Ask, and You Shall Receive....Sort Of

Yesterday, I lamented that the County was unlikely to follow Annapolis' lead in putting forth a building moratorium. Then, The Capital came out reporting that one Councilman, Ed Reilly (R - District 7) and his opponent, Green Party candidate Robert Tufts, support a temporary ban on building along Route 3. A straw poll of Tuesday night's growth forum in Crofton showed that about 70 percent of those in attendence supported the idea of a moratorium [I have, in the past, requested that Dan Nataf of the Center for Study of Local Issues at AACC include such an item on his regular countywide poll. He has yet to do so, as far as I know].

Crofton is, of course, currently ground zero for big box development, with an expansion of the Pillage at Waugh Chapel, a Wegman's, and a Wal-Mart looking to belly up to the Route 3 buffet. The proposed horse stadium/sand mine, is just down the road. The potential freeze is appropriate given Mr. Reilly's recent bout of cold feet. With big box developments proposed for Crofton, Edgewater, and Lothian, chances are, Big Ed is hearing a little more vociferously from his constituents than he would usually desire. The move does represent an important step on the part of the Councilman, however, it seems to suggest that he's listening. David Boschert, Republican candidate for County Executive, seems not to have been paying as much attention, "he's interested in working with Wal-Mart and property owner William Berkshire to run traffic leaving the proposed store parallel to Route 3 out to Defense Highway."

P.S. Check out the snark from Joe Rutter in response to Reilly's eleventh hour conversion: "[I'd] certainly be glad to take the hit on this project for all those that have ambitions for public office."