A proposed zoning amendment in Queen Anne’s County, TA11-06, which seeks to change the 65,000 square foot limit for Big Box stores to “unlimited,” will be heard by the QAC Commissioners on July 26. The amendment, if passed, would clear the way for a Big Box store at the corner of 213 and 544–just north of Kingstown near the Royal Farm Stores gas station.
The amendment does not sit well with merchants in Chestertown, or on the QAC side of the Chester River in Kingstown.
Merchants on both sides believe a Big Box store would have an unfair advantage in purchasing power that would undercut small local businesses and drive down retail wages. Merchants have cited studies over the last decade that blame the “Walmart” affect for draining local dollars out of communities and killing local family owned businesses.
It was a decade ago last week that Kent County leaders denied a zoning amendment request from Walmart to build a 110,000 square foot store on the edge of town. On June 21, 2001 the Kent County Planning Commission shot down the proposal after a grueling eight-and-a-half-year battle to reach a compromise with Walmart on the size and scale of a new store. The battle also put local leaders against each other and helped propel then Councilwoman Margo Bailey into the Mayor’s seat. The Planning Commission and many local officials at the time agreed a Walmart was needed — but wanted to keep the size of the store around 60,000 square feet.
Since a Big Box location is now proposed just over the county line in Queen Anne’s County, local merchants on both sides of the Chester River are looking to the new roster of QAC Commissioners to see if they will uphold a 4-1 unfavorable recommendation from the QAC Planning and Zoning Commission in April.
Downtown Chestertown Association President Nancy McGuire said that Chestertown has been down this road before.
“Kent County and Chestertown waged a war against a Big Box, and through that eight-and-a-half-year exercise, much was learned about the negative reality of one enormous business on our small local businesses,” McGuire said. “Those impacts are well known to independent small businesses. However, we are deceiving ourselves that there will be just one Big Box, for one creates the dynamics for more. As President of the Downtown Chestertown Association, we applaud the Queen Anne’s County Planning Commission and hope that the QAC Commissioners will respect their own Planning Commission’s recommendation and deny the unrestricted building size amendment. The negative impact on our businesses in Kingstown, Chestertown and the northern towns of Queen Anne’s County are the same as if the Big Box were in the proposed location of 2001. I personally feel saddened that the back bone of our small towns must face this “monster” again. We depend upon objective viewpoints of our planning commissions.”
QAC Commissioners Bob Simmons, Philip L. Dumenil, and David Dunmeyer were the only Commissioners to respond to the Chestertown Spy by the time this story was filed. All three said they could not support the amendment – but for different reasons.
“I have some mixed emotions. I have reports that the larger companies will not put in stores that aren’t Super Stores,” Simmons said. “In the case of Lowes in Easton, they presented evidence that their bigger stores made more money, and that they were closing their small stores. I don’t want to try to force people to do business that is not good business for them, or the county, or anybody else. But at the same time, I don’t see any need for opening up every property in the county for big stores. I’d have to be shown that there was a need for big stores right now, and I don’t see the need anytime soon. This is a situation where I do not plan to support a vote for it. I don’t see any need for it economically, and it is not in line with the our comprehensive plan.”
Dumenil responded that he was not inclined to approve the amendment because he does not believe the corner of 213 and 544 is a good location for a Big Box store. Dumenil also said he believed there probably was a need for large retailers in QAC, but he insisted he would ultimately reject the amendment if it means a Big Box store will be built at that intersection.
Dunmeyer represents the northern area of QAC and warns that the text amendment would have catastrophic consequences for businesses in Kingstown and other municipalities in the northern part of the county.
“I’m not in favor of the amendment,” Dunmeyer said. “A Big Box in that part of the county would destroy small family owned businesses that have been around for generations. In the age of buy local, why would we want to destroy that?…I’ll definitely fight to defend the local businesses.”
Commissioners Steve Arentz and Dave Olds would not respond to calls about the text amendment by the deadline for this story.
Len H says
Kent County, stay out of QAC decisions. What QAC does should be decided by QAC residents with out inflance from Kent County.
Keith Thompson says
The Spy writes, “Downtown Chestertown Association President Nancy McGuire said that Chestertown has been down this road before.
