer may desire an access on MD Route 924 to improve marketability, the addition of a MD Route 924 access does not provide a substantial transportation benefit to the overall roadway network. As a result, Walmart submitted a site plan to the county that did not show access to the site from Route 924, only from Plumtree Road, which is a county road, and extension of Blue Spruce Drive north from Bel Air South Parkway.
The SHA's latest letter states, however, that access from 924 would make the most sense for the development:
"The right-in movement is expected to help balance the southbound MD924 traffic destined for Walmart. Without the right-in movement, all southbound traffic has to turn right on Plumtree Road and then turn left at the traffic signal at Blue Spruce Drive.The left turn queues could at different times approach the MD924 intersection.With the right-in movement, traffic has two options that are expected to help the roadway network operate in a safe and more efficient manner," the letter states.
"Similarly, the right-out movement provides a like benefit for traffic destined for southbound MD924 from Walmart.Without the right-out movement, all southbound traffic has to turn left at the traffic signal at Blue Spruce Drive and Bel Air South Parkway and then turn right at the MD924 traffic signal," the letter continues.
"The traffic signal operation at Blue Spruce Drive is anticipated to affect the MD24 and MD924 traffic signals with Bel Air South Parkway," according to the letter, which also states that letting store traffic turn right onto Route 924 gives two options to southbound traffic, providing redundancy that is "expected to help the roadway network operate in a safe and more efficient manner."
No timeline has been set for construction on the Walmart store, which raised a community outcry after the company announced plans to build the 186,000-square-foot building.
"We are continuing to work with local and state officials, who are evaluating the traffic impact study for this project," Bill Wertz, Walmart spokesperson, said via email Tuesday morning.
"No firm timeline has been established for the conclusion of the review, but we hope to come to a mutually agreeable plan in the near future," Wertz wrote.
County government spokesperson Cindy Mumby said county officials have exchanged letters with SHA in recent months reaffirming the county's request to deny 924 access.
"This correspondence further demonstrates that the county did not request that SHA reverse its earlier decision to deny access to the state road MD 924," Mumby wrote via email Tuesday afternoon. "In fact, when asked, the Glassman administration's director of planning and zoning informed SHA that the county had taken no action to modify its position on denial of access, citing Resolution 26-12 [formerly approved by the County Council]."