Perryman residents file suit against Harford County, parties involved with Mitchell property development

Jason Fontelieu, The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.
·2 min read

Jun. 9—Perryman residents have filed suit against Harford County, the Mitchell family and the developers of the proposed Mitchell property warehouse project. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, where the developers are based.

This is the latest move in the Perryman community's efforts to block the plan to build 5.2 million square feet of warehouse space in their neighborhood.

The suit alleges that the project, if completed, would have a negative impact on the surrounding community by increasing traffic, reducing property values, and making it more difficult for residents to enjoy their private property.

"This case is about a municipal government, Harford County, ignoring their own county code and laws, to allow a development that is not good for the county, but more specifically impinges on my clients' rights to enjoy the property that they own or reside on," said Rignal W. Baldwin V of the Baltimore firm Baldwin Seraina, one of the Perryman team's lawyers.

Cindy Mumby, the county's governmental and community relations director, said Wednesday afternoon the county had not been served with papers yet and did not have information on what the suit was about.

The suit also alleges the proposed project would be the largest freight terminal in the state and the third largest in the country. Freight terminals are not allowed under the zoning for the Mitchell property.

The 3P Protecting Perryman Peninsula Coalition is named as a plaintiff, along with six Perryman residents who own property directly adjacent to the Mitchell property: Paul Cisar, Sarah Gonzalez, Justin Pickering, Norma Tilton, Tamie Wainwright and Shawn Warnick.

The four defendants listed in the complaint are: Harford County; F.O. Mitchell & Bro., the Mitchell family's company, which owns the 711-acre property; Chesapeake Real Estate Group, the Hanover-based developer of the property; and Frederick Ward Associates, Inc., the Bel Air engineering firm working on the project.

The Harford County Council approved a moratorium on Perryman Peninsula development in April after residents urged the council to take action on the matter. A few weeks later, Harford County Executive Barry Glassman vetoed the moratorium bill, and the council did not take a vote to override it — nor did members address it at the council meeting the day after the veto, which would've been the council's only opportunity to override the veto, according to the county charter.