Politics & Government
Homestead Wakefield Elementary School Issue Packs Bel Air Armory
The issue of whether a connector road is part of the new Homestead Wakefield building project drew crowds.
BEL AIR, MD ? The Bel Air Planning Commission tabled a decision about the new Homestead Wakefield Elementary School after nearly three hours of discussion on Thursday night.
Project officials brought forward new site plans for rebuilding the elementary school that reflected changes since a previous plan was submitted in April, including expansion of Hunsinger Way and a 20-foot wide emergency access road from the McFaul Activity Center to the bus loop.
Still, the school system did not address the issue of a connector road that the Bel Air Planning Commission had required, which is part of the town's comprehensive plan for development.
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In April, Bel Air?s Planning Commission approved of a previous site plan with several conditions, including requiring Harford County Public Schools to dedicate a public right-of-way for a connector road to MD 924 before the town would issue a use-and-occupancy permit for the new school building.
Through its attorney, the school system requested in an April 26 letter that Bel Air's Planning Commission reissue its approval letter "with the removal of the conditions related to the right-of-way and public road."
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A judge ruled in June that the town could proceed with its request.
Planning Commissioner Don Coates said Thursday night he wanted to table the decision on the site plan to allow the school system and town two weeks to discuss potential options for the road.
"I have a hard time approving the site plan because the plan is putting the school right up on the property line of Wakefield Meadows," Coates said. Later, he added: "I can?t consciously vote on a site plan tonight that would put the road through the campus? either.
His grandchildren will be attending Homestead Wakefield, and his children went there, he said.
He made a motion for the town to give the Harford County Board of Education two weeks to "see if there's a common ground" they can find about the road placement. The commission unanimously approved of the request.
About 100 community members, many wearing red, listened as officials from the town of Bel Air and Harford County Public Schools discussed the new plans.
Several community members said the project was being delayed by the town of Bel Air.
"You?re holding our project hostage," said Megan Morrison, a mother, PTA member and former staffer at Homestead Wakefield. She asked the Planning Commission members to look at the faces of her two young children and ask how they could guarantee their safety with a connector road running through campus, reminding the commissioners of the deadly crash that took the life of a 7-year-old boy on MD 24 at Ring Factory Road, which was also a connector road, in 2019.
"I implore you to drop this road contingency immediately and to allow this project to proceed on schedule," Morrison said.
Town officials said that it was not their fault that the project was delayed.
Harford County has not yet approved stormwater and sediment control plans for the project, but "we are very close to having approved plans," engineer Peter Soprano said Thursday night, on behalf of the school system.
"The town has in no way delayed those approvals," Bel Air Senior Town Planner Rowan Glidden said. He also recommended the Planning Commission put the road requirement on a separate track that did not affect the construction for the elementary school; however, the commission did not consider that in the form of a vote.
Timing For New School In Flux
The plans school officials presented in April called for the new school to be open in 2024.
In May, school officials told Homestead Wakefield families the new building would not open until at least 2025 due to the process.
"The greatest challenge we?re facing right now is timing," Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson said Thursday, asking the Planning Commission to remove any requirements from its approval of the site plan.
He said he believed the Planning Commission exceeded its authority in ordering the school system to grant access to the road, particularly since the Harford County Public Schools is a state agency not a private developer.
"The absolute answer isn?t no road. I?m not saying I'm excited about a road, but that conversation I don't feel has been had with this public," Bulson said.
The superintendent said a process could be designed for engagement and planning the road after the new school was built, since it was needed now.
"The only choice I have if you support a connector road is to continue working through the courts," Bulson said. "That?s not a threat. That?s just unfortunately where we are as a group."
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