The following letter regarding the proposed Bel Air Wal-Mart Supercenter was sent to Moe Davenport, chief of the development review section of the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning, and was read into the record at the Harford County Development Advisory Committee meeting on October 17. A copy was provided to The Dagger for publication:
Mr. Davenport:
As the Development Advisory Committee reviews the current plan for the Wal-Mart proposed to be located near the Festival of Bel Air, I would like to request your consideration of establishing numerous conditions to this project. My recommendations are as follows:
1. Eliminate the access road at Bright Oaks Drive, adjacent to a residential neighborhood;
2. Require reconfiguration of Bel Air South Parkway from MD Rt. 24 to MD Rt. 924 to create safe vehicular and pedestrian linkage between two major retail centers and the nearby communities;
3. Require major road improvements, sidewalks, and pedestrian crossings be made on Blue Spruce, Bel Air South Parkway and Plumtree Roads;
4. Require protection of the view shed by upgrading the building exterior and enhance the scope of the berms with mature trees, hardscapes, streetscapes, and landscaping;
5. Require the application of low impact environmentally sensitive development;
6. Limit the impervious surface by requiring the use of pervious parking surfaces;
7. Require a comprehensive security plan for both inside and outside the facility with an area dedicated for use by the Sheriff’s Office Community Policing Unit;
8. Require all lighting to be low-level without off site spill-over;
9. Require all outside storage to be attractively screened;
10. Require the storm water management facility to be upgraded into water feature thus becoming a useful and pleasing design element for the project;
11. Require any amendments necessary to integrate this retail center with the adjacent residential community so the outcome is consistent with the neighborhood and “Main Street” feel that I am seeking to protect.
I sincerely appreciate your consideration of my request. Should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact my office:
Sincerely,
Mary Ann Lisanti
Councilwoman, District F
Doesnt she have a non-profit to loot?
Well if its not her non-profit its county tax money shes stealing! My prediction is its both. You go Girl…. LIE and Steal… just keep doing what you do best… LIE and Steal. Lets Vote her OUT next time!!! VOTE OUT LIEsanti!!
Some of these suggestions make sense but Ms. Lisanti steps out of bounds on some others. I especially like #7 “Require a comprehensive security plan for both inside and outside the facility with an area dedicated for use by the Sheriff’s Office Community Policing Unit.” I am sure Sheriff Bane appreciates Ms. Lisanti dictating where he needs to deploy his personnel. It would also seem that Ms. Lisanti has bought into the stereotyping of Walmart customers as riffraff. What other retail construction requires this type of security requirement – Festival, Wegmans, the existing Walmarts in Aberdeen, Fallston or Abington? I think not.
This letter is putting lipstick on a pig. Just don’t build the damn thing in Bel Air. The SHA said that Rt 924 would need to be expanded to SIX lanes. Too big, too dangerious.
Actually they didn’t but hey lets not let facts get in the way… Where is the Einstein that kept saying the store will be bigger then the mall? You two should join forces.
Stop for a minute and think about this… There is currently a 2 lane road 1 lane in 1 lane out that services the current walmart. And target greatlands and the movie theater and BJ’s and Lowes and Putt-putt and the mini storage and petsmart and McDonalds and Chick fil et and taco bell and wine world (and I could go on but you should be getting the picture by now )…. Now tell us all why there isn’t a 6 lane road needed there?
You all should be very careful hanging your hopes on the traffic issue because it’s going to be very easy for them to prove you wrong. Do you think they didn’t know what they were doing when they threw the 10,000 number out to begin with? You all swallowed it hook line and sinker.
Unless you wise up you all might as well start welcoming the new walmart.
The access road to those stores don’t carry the vehicular traffic going to housinf developments in Emmorton, Bel Air, Forest Hills etc.
Well I never said they did…. did I?
If there will be an additional 10,000 just visiting the new walmart the current number of cars on the 2 lane Constant friendship blvd servicing the old walmart and the previously mentioned store must be well over 30,000 making a conservative guess, of course using walmarts figures as a comparison….