“Kent County and Chestertown waged a war against a Big Box and through that eight-and-a-half-year exercise, much was learned about the negative reality of one enormous business on our small local businesses. Those impacts are well known to independent small businesses. However, we are deceiving ourselves that there will be just one Big Box, for one creates the dynamics far more,” said McGuire in an email to the Spy.”
My question for Nancy McGuire is this…given the opposition the DCA has to big box stores in Chestertown or Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties, what is the DCA proposing to keep local shoppers here rather than traveling to Middletown or Dover to shop at the big box stores there? I would think one option is to back the town’s proposed purchase of the marina and economic development of the town’s riverfront since a riverfront economic plan should greatly benefit the DCA member businesses. I would think that the DCA should have a massive public information campaign touting the benefits of the marina purchase.
Dan Lessard says
I live in Kingstown. I think that the lower county should stay out of the upper county’s business. They generally do not care about us and most of us turn toward Kent County for shopping and entertainment. The traffic at any given time between the Chester River Bridge and 544 is out of control without a Walmart or other big box store. If the lower county would like a Walmart they can have it around Centreville or put it out on 301 where development like this is supposed to go. That is where the population growth is and that where the demand will be. We have several very good small businesses in the Kingstown area that will be destroyed by a big box store.
The article mentions Lowes in Easton. The store that Lowe’s vacated is still empty and a blight on Rt 322. Big box stores promise a great deal but they do not deliver because they do not care. The goods that they deliver are for the most part are not made in the US (as is most stuff now days unfortunately) and the jobs are not as good as should be attracted to our area. The cost out ways the benefits. The last thing I want is 213 turning into 13 over in Dover or what Kent Island has become.
I am concerned that the present QA county commissioners do not care what our other commissions and citizens want. They feel that have a mandate to slash and burn and what seems like to develop to the benefit of the few. If the planning commission continues to feel as do most of us in the area that the square footage should not be “unlimited” then the QA commission should abide by that.
Keith Thompson says
@Dan Lessard,
It’s very difficult to have one set of rules that apply to one part of the county and not another part. Reading between the lines of Phil Dumenil’s comments indicates a probable need (in his view) for big box stores in the county but not at the Kingstown location, however if he would approve lifting the requirement for the area around Centreville or Rt. 301, it would then apply to the Kingstown location.
One thing to consider with the “Wal-Mart effect’ mantra as it pertains to Chestertown is that rejecting Wal-Mart a decade ago didn’t eliminate the Wal-Mart effect here but with the opening of the Middletown Wal-Mart store, it actually multiplied the effect here. So instead of having a big box retailer that is potentially adversely affecting locally owned business, you have a big box retailer that is also pulling tax revenue out of the town and the county. Discussing how a possible big box store in the Chestertown area would adversely affect local business without factoring in the amount of business that Chestertown is already losing to Middletown, oversimplifies the issue. Instead of framing this as a good vs. evil argument, some could frame this as a lesser of the two evils argument.
Lainey says
So after reading this article, I went to my archives and found a postcard from Friends of Dunmyer, that tells voters to Vote like your quality of life depends on it. This was from this past election season. So, lets compare the post card to his current score card kept by me. See if you agree
Post card says: Keep property taxes low. Score 0 out of 10 Property taxes are going up, up up! Income taxes too!
Post card says: Oppose sprawl development, Score 5 out of 10. He hasnt voted on this yet, but he is saying he will vote no.
Post card Says: Fill vacant commercial space Score 0 out of 10. Three more stores just went up on Kent Island while vacancies abound there.
Post card says: Improve road safety and traffic Score 0 out of 10 We just slashed road crews our traffic is still an issue.
Post card says: Protect our rural heritage Score 5 out of 10. This article is encouraging in that vein, but no votes yet.
Post card says: Roll out a “Red Carpet” program for business. Score 0 out of 10. Slamming the door on Big Box stores is not a “red carpet” for business, even if it does protect our rural heritage above.
10 points out of 60. I dont see this group of commissioners getting re-elected.
AS for big box stores, well, QAC is the champ of NIMBY. We have successfully fought off Walmart at the base of the bay bridge, we have fought off FASTC, we have fought off a Wye Mills technology/business park. And we have to date been real successful in keeping K Hovnanian from putting the first senior community on Kent Island. After we get done spending all K Hov’s money on the lawyers, nobody from QAC will be able to afford to buy there.
