Washington County Commissioners vote to curb truck stop, warehouse developments

The Washington County Commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday to essentially ban construction of new truck stops and made it tougher to build warehouses larger than a million square feet anywhere in the county criss-crossed by two major interstates.

But in approving the change, the commissioners most likely precipitated a legal battle that attorneys for the affected business interests all but promised would result.

The board approve 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 a 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."

More:County truck stop, warehouse proposals spark scrutiny, complaint

So why not wait until after the planning board meets on Dec. 5 to consider the measure?

Two of the three commissioners pushing for the measure will no longer be on the board next week. Commissioner Charles Burkett lost his bid to remain in office in this year's primary election, and Commissioners' Vice President Terry Baker was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

The third commissioner behind the measure is Wayne Keefer. All three voted for the zoning change. Wagner and Commissioners' President Jeff Cline voted against it.

"I've watched for years as these big projects have taken over our county," Burkett said. "And it concerns me. The zoning changes that we're proposing are an attempt to start a process of change in how we conduct business here in Washington County and who we would like to attract. No one on this board is against development. I think everybody who's sitting on this board is pro-development.

"And we're not even suggesting a ban on warehouses; we're just saying let's give the public a chance to have a say."

Keefer said his interest was in protecting people in the county.

"I don't think any of us are after one person in any way or one business or one project," Keefer said, "but yes, there is something that brought this to a head in our community. We've heard from people that live in all parts of Washington County, not just Williamsport, that have concerns about overgrowth in their communities. And I think about the comments that were made of investments that's put forward into these projects. Well, we heard from many people today, who invested their life savings into their home. And that's their investment."

Development vs. preservation tension on display

The hearing underlined the tension between sought-after development and the desire to preserve Washington County's rural character; between the rights of property owners to develop their land and the rights of other property owners to keep their communities free of the consequences.

"I've already fought this fight," said Mike Tedrick of Big Pool. "Every time we turn around, another truck stop. Look at it this way — would you want this in your backyard?"

Tedrick said he'd purchased his property in an area with rural zoning. And yet, he said, there's now a truck stop near his home — although it's referred to as a "refuel center."

He noted the noise the rigs produce, even during the night. He recognized, he said, that truckers need a place to stop and rest to avoid accidents. "But how many more does Washington County actually need?"

Ralph Young, representing the Washington County Historical Advisory Committee, supported the new regulation on warehouses.

"Over the past few years, the construction of warehouses has exploded in Washington County," he said. "According to the Department of Planning and Zoning, a total of 22 buildings have been proposed with several currently either under roof or under construction."

He noted that two historic farms had been "totally destroyed for construction of four huge warehouses," and warned that others in the Cearfoss area could be in danger as well and that truck stop proposals threatened other historically significant properties.

Background:Proposal could ban truck stop construction, require more review for large warehouses

On the other hand, former Commissioner Leroy Myers, who is a contractor, appealed to the commissioners to preserve the rights of property owners to develop the land.

"You're people who are conservative, and you believe in property rights," he said. Previous boards had already had this discussion, he added, agreeing to target development along highways and to preserve farming and residential districts.

He appealed to the commissioners to hold off taking action on changing the zoning ordinance.

"All of a sudden here, it's like a proposal that we've had just a little over a couple days or a month ago, none of this has been vetted and the proof of it is that the planning commission, the staff and everyone is saying slow this down a little bit. It needs to have more thought," he said.

Projects already in the pipeline, he said, should be allowed to go forward because major investments already had been made.

Robin Ferree, president of Bowman Development, was more emphatic. It was, in fact, a Bowman truck stop project that spurred the issue; that approval is currently being challenged in court.

When the text amendment was first introduced, Ferree said, "it was all about the concern about safety" — with proponents citing Herald-Mail articles about human trafficking along Interstates 70 and 81.

"Ample reports and written testimony have already been provided to you that in fact, truck stops are important for safe highways in many different ways," Ferree said. "There's also testimony (about) the efforts of truckers and trucking companies take to spot, report and counter human trafficking of all kinds.

"In fact, if you reached out to Sheriff (Doug) Mullendore, you would have known that it was only one instance of human trafficking at a truck stop in Washington County. A lot more at hotels — I don't know if you want to eliminate those as well," Ferree said.

"Let's be clear here … it's all about an extreme effort and an abuse of power to stop one Bowman and one Sheetz project at Exit 1."

What about that Bowman truck stop project?

Bowman Spielman LLC and The Bowman Group applied to the Washington County Board of Zoning Appeals for a special exception to build a combination truck stop and Sheetz convenience store 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 to consider the special exception for Bowman officials on June 8.

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, according to William Erskine, an attorney with Offit/Kurman Attorneys at Law, which is representing the Bowman groups.

Erskine asked to address the commissioners before Tuesday's hearing, but the commissioners — by an identical vote — denied that request, saying Erskine could speak during the hearing.

And when he did, he asked the commissioners to imagine that Bowman Group had asked for truck stops to be a permitted use, and, failing that, lobbied three of them to make a change to the zoning ordinance without consulting the planning board or following proper procedure.

"A bill is introduced by this board pursuant to an unsigned, undated application and it is initially not referred to the planning commission as is required by local law," he said. "How would these folks react?"

Attorney Jason Divelbiss, representing AC&T, Trammell Crow and Johnson Development Associates, told the commissioners their procedure was flawed and that approving the change not only jeopardized hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and the county's tax base, but was legally indefensible.

"If you think this is the right thing to do, it is not the right way to do it," Divelbiss said, and "invites litigation."

Restricting land use would not fix the problems associated with I-81, he said.

'Where to draw a line between making money and having quality of life'

Those in favor of the change, however, cited traffic issues produced by increased truck traffic and the change in the county's character related to the warehouses.

"I think it comes down to a moral issue of where to draw a line between making money and having quality of life for your citizens," said Stewart Torres of Williamsport.

"I want businesses to prosper in this county. I realize the business growth will at times require sacrifices from our communities," Torres said. "But at what point do we say things have gone too far? At what point do we say that the concerns of our communities outweigh more truck stops and large warehouses? And at what point do we say personal safety and preservation of our land, wildlife and history in Washington County need to be a foundational priority for a longterm growth strategy for now generations to come?"

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Warehouse sizes limited, truck stops banned with commissioners' vote