The Baltimore County Council voted unanimously Monday to overturn its prior approval of a controversial plan to build a 3-million-square-foot industrial park at the former LaFarge Quarry in Middle River.
The project, approved 4-3 by the council in October, has faced loud opposition from residents, who have said it would harm the environment and overwhelm roads in the rural area.
All seven council members voted to reverse the council’s decision on the quarry project, which was approved as a planned-unit development, a designation for a mixed-use project that has a public benefit or achieves a higher standard of development.
Last week, dozens of people spoke out in favor of rescinding the project’s approval at a May 30 council work session, including Republican state delegates Kathy Szeliga and Ryan Nawrocki, who in January asked the Maryland Department of the Environment in January to study the property further.
Matt Gurka, president of the Bird River Beach Community Association, said last week that his members supported Marks’ move to halt the development.
“A [planned-unit development] designation does nothing for our community, nor does it promote smart growth,” Gurka said in his virtual testimony.
He called allowing commercial development on 400 acres of residentially zoned land “beyond comprehension.”
An opinion from the county’s Office of Law last month questioned whether the project was legal because the land is zoned for residential use.
Former Democratic Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, who represented Middle River at the time, put forth the original resolution supporting the quarry project last fall. Project opponents have criticized Bevins, who left office shortly after the project’s approval, for accepting donations from the developers before saying she would not seek reelection.
Those developers, Chesapeake Real Estate Group and Holcim-MAR, intended to build warehouses, retail spaces and offices off Earls Road at the location of a former sand and gravel mine and to donate about 200 acres to build a vocational school. The Board of Education passed on the offer after a recent report found the site is too small for a high school.
The County Council passed legislation in April proposed by Republican Councilman David Marks, who represents Perry Hall and inherited the project after redistricting in January, allowing council members to revoke prior approval for planning projects.
On Monday, Marks said he wanted to reverse the council’s decision on the site because the plan was “prematurely” approved. He also cited the county attorney’s questions regarding the project’s legality, opposition from neighbors and a lack of cooperation from developers after he asked them to withdraw their application.
“Make no mistake: This project will likely be litigated for years to come,” Marks said Monday. “The opponents will challenge this development for the next half decade, a situation that is neither good for the community, the county or the developer.”
Whit MacCuaig, Chesapeake Real Estate Group’s senior vice president of development and finance, did not comment on the council vote; however, he took issue with Marks’ comments about lack of cooperation.
“We have been working closely with Councilman Marks and his community workgroup for six months to understand the concerns and needs of the community, going through multiple development plan iterations addressing the same,” MacCuaig said in an email Tuesday.
Marks sponsored Monday’s bill along with Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat who opposed the quarry project, and Wade Kach, a Timonium Republican who originally supported it. Kach has said he was not aware of the extent of the community’s opposition when he supported Bevins’ resolution last fall.
