Proposed MD 924 Royal Farms 'Literally In The Backyard'

BEL AIR, MD — Developers presented their plans for a Royal Farms store near the intersection of Emmorton Road and Box Hill South Parkway. While the Harford County Development Advisory Committee found no significant issues of concern during its meeting Wednesday morning, residents had several.

The proposed Royal Farms would be located at 10 Box Hill South Parkway, next to the Canton Car Wash and AAA car care center currently under construction along Route 924/Emmorton Road.

Project engineers said the Royals Farms would be 5,166 square feet, with a canopy atop eight gas pumps for a total of 16 fueling stations. It would be a 24-hour operation.

Several residents testified at Wednesday's meeting, held at the Harford County government building at 220 Main Street in Bel Air, with concerns ranging from traffic to health to property values. They echoed issues raised at a June community input meeting in Abingdon about the project.

SEE ALSO: Royal Farms Proposed On Box Hill South Parkway

Since that initial meeting on June 5, residents have also created the website stopboxhillroyalsfarms.org in opposition to the proposed Royal Farms project.

"We are very concerned about safety..." said Kim Dignan, who lives in Park View at Box Hill with her husband, at Wednesday's meeting. "We are literally in the backyard of this proposed gas station."

She encouraged members of the Harford County Development Advisory Committee — which consists of county, state, federal and utility agencies — to visit the area if they were not sure just how close she and others at Park View, a senior living community, resided to the site.

"If you don't know where we live," she said, "please drive by and see how close we are to this."

Patch drove by and here is what it looks like. The building visible on the left is Park View:

Bulldozers on the proposed Royal Farms site are visible here from the Park View parking lot.

Dignan said she brought signatures from other Park View residents who were also opposed to the proximity of the project to their community.

Development Advisory Committee members said they had no questions or concerns from county, state or federal agencies after reviewing the development proposal, except for about landscaping and planting plans.

"Please, hear our cries," said Don Johnson, who lives on Hidden Ridge Terrace. "We beg you: Please take a look at this again."

Johnson said he was concerned about crime; traffic; pedestrian safety — particularly senior citizens; and the speeding problem that he said prevents his neighbors from accessing their own street without peril.

When Johnson asked for clarification about which roads were included in the traffic study, Development Advisory Committee members did not have it in front of them at the meeting and said it was public record.

The traffic study, conducted by a Hanover firm called Traffic Concepts, is available on the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning's website. It assessed the following intersections:

• MD 924 at Box Hill South Parkway
• Box Hill South Parkway at Box Hill Corporate Center
• Box Hill South Parkway at Merchant Boulevard
• Abingdon Road at Box Hill Corporate Center
• MD 924 at Singer Road
• MD 924 at Woodsdale Road
• MD 924 at site accesses
• MD 924 at MD 24 north ramps
• MD 924 at MD 24 south ramps
• Abingdon Road at Hookers Mill Road

The traffic study found the Royal Farms would have approximately 128 vehicles going in and 127 going out per hour during a weekday rush period, between 4 and 6 p.m.

With the additional traffic that Royal Farms expects to generate, the study found that only one intersection would not be up to the standards required by Harford County's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, which requires developers to make adjustments if their project will adversely impact an area.

Box Hill South Parkway at Merchant Boulevard would require improvement, based on the projections.

To improve the intersection, the traffic analysts conducting the study suggested striping the eastbound approach of Box Hill South Parkway at Merchant Boulevard to create an exclusive right turn lane that would be 10 feet wide.

Drivers would access the Royal Farms from Merchant Boulevard and Route 924, which would have a right-in, right-out access point, according to the developers.

Comments from citizens are to be addressed at the Development Advisory Committee meeting or within 30 days in writing after the meeting, according to the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning.

The committee advised that generally within a few weeks, the project leaders were expected to have replied to its feedback regarding landscaping.

Photos by Elizabeth Janney. Survey above courtesy by Frederick Ward Associates courtesy of Harford Planning and Zoning.

This article has been updated to correct the name of Kim Dignan.