Royal Farms Development Clears Hurdle in North Laurel

During the North Laurel Civic Association meeting held this past Tuesday, county officials spoke to residents at length about the zoning plans for Route 1. County representatives showed residents plans for redevelopment put into place in 2004, which can be viewed on the Department of Planning and Zoning website.

The future of North Laurel consists of more green space along the corridor and a developed train station in the racetrack area. Meeting leaders screened questions about specifics of the development plans for the area before opening the floor for Royal Farms representatives.

Many residents' concerns with the convenience store are with the traffic issues already existing in the area, specifically at the crossroads of Route 1 and Whiskey Bottom Road. They worry that tractor-trailers and other oversized vehicles do not have the space to maneuver correctly on the roads as they exist. With the addition of another store, some feel that traffic congestion will only increase.

One woman brought up the issues with a convenience store on Route 1 in Beltsville. She noted the area went from having bad traffic problems to severe congestion.

Royal Farms representatives were quick to point out that they would be complying, as much as possible, with the zoning laws in place so as not to increase traffic problems, but hopefully alleviate them. They also pointed out that though Royal Farms would need to ask for a zoning exemption in order to build in the area—as of now no more gas stations are allowed—they would not overly develop the site they want to purchase.

“We plan on having only one-third of the site developed,” Tom  Meachum, a Royal Farms attorney, emphasized.

Store reps went on to point out that the new store will bring with it many jobs, but this brought with it more concerns. While some residents are happy to have the jobs in the area, others are concerned the minimum wage jobs would not be conducive to the atmosphere that residents and county execs are trying to bring to the North Laurel area.

As both sides of the issue were discussed, one man, Steve Hunt, stated, “Perfection is the enemy of the good. I would love to get rid of many of the businesses on Route 1 but it's the green space involved in the proposed site that intrigues me.”

Through a general vote held by all in attendance, it was decided that, although everyone wasn't won over by the new proposed store, it offers a promising possibility, and most wanted to see the conversation continued. There will be another meeting held on the issue, but a date was not set.