Another Farm Bites the Dust

The conversion of the Lee Farm in Edgewater from farmland to another Harbour Center-sized shopping extravaganza was first covered here in a December 9, 2003 column (Anne Arundel's Flying Circus). Now, it appears that groundbreaking is not far off. The "Village" at Lee Airport is slated to include 13 buildings, 900 parking places, and a 60,000 sq ft grocery store (despite the fact that a Safeway and Giant exist less than a quarter mile away). The developer can also potentially put in 9 additional homes.

Now, a sensible person might ask, "Why, with Annapolis Mall about 7 miles away and Harbour Center about 4 miles away and South River Colony shops about 2 miles away and the Parole redevelopment in the works, do we do we need additional large-scale commercial growth in Edgewater?" He or she might also ask, "Won't these new stores, which will undoubtedly be mostly national chains, also cannibalize existing businesses, both local and chain?" Finally, he or she might ask, "Isn't traffic bad enough in Edgewater as it is?" Inquiring minds have asked the County and its representatives these questions, and scores more, and the County has turned a deaf ear.

What makes this unfortunate situation all the more distressing is that the members of several neighboring community associations essentially collaborated with the developer to change the property's zoning from residential to commercial, out of a fear that the property owners might try to maximize impervious service. My guess is that the local community is going to come to regret this foolish bargain.

Anne Arundel's Flying Circus

Today's Capital reports on what has to be one of the most preposterous giveaways of state money in this writer's recent memory. Lee Airport, owned by the Lee family of Edgewater was the recipent of a state grant from the Maryland Aviation Administration in the amount of $170,000 to help design and carry out changes to the airpark and runway. To my mind, if the state's going to be handing out $170k in corporate welfare, there had better be a pretty substantial reason. There isn't.

What precipitated the need to change the airpark? The fact that the Lee family is trying to develop the adjacent property, which is currently farmland. About a year ago, the Lee's, using the coercive force of their lawyer, "negotiated" with the community to get zoning changes approved by the County Council. Turns out these zoning changes, which will allow a Harbor Center-sized commercial development on the farm plot, may cause the creation of structures which impede the flight path. So, we have a situation in which a family has played hardball with local environmentalists and the community, to use their land more profitably, and has now turned to the State to help them salve the self-inflicted wounds to their airport. They stand to gain millions of dollars on the sale of the former farm properties, and yet they are using tens of thousands of our tax dollars to refurbish their airport which has been impacted by the decision. We've been gamed, folks.