All the meanwhile, we have ranted and raved about our taxes going up and that we need to have a commercial business base to help shoulder the load.
We have to pick our poison. We cant have our cake and eat it too.
Sarah L. says
I live in QA Co, work in Kent Co. and shop in both counties. I’m glad to hear that the 3 commisioners who responded will vote against that particular zoning proposal, but worry about their agendas in general. They should know that many of their constituents want to preserve green open space in QA Co. We do NOT want big box stores.
By the way, the State government lists that area of 213 as a Maryland Scenic Byway– Their literature reads:
“Maryland’s network of byways has been created to take you, our guest, through the state’s most spectacular scenery, picturesque towns and landscapes that are woven into the fabric of our nation’s history.”
Please let’s not see it turned into a strip mall.
John Seidel says
I submit that one of the biggest problems in regional planning is this “don’t tell my neighborhood what to do” stance. Whether you like it or not, we’re all in this together, whether we live in Kingstown, N. QAC, S. QAC, Chestertown or Kent County. What happens in one place has an impact on all of us. County commissioners and town councils need to recognize this and make decisions based on the big picture.
As Dan points out, folks in northern QAC often are oriented toward C’town, depending upon the health of C’town businesses and the adequacy of the bridge; developments in either place have an impact on traffic and the local economy. Businesses in both C’twon and Kingstown would be dramatically impacted by a big box in N. QAC, and development could have a dramatic impact upon the river, something we all share. The list goes on and on, so I’m not sympathetic to residents of any of our little regional enclaves who tell everyone else to stay out of it.
It’s time we started thinking regionally, rather than as neighborhood partisans. Otherwise, we’ll get what we deserve, and it won’t be pretty.
~ E pluribus unum ~
StellaL says
OK, so people 15 years ago who would shop at the Dover Walmart now drive to the Middletown store. People
who drive there are not trying to buy Twigs, rare books, unique decorative objects, Paul’s Shoe’s
wonderful customer service, an Independent bookstore-Compleat Bookseller, etc. These glorious shops
are a part of the DCA not big box “stuff”. Even shopping for a bike or Kayak can be accomplished here, and I would bet the price rather comparable. Yes, the economy is struggling as are many stores. One cannot
compare the DCA with a big box store because the two are dissimilar.
As far as Kent County “staying out of” QAC’s business? Sorry, but zoning between the two counties
should be regional. One county’s profit through bad growth affects surrounding counties.
Vincent says
Regional zoning- really? I have enough from the MD Dept of Planning crammed down my throat each and every day. One can discuss “growth” all day long- but there are really only two sides: the ones that want no growth, and the ones that want growth. We each define growth in different degrees but the ones against a big box are against anything new. (maybe 5% could be an exception but…)
Stella, you are poetic about the offerings of downtown Chestertown. Sorry, but rare books and decorative objects aren’t what most middle-class families buy when looking for competitively priced consumer goods. And don’t go off on Chinese products- my shampoos, diapers, car oil, lightbulbs and other day to day goods aren’t plastic junk. There are many local stores who have had a monopoly on pricing for years- if they wanted to compete with Dover, they could come d— close, if they’d price competitively. I have yet to see one store advertise that they will match prices, or reduce 6% to compensate for the MD sales tax. Same with the local grocery stores- they are all at least 20% higher than the stores in the same chain. “Our” exclusionary vision is costing us big time- I’m tired of paying more for common goods, and the only way to lower prices is to bring in some competition.
Take off the rose colored glasses- the stores in Chestertown are on life support. That happened with no big box competition. Do you think 2 more years will be an improvement? People don’t shop is small stores, and they shop at night and on weekends.Remember that not everyone is like yourself and can take a day off to window shop. Bigger companies with jobs don’t want to locate in Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties because of their reputation as being unfriendly to business and unwelcoming to any new concepts that don’t fit into the save the bay/NIMBY mentality. Call it what you want- the environmentalist agenda that exists currently is killing the Upper Shore’s economy.
Al Koblin says
The proposed site is SOUTH of Kingstown.
— Al K.
