Harford County Executive Barry Glassman said Walmart representatives asked the county to ease up on road and traffic-mitigation related improvements the county is requiring for the company's controversial proposed Bel Air South store.
Glassman met Friday with a Walmart spokesperson, as well as Walmart's local attorney Joe Snee and another lawyer, Bob Lynch, who represents the site owner, a trust with ties to a charitable foundation established by the late developer-builder Haran "Hal" Dahan.
Bel Air South area residents, who have opposed the store out of concern about traffic and other quality of life impacts on their community, are planning their own meeting later this month to update people on the road improvement and traffic mitigation issues.
"They [Walmart] are still concerned with the number of improvements that we are requiring. They would like to see those limited to some degree," Glassman said Monday.
"I didn't tell them yes or no," the county executive said.
"My number one concern is considering the impact to our existing communities, particularly in regards to traffic," he said. "My number one objective as county executive is to make sure that everyone complies with the [county] code."
"With that in mind, I did ask them to get us the revised traffic analysis," he said.
Glassman said, however, that the Walmart representatives did not get into specifics of what they want modified during Friday's meeting.
"They just generally questioned the scope, the number of improvements we were requiring and the amount of money" those would cost, he said, while noting the cost of traffic mitigations have been estimated to range from $6 million to $8 million.
"They were just balking at that number," he said.
Ultimately, the Walmart representatives indicated "they are going to do the traffic analysis," which the county is requiring in light of the recent SHA decision on partial access to Route 924, he said.
Glassman was joined at the meeting by Director of Administration Billy Boniface, County Attorney Melissa Lambert, Planning and Zoning Director Bradley Killian and an assistant county attorney.
"I had a couple lawyers with me, too," Glassman said with a chuckle. He explained he was simply there to listen to Walmart's presentation.
"It was not a negotiation meeting," he said. "It was never intended to be a negotiation meeting."
In a statement e-mailed Monday, Walmart spokesperson Bill Wertz only said the Friday meeting was "an opportunity to provide a general overview of the project and its status in the county approval process."
"We appreciate the County Executive taking the time to meet with us and look forward to continuing to work with county and state officials to identify a plan that is a win-win for the community, the county and Walmart," Wertz said.
In 2011, Walmart announced it planned to build a 186,000 square foot store on 17 acres of a 35-acre wooded tract at Route 924 and Plumtree Road, after which it would close its 130,000 square foot, 25-year-old store in the Constant Friendship neighborhood, about two miles south.
Many Bel Air South area residents staged protests over the new store, saying it would overwhelm local roads, and county officials urged Walmart to consider expanding the older store, with the company ruling that out as not economically feasible. Some other residents have expressed support for the project, however.
After the project sat on hold for more than year as the county waited for the company to complete traffic studies and sign off on the required traffic improvements, Walmart recently stepped up activity to move it through the county approval process. This came after the Maryland State Highway Administration in January notified the company and the county it had reversed a previous position and would grant partial access to the store site from Route 924.
Though county officials said they were surprised by the SHA's about-face, the agency's leader said having an additional access point to the site will improve overall traffic flow in the area once the store is built.
The access question had been a point of contention between the county and Walmart, as was the extensive traffic mitigation work the county is requiring under its Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance.
Glassman said he has been closely following the developments with the Walmart project.
"Quite frankly, I have been getting about a once-a-week update from my team on what's been going on," he said. "As the ultimate arbiter and decider, my objective right now is just to make sure that my county departments follow the county code to a T."
"At this juncture, there is a lot of pressure on both sides," he noted.
Community meeting planned
Bel Air South residents who have led the fight against Walmart are planning to hold another presentation on the latest developments from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on March 15 at Bel Air's William McFaul Activities Center.
"We will have a slide presentation of what did the county and the SHA recommend as far as our own traffic engineer recommendations in regard to road improvements," Steve Tobia, one of the opposition leaders, said Monday.
He said he definitely wants to see the county stand its ground on the traffic improvements.
"Seeing that Walmart is going to have a huge impact on our community, then the county should demand that they make every improvement that is a legitimate improvement," Tobia said, adding that Walmart representatives said previously they wanted "to provide us with a better driving experience."
"It certainly shouldn't be Walmart asking for modifications to minimize their burden at the expense of us, who, if they don't do enough improvements, it will be [up to] the taxpayer, a year or two down the road, to foot the bill to make the improvements that should have been made by Walmart, who is increasing the traffic burden," Tobia said.
"They are coming in here and generating a lot of revenue through the store. We certainly shouldn't have to pay the way for their profits," he continued.
In an ideal situation, Tobia said, "we get the traffic improvements and they get a new store."