Oliver ‘Stunned’ By Signatures Opposing Foundry Row

Baltimore County Councilman Ken Oliver said the 7,100 signatures he received from residents calling for additional review of proposed development Foundry Row show a need for more public process.

“From the boxes of petitions that were delivered to my office and the offices of my council colleagues this week, to the huge turnout or residents at this month’s council meeting, it is clear that there are significant community concerns about permitting a new 400,000 square foot retail mall along Reisterstown Road,” Oliver said in a press release.

– one for each council member – containing 7,100 signatures of Baltimore County residents who are opposed to Foundry Row, the Wegmans-anchored development Greenberg Gibbons hopes to build at the Solo Cup site on Reisterstown Road.

While Oliver’s district doesn’t include the Solo Cup property, his district contains the and the . The developers of both of those projects are opposed to Foundry Row, citing concerns about traffic, a potential overabundance of retail and weakened prospects for mall revitalization.

Oliver said the signatures echo his concerns about the need for more review of the project, including a review of the developer’s full traffic study, which Greenberg Gibbons has yet to release.

“Our constituents are calling for a more community-driven process, whether it is a Planned Unit Development or a series of community charrettes like those that succeeded in Dundalk, Middle River, Towson and Randallstown,” Oliver said in a release. “If we refuse to do that, I believe that the council will be stifling public debate, quashing community voices and, ultimately the public trust.”

As Say No to Solo collected signatures at shopping centers on Reisterstown Road and used its Facebook page to spread its message, Greenberg Gibbons started its own Facebook page to drum up support for Foundry Row and refute what it says is misleading information from the opposition.

“A petition with clearly misleading information aimed at stopping Wegmans and Foundry Row is being distributed in the Owings Mills area,” read a post from July 20. “After months of push polls, robo-calls and mailers failed to generate support for their special interest group, they have resorted to a deceptive petition.”