KOLLINGER
We feel your pain
BY RICK KOLLINGER
September 12, 2005, Easton Star Democrat

Happily, Easton has many plans in place not only for emergencies but also for controlling the town’s growth in an orderly manner. We have a town planner and also a Planning and Zoning department, overseen by the Mayor and Town Council.

These plans include calling for the denial of any permit in which “the proposed use or development activity will not substantially increase traffic hazards due to traffic generated by the proposed use.” And “the site plan and the proposed use or uses do not cause any adverse impact upon the health or safety of persons residing or parking in the area surrounding the site or upon the character of the neighborhood surrounding the site.”

So the people living in the Carroll’s Addition area had no reason to believe that the new WaWa store would in any way create a hazard to traffic or in any way affect their neighborhood. Ooops.

The new WaWa, along with the new Hampton Inn and the new Pizza Hut Express all back up to, and will be accessed through their neighborhood.

WaWa, which prides itself on its multiple gas pumps, pumping 24 hours a day, will be lit up in a manner so garish as to make Chernobyl resemble a campfire. This better highlights the attractive orange motif of the building, a feature apparently in keeping with this Council’s desire for architectural splendor.

This Council which insists on micro-managing development, insists on three things, architecture, preserving “traditional neighborhoods,” and affordable housing.

Five homes on Choptank Avenue have been razed to accommodate the new Gas-O-Rama. Normally this would not reach the attention of Councilwoman Moonyene Jackson-Amis, but she has a plan. Her plan was to move the “affordable homes” to an undisclosed location, thus building a new “traditional neighborhood.”

Lamentably, this plan fell through when “Queen Moon” found out the houses contained asbestos. Being an environmentalist she felt it better to have a 24-hour gas emporium spewing fumes than hazard the risk of asbestos-laden houses.

What this Council has done with its actions, however, is to create an entirely new area of “affordable homes” as the longtime residents flee in the face of another corporate giant locating in their neighborhood.

Council President John Ford said he had been inspired to be a Zoning Commission member when this same sort of thing had happened in his neighborhood, but that somehow this ridiculous plan had escaped his notice. Councilman Ford, you may remember, just last month proposed that the Council no longer be used as an oversight on development.

All of the other Council members expressed sorrow to the Carroll’s Addition residents for how their neighborhood is about to be ruined, and promised to “do all we can.” This had all the weight and sincerity of a fast food clerk wishing you to “have a nice day.”

Rick Kollinger is a political humorist and cartoonist who writes from Easton.

Carroll's Addition residents 'blindsided' by Wawa plan
By GREG MAKI
Staff Writer Easton Star Democrat
September 9, 2005

EASTON — The residents of the Carroll’s Addition neighborhood thought Wawa coming to the site of the old Shell gas station at the corner of U.S. Route 50 and Dover Road was a good thing.

“There was always a gas station there,” said Hilary Holzer, a South Street resident and spokesman for the recently formed Carroll’s Addition Neighborhood Association. “Changing from Shell to Wawa didn’t seem like a significant change to us.”

They did not know Wawa had purchased five houses on Choptank Avenue with plans to demolish them to create two full-access entrances on Choptank Avenue, Holzer said. To avoid congestion on Dover Road and Route 50, she said, Wawa customers will cut through Carroll’s Addition on South Street or Front Lane, streets too small to handle any additional traffic.

For 40 of her neighbors in the audience and many more who were unable to attend, Holzer made an emotional plea for help to the Easton Town Council Monday. She said Wawa, with its current site plan, will decrease property values and cause problems of safety, noise, litter and light pollution.

“It’s unfortunate that our property values and the quality of life in our neighborhood was not considered when the site plans were formulated and approved,” Holzer said.

Scott Saunders, another South Street resident, presented one possible solution. In his drawing, Wawa has only one entrance/exit on Choptank Avenue. Traffic exiting from Wawa only would be allowed to turn right to head toward Dover Road. Between Front Lane and South Street, Choptank Avenue would be one lane. Northbound traffic on Choptank Avenue would have to turn left at South Street while eastbound traffic on South Street would have to turn right onto Choptank Avenue.

“That’ll keep people from coming from the back of the neighborhoods and cutting through to come into the back of the Wawa,” Saunders said.

Saunders also said a wall behind Wawa should be taller and the landscaping should be more substantial.

The neighborhood association has collected signatures from 256 people in support of the proposal.

“We look forward to working with you to discover and implement a solution in which all of Easton and all its residents win,” Holzer said to the council.

Council President John Ford said the presentation struck a chord with him.

“Back in 1987, I became involved with Easton’s planning commission because of the potential for commercial intrusion into my neighborhood,” he said. “So this resonates very powerfully with me.”

Ford also lamented the planned demolition of the five houses on Choptank Avenue.

“The fact that we are losing five affordable homes after having struggled with this issue of affordable housing for almost two years now to accommodate a gasoline and convenience store … That’s shameful,” he said.

Elizabeth Lee, also of South Street, has filed an appeal with the Easton Board of Zoning Appeals. Lee wrote in the appeal that whether Wawa is classified as a gasoline/service station or a convenience store, it violates Easton’s zoning laws by placing vehicular entrances/exits within 100 feet of the intersections of Choptank Avenue and South Street, and Choptank Avenue and Front Lane.

Lee requested a waiver of the 30-day window for filing an appeal. The board will decide if it will hear her appeal.

Holzer described Carroll’s Addition as a “quiet family place,” a neighborhood that has existed for 75 years. It includes 300 homes and more than 800 residents. It is bounded by Route 50 on the east, Dover Street on the north, Rails to Trails on the west and the old railroad right-of-way near Idlewild Avenue on the south.

The Carroll’s Addition Neighborhood Association formed soon after the June 20 public hearing on a proposed revision of Easton’s zoning laws. The residents did not know the full scope of Wawa’s plans until then.

“No zoning signs were ever posted,” Holzer said. “Nothing in the public notices, the news coverage or the town’s minutes would lead any of us — or any reasonable person — to understand that the old Route 50 gas station site would be expanded to swallow up five houses in our neighborhood and a big chunk of Choptank Avenue.”

Holzer said the community was “blindsided.”

“I think now you understand why I’ve been insisting upon a notification change in the ordinance,” said Ward 3 Councilman Leonard Wendowski.

The draft zoning ordinance includes a requirement to notify property owners within a specified distance when an application for a zoning change is made.

Ward 4 Councilwoman Moonyene Jackson-Amis emphasized the need for more detailed minutes from town council and planning commission meetings to keep citizens better informed.

Ward 2 Councilman Scott Jensen suggested the council write a letter to Wawa to ask for cooperation in working with the residents to address their concerns. Ford volunteered to write the letter.

Council members, however, cautioned that the town may be limited in what it can do without Wawa’s cooperation.

“There are legal complexities that we’re going to need the advice of counsel to deal with,” Ford said.

Wawa received a building permit in May. The permit allows a six-month window during which construction may begin.

Wawa is set to have 5,676 square feet of space with eight gas pumps. The architecture of the building, modeled after a Wawa store in Williamsburg, Va., includes a red brick exterior in a Colonial style. The store is expected to create 50 to 70 jobs.

For more information on the Carroll’s Addition Neighborhood Association, visit www.carrollsaddition.org.