Keep looking at the sparkly spinning object they are dangling for your attention… When you find out the 10,000 number was just another mistake their planners made in the process try not to act surprised….
No but the road that leads to it certainly does.
Yes, I believe that the section of Tollgate Road leading to and from Abingdon Walmart, etc. is 9 lanes wide. In front of Abingdon Walmart the road is 5 to 6 lanes wide.
Furthermore, the section of the road that is 2 lanes flows because there are not traffic lights every 800 feet.
Where is it 9 lanes wide? If you mean by the light that was due to the crossing of 24!!!!! it used to be 4 and only backed up really at Christmas!
Tollgate Road begins and ends at Rt 24 in Abingdon. Tollgate Rd in front of Constant Friendship is 3 lanes heading west (not Emmorton Rd/924 side, that has MORE lanes). There is 1 lane going straight and two lanes turning left into Constant Friendship. Tollgate Road going east has 2 lanes going right towards 95, 2 lanes going left to 24 north, and 2 lanes heading straight onto 924 north. Even with Everyday Math that still equals 9 lanes.
Those are turn lanes. On the other side of the intersection there are 3 lanes!!!!!!2 heading to 24/95/924 and one going towards the town houses. When you characterize a stretch of road you do so based on the flow of traffic. If we did the same thing at the proposed places on 924 we would have to count all those turn lanes!
Sure–924 from BelAir So Pkwy to Plumtree–currently 3 to 4 lanes.
Bless each and everyone of your little hearts for making my point so crystal clear. You all have just proved that the roads on either side of the new walmart Belair s pky and plumtree are plenty big enough to supply the 2 lane section of 924 that will service the store. Heck those 2 roads alone have over 12 lanes to move the automobiles and they will have direct acess to the new store. That should be more than needed for the next 25 years…..
Do any of you really think about what you are typing here? No wonder walmart is so eager to add more stores here, the average harford county resident seems to be their ideal customer…..
Ah PeggySue. The road cannot currently handle the traffic there. The addition of 10,000 to 13,000 cars per day would gridlock the entire area. You need to have the easement to go to 9 lanes. There also is the issue of lane drops creating pinch points and backups. There is so much more than you’ve talked about. Consult with Mike Duke, check the traffic numbers of the areas you are discussing, look at the TIS, read the DAC minutes when available, and give us a full and detailed update beyond your generalities. Thanks in advance.
Think about what you typed…
” The road cannot currently handle the traffic there.”
Your words not mine.
So clearly you think the roads need to be widened even without a walmart. And when the road is widened it will certainly be done with the B3 zoning for the site in mind.
Say hello to your new walmart!
There are already two lanes in and out of the access road to get to the Constant Friendship Walmart, as well as two left turn lanes and a 32 million dollar investment in the 24/924 interchange to improve access.
There is only 1 in unless you are that non-driver always making a left hand turn from the right hand lane into walmart….
That intersection “improvement” had nothing to do with that area whatsoever. It was designd to get people over the bridge and on their way to Bel Air as quickly as possible. If anything, we lost one lane because coming down from Constant Friendship into the WalMart there used to be enough median space for a right turn lane. Now the traffic is backed up to Crisfield Drive. There is one lane going down the hill and one coming up so I’m still really unclear where the 9 lanes are that you’re speaking of. The “improvements” actually worsened traffic in that area.
With limited ingress/egress along that route allowing for intensive traffic increases, you’ll have to put a light into every subdivision within half a mile of the Walmart – people won’t be able to get out of thier neighborhoods and during morning and evening commute I can’t imagine how horrible it will be. Not to mention the spillover effects as people from Forest Hill tire of using 924 because they can’t get through – expect increases all along 152; worse than it is now.
