The latest turn in the ongoing efforts by Bel Air South area residents to keep a Walmart from being built in their community is a study of the area being done by some of Harford's state legislators.
Less than a week after Saturday's rally at the Festival of Bel Air shopping center, Bel Air South residents came out to a meeting at Patterson Mill Middle/High School to get the latest details on the Bel Air Walmart project and see what they can do to stop it.
State Del. Susan McComas, who helped organize the forum Thursday night, told the several hundred people in attendance that while the chance of stopping Walmart may seem daunting, she felt optimistic about a new corridor study for all of Route 924 that new state Del. Mary Ann Lisanti has been pulling together.
"I think that is a very positive note because I think all of us recognize that we need to study the whole area and make it more transportation-friendly," McComas said.
Few details of the study were made available.
Neither Walmart officials, nor anyone from State Highway Administration or Harford County Planning and Zoning attended.
The panel that spoke to the audience included Cindy Mumby, county spokesperson, and Bret Schreiber, director of government and community relations.
It also featured Steve Tobia and Bill Wehland, two organizers for the Bel Air South Community Foundation that has led the fight against Walmart, and two other residents: Morita Bruce, head of the land use group Friends of Harford, and Gene Simmers, a Joppa resident and former SHA traffic engineer who has questioned the Walmart traffic studies.
McComas said Walmart was advised by attorneys not to send representatives. Walmart Director of Community Affairs Nina Albert, however, sent an e-mail shortly before the meeting that reiterated the new store will meet the needs of many in the community, the site is zoned for a use like Walmart and the company is addressing traffic impact as required by county code.
"While we will not be participating in person at tonight's meeting, we are providing a brief summary of our position, below, with respect to the new store we are proposing to build at the southwest corner of Plumtree Road and Maryland Route 924," Albert wrote in the statement.
"We remain hopeful that we and the County can reach agreement through the usual administrative channels and that our project can move forward for the benefit of many in the community," Albert said.
Earlier this week, Walmart sent The Aegis a copy of a petition it has been asking customers at the Constant Friendship and Aberdeen stores to sign.
"More than 2,500 area residents have signed petitions supporting our plans, a reflection of broad community support," Albert wrote in the e-mail Thursday.
McComas also handed out a copy of an April 24 letter sent from SHA to the county's planning and zoning department confirming that an addendum to the traffic impact study was completed by The Traffic Group and, among other conclusions, the study found that five affected intersections would "continue to operate at acceptable levels of service under future conditions for both right-in/right-out and a full movement access along MD 924."
Simmers, the former traffic engineer, has questioned the study's conclusions.
"I see mistakes being made in here that are really unbelievable," he told the crowd, drawing applause.
Tobia said despite Walmart's claim that the store would generate roughly 8,000 trips daily, a traffic engineer told him it could be as high as 16,000 trips during peak days or times.
Wehland also said again the Foundation would keep the pressure on the county to make Walmart carry out all required traffic mitigations.
Howard Klein, of Klein's ShopRite at the nearby Festival at Bel Air shopping center, wondered about a third lane that was originally intended on Route 24 between Bel Air South Parkway and Plumtree.
Klein said he has asked the county twice why it is not requiring that improvement if the developer's entire model is based on the improvement. Mumby said she would get back to him.
Mumby reassured the crowd that Harford County Executive Barry Glassman was not negotiating with Walmart and the county had every intention of making the company carry out all required mitigations.
She said the county is set to send Walmart information on deficiencies identified by SHA that Walmart must address.
"This project has the county's full attention," Mumby said. "We will ensure that they [Walmart] follow the code to a T. The county executive is not negotiating with Walmart. We don't negotiate that way. They have to bring the roadways and the intersections up to the level of service before the development came along. That is not negotiable."
Wehland added the new administration is a breath of "fresh air" and Schreiber, Mumby and planning and zoning director Bradley Killian "have an open-door policy."
"We are also looking for legislation that does something with 75,000-square-feet-and-over, big-box stores, as we call them," Wehland said. "I have been fighting for that for two years. We don't want to see another Walmart or big box store in a residential development."
"We will continue to fight, and I don't think that battle has ended yet," Wehland said, after some residents wondered if the store is "a done deal."
"We want our county to be a beautiful county, and we don't want it invaded with congestion and traffic concerns," he said.