Catty One says
Vincent, you are 100% correct. You should be holding office, not those Q.A. reps.
Aren’t people getting tired of their grown kids moving away when they finish school because there are no jobs, no real growth, here?
The time for this anti-Big Box store crusade should be over! With the unemployment rates like they are, the economic benefit of bringing so many new jobs to the area should be the concern. Not what the effect will be on the downtown stores, or that the bucolic views on 213 will be ruined by more development. Goofy.
People need jobs. I hope the misguided “preservationists” will not prevail this time. What are they trying to preserve, anyway?
They remind me of the characters in “Gone with the Wind”. Trying to hang on to something that is over.
Vincent says
I’m not sure how “tongue in cheek” Catty One’s comments are.. calling the area of 213/544 where this site “bucolic” is not exactly correct. Around it are several commercial businesses, such as a bowling alley, abandoned car dealership, outdoor furniture display area, used furniture, Royal Farms, and various other buildings. The Flyway has many many houses built right on the road, and a junkyard is a mile away. So, what is bucolic?
In response to the downtown store comment, Chestertown’s downtown business issues have been ongoing for years. I shop there, and make a point of shopping there but also know that that times and days they are open, and the higher prices for a less varied selection are not attributes that draw people to downtown. Yes, I do think in some ways that people are clinging to an economic model that was really at its height before the first Bay Bridge opened in the 1950s. The downtowns were vibrant when households had one car and very few options. The world had changed. Like it, don’t like it, but to ignore that reality is a failure to plan for Chestertown’s future.
StellaL says
Vincent and Catty One: Sorry to be so tardy in responding but i was just getting back from my daily “window
shopping ” downtown.
Now…if you want to pay less for shampoo, etc. then you can get into your car and spend the gas to save a buck
in Delaware. If you don’t, then go to Rite Aid , Stams, Roses….on…and…on. Guess what? You’d probably
save $ in Kent County because after you end up buying your ‘essentials” in DE, all that tempting stuff from
Asia will likely end up in your cart as well! So your budget will thank you for living in a rural area with limited
choices!
Catty One: wow–economic advancement for one’s kids by having a big box here? Now that’s ambition!
What do the preservationalist preserve? How about your water quality and air quality ? On the other hand perhaps you don’t care about those things. How enlightening.
Catty One says
Sorry, Vincent, for the sarcasm (catty remark) that may have been lost. Of course the view from 213-544 is far from being bucolic. That’s why I said the opinions being offered to “preserve” this pastoral scene were plain goofy.
@StellaL, the point of bringing in the big box stores is not so one’s kids can attain economic advancement.
Historical trends show when a Big Box operation opens up, many more businesses follow. Restaurants, boutiques, dry cleaners, (yikes!) movie theatres, bookstores, real estate agencies (to take care of the NEW people moving nearby) and on and on. Growth, if carefully planned, is not a bad thing. Really.
As for your view that the preservationalists have somehow preserved our water and air quality – huh? Surely,
you are not referring to either the local Chestertown water or air, are you?
I was on my way to Chestertown Natural Foods to load up on their nice supply of pure water just now. But I better not.
I just checked. MDE has posted the air quality warning for here: High cruddy. Stay inside.
Keith Thompson says
@Stella,
It’s easy to argue against big box store jobs when you have plenty of employment opportunities in the community. It’s much harder to do so when employment opportunities are scarce. There are times when ANY job is better than unemployment and I speak from personal experience.
StellaL says
Catty One, Vincent, –given all your corrosive opinions about life in general here: why are you living here???
Given that this is one of the last bastions of “rural” in the mid-Atlantic, given that those who want to drastically alter the landscape are responsible to substantiate why this area should suburbanize to suit all your shopping/employment needs and given that this will not happen ….then find your lifestyle elsewhere. My guess is that you love being belligerent. Good luck with that!
Vincent says
Stella, right back at you. I live here because I’m FROM here- many generations back. In the language of natives who DON”T pull out their ancestry at the drop of a hat, that translates as: here before the Bridge, here before paved roads, here before cars, here before people from larger cities wanted to live here, here when just about everyone was poor. Then the new residents came in, fleeing from the lives they had created, some bringing their pensions and their patronizing attitudes, along with an unrelenting motivation to stop change from happening. There are many people here who have no pension or foundation to their name- they are the same natives that have invested their lives here, because their houses and businesses ARE their pensions. That’s what they’ve got. They didn’t work on Capitol Hill or bring their trust fund to town after retirement.