I am listening to the traffic debate, and really need to make something clear. The reason 24 was built in the first place and expanded was to take as much traffic possible away from the neighborhoods that surround it. That has been it’s purpose. So… if you think about it, and the amount of traffic you already have on 924 at any given time in the first place, the road being expanded would be defeatist. On top of that taking into account on how much the “Monstrosity Roads Project” (my title not the counties) at the 24/95 interchange has costs, why would anyone want that in such a highly populated area (more lanes on 924). They would have to expand the road to 6 lanes, which yea it’s “only 1 lane per side”, but if traffic is going to increase, then as someone else had said you would have to change the timing on lights, and install new ones so people don’t wreck. I know for a fact they wreck enough on 924 as it is, so i don’t think they need more lanes of traffic, so that a kid can get hit walking to school or coming home from and after school event.
The council is trying to push this thru, because they know how much it benefits them, not (so much) the county, just them. Some people on the council are just wannabe DC politicians looking for corporate backing for their campaigns. I know i rant, but the Wal Marts that are in this county are strategically placed so that they are very accessible as they are now. They should EXPAND the older one. They don’t want to because they have competition too close to them. Use some common sense here people. If you can drive less than 15-20 minutes to get to a Walmart do you really need one any closer than that. I know my answer…A resounding nooooo!!! Also, if they really wanted to help the citizens of the county they would build one in Edgewood, where I am sure it would be welcomed. How about that Wal Mart? Would you consider a store in Edgewood where there is an almost vacant shopping center calling for your HELP?….
There are no residential communities, churches, or schools off that access. People go there only to shop.
i think she had the lipstick on before she wrote the letter
Ms. Lisanti stepped in it with her liberal constituency at the last council meeting and now she is trying to cover her tracks.
After that phony, do nothing, talks too much, waste of a good spot on the council Lisanti; lectured the community and the council members she has the nerve to send this letter! She needs to go. Look at how she sulked when her own party member Guthrie voted her out of that position at the last meeting. It makes me think, why doesn’t anyone on the council trust her? We should not trust her; she is in bed with Walmart. This is just her way to try and save face.
Why should Guthrie support her on this? She turned her back on him over the Waste Transfer Station in Joppa.
You are right! That is why she needs to go next election. She only takes care of herself, never her district. Look how she screwed up the animal shelter bill. Not her district, but she got involved anyway and She did it for her own good and to help out her old friend that has the property next to the shelter. She does not care where that walmart goes. If by some chance walmart is stopped she and Guthrie will take full credit for what the ol’captain did and if it is built LIEsanti will say I told you so. Then collect a FAT pay check from walmart. Watch her next meeting see how often she lies. ATTN: DAGGER PRESS you should start a truth or fact checker board for all of the elected cronies. I bet LIEsanti would win top billing every time. While you’re at it you should look into how much tax money she spends each year on trips and meetings! LIEsanti is corrupt as they come!
LIE Liesanti LIE
What animal shelter bill?
It is time for some change. Primary her. If that doesn’t work run a liberal as a third party candidate which should split Democratic vote in her district.
After reading about many many police calls at the wegwans over the summer I suggest they build a police station there. To save the dogs locked in cars. The crime rate in that area has skyrocketed since its opening.
I think Councilwoman Lisanti needs to consider the historical requirements the County has placed on large construction projects.
Was the Festival, the Harford Mall, or the new office buildings at the Bata Shoe factory required to have a pervious parking surface or provide space for the police?
Walmart cannot be stopped by requiring they have gold-plated toilets in the customer restrooms when every other commercial building was allowed to use porcelain, their lawyers will easily get the burdensome restrictions overturned.
Reasonable ingress/egress through and around the proposed area is hardly expecting gold toilets. Not sure where you get this idea that you keep banging on; that seems to suggest citizens and local government have no say in development. I assure you they do.
Did I mentioned reasonable road access? I’m concerned with the expensive measures the Councilwoman is saying Walmart should be saddled with, but I have not seen other businesses in Harford endure them. From the Councilwoman’s list, #5, 6, 7 and 10 are the most questionable.
If putting a Walmart in at that location necessitates expensive and costly road upgrades all those costs are on Walmart; the residents of the county should not be expected to subsidize a big box in a location where it doesn’t belong…if those costs are prohibitive then good – maybe they’ll come to their senses and realize they shouldn’t build thier store there. If they continue to push it and end up putting a store there…I’d hope it would be boycotted into oblivion.
