Bowman sues Washington County commissioners over truck stop ban

A Williamsport development firm is asking a Washington County Circuit Court judge to issue a temporary restraining order to halt an ordinance that amounts to a ban on construction of new truck stops and makes it tougher to build warehouses larger than a million square feet anywhere in the county.

Bowman Group LLC and its subsidiary Bowman-Spielman LLC on Tuesday filed the motion in circuit court, with the Board of County Commissioners of Washington County as defendants.

In the filing, Bowman attorney Ian P. Bartman of Frederick-based Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law said the commissioners' 3-2 vote Nov. 29 approving a zoning ordinance amendment instituting the ban and controls was "illegally ratified" as the commissioners violated state and local laws, as well as its "own written procedures for consideration of zoning text amendments."

Specifically, the Washington County Planning Commission should have held a public hearing and issued a recommendation on the zoning change before the commissioners voted, according to the suit. Not only was that not done, but members of the planning commission on Nov. 19 sent a letter to the commissioners asking them to follow proper procedure.

In addition, Bartman requested an emergency ruling or hearing no later than Thursday, saying his clients would suffer "immediate, substantial and irreparable injury" if an injunction isn't put in place.

Background:'Serious concerns': County truck stop, warehouse proposals spark scrutiny, complaint

"If injunctive relief is not granted … (Bowman) will have lost time, money, business opportunity and property rights that will be wrongfully taken from them as a result of the illegal legislative acts of (the commissioners)," the lawsuit states.

A hearing had yet to be scheduled in the matter as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to online court records.

Bowman truck stop project spurred the vote

The Nov. 29 vote was sparked by a Bowman-Spielman and Bowman Group application to the Washington County Board of Zoning Appeals for a special exception to build a combination truck stop and Sheetz convenience store. It would be built on property Bowman officials own at Spielman and Lappans roads near I-81 in the Williamsport area.

The zoning board was scheduled to hold a hearing June 8 to consider the special exception for Bowman officials.

However, according to William Erskine, who also is an attorney with Offit Kurman, on June 7, the commissioners, without proper notice, held a public meeting in which testimony was taken from several people opposed to the truck stop project. He drew up a complaint to the state Attorney General's Office claiming the commissioners violated the state's open meeting rules during that June meeting when they discussed the truck stop issue.

In the complaint, Erskine says the testimony at the June 7 meeting was taken to garner support from the commissioners for a letter opposing the project. The letter was to be sent to the board of zoning appeals requesting that the zoning board deny Bowman officials their petition for the special exception.

More background:Washington County Commissioners vote to curb truck stop, warehouse developments

The letter was prepared by Commissioner Terry Baker, who gave it to Commissioner Wayne Keefer before the June 7 commission meeting, according to Erskine's complaint. During the meeting, Baker, Keefer and Commissioner Charles Burkett voted to send the letter, in what Erskine referred to as "unprecedented interference" of the zoning board.

Despite the letter, the zoning board the next day approved the special exception for the truck stop plan.

On Aug. 17, opponents of the project filed a petition in Washington County Circuit Court asking for a review of the zoning board decision. It's still pending.

What happened during the Washington County Commissioners Nov. 29 hearing?

The Nov. 29 vote approved a text change to the county's zoning ordinance that would no longer allow truck stops as a special exception use in Highway Interchange zones, and would require new warehouses larger than 1 million square feet to get special exception approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The vote came after about 90 minutes of emphatic testimony during a public hearing that attorneys for the developers contended wasn't legal because the usual procedure of allowing the county planning commission to hear the matter first had not been followed.

Just before the vote was taken, Commissioner Randall Wagner asked County Attorney Kirk Downey if the vote would be legal. Downey replied that it looked as if "a court will ultimately decide that."

Downey reminded the commissioners that they had been advised "repeatedly" to follow procedure, and that "staff has not informed the board that this will withstand judicial scrutiny."

To complicate matters, Nov. 29 was the last meeting of that board of commissioners. Baker chose not to run again, instead opting for and ultimately winning a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates. Burkett lost in the July primary.

Baker and Burkett joined Keefer, who was reelected Nov. 8, in voting in favor of the zoning change. Wagner and Commissioners' President Jeff Cline voted against it.

John Barr, a former county commissioner who was elected after being off the board for a few years, was made president of the board Tuesday during the new board's first meeting. He joined newcomer Derek Harvey, Wagner, Keefer and Cline.

Barr and Downey, the county attorney, were listed as being served with the lawsuit on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear Wednesday afternoon whether the previous board members would be involved in the lawsuit.

Truck stop brought up during commissioners' meeting with county delegation

On Wednesday, the new board was one of several groups meeting the Washington County's state delegates and senators to discuss potential legislation for the upcoming General Assembly session that starts Jan. 11.

The truck stop issue was top of mind for some on the delegation to Annapolis.

“I’m just going to pull the Band-Aid off,” said Sen.-elect Mike McKay, R-Garrett, Allegany, Washington. “I really don’t understand the truck stop issue, coming from Cumberland.”

He said “hopefully you’ll revisit that,” referencing the Nov. 29 zoning vote.

Keefer responded by saying his approach to public service is to “take to heart” concerns that his constituents have.

“When I have citizens call me and ask me to come to their home and they cry to me about issues that they’re suffering through,” said Keefer, “that makes my approach a little different in terms of what’s the priority.”

McKay said the delegation has to take into consideration the local preferences, but that is has to do what’s good for the whole state.

“To perfectly honest, sir, having some kind of ordinance that says no truck stops in Washington County really doesn’t look good for us in Washington County,” he said.

McKay thanked Keefer later in the session for bringing up the environmental impact of truck stops.

Contributing: Dwight Weingarten

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Truck stop ban leads to Bowman suing county commissioners