Opponents of a proposed Wegmans supermarket in east Columbia were handed setbacks last week when two county appellate bodies rejected arguments against building the supermarket.

On Aug. 28, the county's Hearing Examiner, Michelle LeFaivre, rejected an appeal by three Columbia residents who claimed that the approved development plan for the store failed to adequately analyze Saturday traffic patterns in the vicinity of the store's proposed site, according to a recording of the hearing.

The following day, the county Board of Appeals voted unanimously that Carvel "Buddy" Mays, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27, which represents grocery workers, did not have the legal right to challenge the Planning Board's 2007 decision allowing Wegmans to build, according to minutes of the hearing.

Wegmans plans to build a 160,000-square-foot grocery store on 12 acres at the intersection of Snowden River Parkway and McGaw Road.

Susan Gray, the attorney for both the three Columbia residents -- Ronald Yaffe, Philip Rousseau and William Johnson -- and for Mays, said she would appeal the decisions to the appropriate bodies.

Richard Talkin, the attorney for Wegmans, could not be reached for comment.

Jo Natale, a Wegmans spokeswoman, said Aug. 6 that Wegmans still plans to build a store in Columbia and was working on getting building permits for the Snowden River Parkway site authorized by the county's Department of Planning and Zoning.

"We absolutely plan to build a store in Columbia," Natale said, adding that the company has not set a date on which it hopes to begin construction of the store.

Foes: Saturday traffic ignored

In the Aug. 28 case, Gray argued that when officials in the Department of Planning and Zoning approved the Wegmans plan in 2007, they violated the county's Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance by not recording traffic patterns on a Saturday near the proposed site of the Wegmans.

The facilities ordinance regulates development in areas of the county in which roads or schools are overcrowded.

A Saturday analysis was necessary because more people use supermarkets on Saturdays, increasing traffic on that day, Gray argued.

Talkin countered that the residents provided no information that would show that traffic patterns on a Saturday near the site would be any different than those on a Friday.

"On the basis of the evidence before me, I'm going to agree with Mr. Talkin that you have not met your burden of proof," LeFaivre told Gray, according to the recording of the hearing.

Union leader's appeal rejected

On the following day, the Board of Appeals rejected an appeal by Mays.

Mays was appealing an earlier decision by LeFaivre that he lacked the legal standing necessary to challenge the Planning Board's September 2007 approval of the Wegmans project.

Mays claims that the Planning Board's ruling on Wegmans essentially acted as a change of zoning to the parcel on which the store would be built and that such a decision is reserved for the Zoning Board, which also sits as the County Council.

Gray had argued to LeFaivre in February that, as a Howard County taxpayer, Mays had the legal standing necessary to challenge the Planning Board's decision.

Talkin argued that, Mays, who is an Ellicott City resident, would not be especially aggrieved by the construction of a supermarket in east Columbia and therefore lacked the standing to challenge the project.

LeFaivre sided with Talkin.

On Aug. 29, the Board of Appeals affirmed LeFaivre's decision in a 4-0 vote, according to minutes from the hearing. Board chairman Albert Hayes noted in his remarks prior to the vote that he did not find Mays especially aggrieved, according to the minutes.

Gray said she planned to appeal the Board of Appeals decision to the Howard County Circuit Court and LeFaivre's decision to the Board of Appeals.

---

user comments (2)

user mdlynch says...

The writer of the article omitted an important and relevant fact about Wegmans. It is a NON-union grocery store. Mays is president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27, which represents grocery workers. That fact needed to be included in this article to give readers another potential perspective on what Mays' real motivation might be for opposing Wegmans. Does he really care about the traffic or could it be something else bothering him?

GO WEGMANS! I'll gladly take a little more traffic in Columbia so I don't have to drive to Towson or even Northern Virginia to get my Wegmans fix.

Posted 9:44 AM, 08.08.08

• Permalink

user juiceman says...

I was first introduced to Wegman's in New York...undoubtedly the BEST deli anywhere...no wonder the locals are opposed. I'd drive 10 miles to get one of their turkey subs before I'd ever his a Subway, or any other deli for that matter. Bring it on!

Posted 10:20 AM, 08.09.08

• Permalink