Also Kharn – nothing wrong with expecting additional esthetics. When you’re putting an enormous building right in the middle of neighborhoods it’s not the same as building something to the scale of it’s surrounds. The neighborhood will be forced to look at this enormous, ugly box. How would you like to look at the back of a concrete-blocked Walmart all day?
Where are road access or exterior appearance mentioned in #5, 6, 7, or 10?
5, 6 and 7 have to do with runoff and the treatment of. You are aware that area is watershed correct? Plumtree Run originated in or around Belair proper and follows along 24. It’s all part of the Bush River Watershed so to expect some effort to minimize the inevitable dumping of toxic runoff into Bush River is part of what’s expected. If Walmart didn’t want to make any effort to be environmentally sensitive during construction perhaps they ought not chose a site that sits in a watershed.
I agree, citizens do get a say and influence the outcome of expansion. We have a vote coming up on Question 7 to expand gambling in MD. which i have never seen the point if in the first place. The lottery money we get now, what schools are getting that money , and when? We have had a lottery since i was a kid, and yet still education in MD. stinks in most schools populated in minority areas. I guess people think that putting a Casino in the little bit richer side of Baltimore, a few blocks away from a very poor side of the city makes perfect sense. The people need to and have to put their feet down and open their mouths on these issues, because if you really think your gvn’t is working in your best interest while we all watch the Ravens play, the your very naive.
The fact is that if nobody said anything about this WalMart being built, then it would have been built, or at least a lot farther along than it is. To not be approved by the council for now is a perfect example of the power of public opinion, and even protest. SO yea i think what i have to say and others have an impact on politicians making decisions. Unfortunately… A lot of people are so frustrated with what does happen to them day to day by the gvn’t (local and federal), that they just take it, and don’t feel what they say is heard, so why bother. I am glad i am not one of those people.
You know what… none of us always has every detail of every fact right all the time, and to act that way on any forum shows just have much of an azz you are, regardless of the party you support. I just wanted to throw that in so that people on here realize that we are all human, and may make a mistake in a tiny detail, of what we factually know about the big picture.
Times change Kharn – we don’t use the same methods for building septics anymore either because we’ve learned better methods and reasons for stiffer requirements. If Walmart had built thier store in 1985 they’d be in like Flynn, but it’s 2012 and there are high standards for construction in watersheds. Black topping a large area isn’t healthy for a watershed so it’s reasonable to expect new development conform to modern requirements. They could forego these additional costs if they would be satisfied to stay where they are; they’re grandfathered – they make the choice and if they want to move it’ll cost them lots of money. Because something wasn’t expected 20 years ago doesn’t mean it can never be a requirement otherwise we wouldn’t require seatbelts or airbags in cars and those do cost us extra.
I think Councilwoman Lisanti needs to consider resigning. She does nothing but lie.
I just read in the Aegis a letter sent from Ms. Lisanti where she accuses Mr. Boniface of trying to censer her right to freedom of speech. Ms. Lisanti is miffed because Mr. Boniface acting in his position of County Council President sought to clarify that statements made by Ms. Lisanti relative to the Walmart situation were hers and did not represent the collective opinion of the County Council. Mr. Boniface was also reacting to other council members who had concerns about how the public may perceive Ms. Lisanti’s statements. The Council President was well within his own rights of free speech and exercised reasonable action through his leadership position on the council to make this distinction very clear.
What the council needs to do is vote to stick a gag in her mouth and shut her up. She neeeds to shut the Heck up. No one gives a dam what you have to say Liesanti. Two more years and she will be out on her ear. I can not wait. Art Helton for district F! He can not screw it up any more then Liesanti has.
Why is no one defending Ms. Lisanti? Is she truly that bad? I have always felt she was a do-nothing blowhard I guess this proves it for me.
It is time to vote out Bane, Lisanti, Guthrie, and James. What have any of them done for Harford County? Two years and out!
No one is defending her because she is a DIRT BAG!
VOTE THEM ALL OUT!