I welcome new people and the breath of fresh air they can bring. In no way do I want do imply that I’m one of those who dislike those who have moved here- absolutely not. I do deplore the new people who sermonize on and on about the sacred value of farmland, the need for open space, etc., when they themselves don’t own a farm and won’t make an investment in any kind of land here in the Counties, but want to tell those that do what they should be allowed to do with their own property. They then have the audacity to move here and clear cut their waterfront lots in order to have open view of their newly acquired waterfront location, Critical Areas Laws be damned. And then, wear the crown of a self-appointed royal monitor of the environmental conditions of the county in other peoples back yards and fields. And those who retire here, and have no want or need of a job, but work against any new industry or business- there is always something wrong with ANY proposal or concept that is presented, and then what’s wrong is under the guise of The Environment….
There are many people who move here and make significant contributions to the community, and in an unassuming way. There are people who have lived here for generations who have contributed nothing. I see the issues in a 360 degree perspective. But those who move here and do nothing but seek to shut others out of the county are the most despicable of the bunch. They cross the bridge and now want to shut it down behind themselves. They can use all the excuses that they want- choose from: water pollution, noise pollution, overpopulation,water table issues, water shortages, lack of access to fire and safety, light pollution, use of farmland, non-contiguous development rights, evacuation during hurricanes and nuclear threats. Then, ask them to be honest with themselves about why they really want to stop progress and fear change. I believe it’s predominately an attitude of “I’ve got mine” and “I don’t want a neighbor” and “I’m a big fish in a little pond” and “I really want to ensure I live and socialize around people who look exactly like me.”
StellaL says
Wow, alot of anger there. Good luck mister.
Keith Thompson says
@Vincent
Very eloquently said.
Warrior Bob Kramer says
Stella says: Wow, alot of anger there. Good luck mister.
Sometimes the truth can seem like anger… depending on your view point. Vincent seems to be spot on… so a shout out to him.
My guess is… Vincent makes his own luck.
Vincent says
Appreciate the comments. On this holiday weekend that celebrates and recognizes freedom, I think about personal rights, such as property rights. “Don’t Tread On Me” is my view, at least in 99% of the situations that arise. In both Kent and Queen Anne’s, there are way too many cases of selective use of property rights and “do as I say, and not as I do.”
Don’t preach and sermonize against growth, water use/pollution and so-called “cornfield sprawl” while attending cocktail parties at your friends’ big new house and lot created from a farm less than 10 years ago, complete with dual shower heads, two engine motorboat and a big pool. (you can interchange those with a bunch of kids, an suv and ATVs). My personal favorite is someone who is against growth but has more than two kids- how does that compute in someone’s mind when you increase the population beyond replacement numbers but don’t want a community to grow?
I’m getting off my soapbox, ’cause if I don’t, I’m going to be some nut yelling in the Park! Happy 4th to all.
Keith Thompson says
@Vincent,
The “do as I say and not as i do” approach reminds me of a few people I’ve dealt with in Middletown (where I live) who have wondered why I didn’t object to the influx of people moving there as well as the attendant development. My response was simple; “I’m not a Middletown native and I feel that I have no right to tell other people not to move here”. I felt the natives were the only ones qualified to make that argument and that their argument also applied to me..Middletown had the opposite issue of Kent and QAC as the newcomers brought the development with them rather trying to keep it out.
Catty One says
Well-said, Vincent. You have articulated the thoughts many of us hold.
I get rather weary of hearing the same old argument trotted out – If you don’t like things here, you should move away.
StellaL says
How easy it is for unhappy people to constantly demonize others. How sad that those who are so unhappily stagnent in their lives that “others” are the source of their malaise. How effortless these people are in pointing the finger to “the rich, recent arrivals, people in big houses, people with more than two children”, and on and on. My goodness, one would think that Kent County was full of major shopping centers, multitudes of
hiring companies, “family friendly” restaurants until the above maligned people relocated here. Kent County is probably similar to what one grew up in. Why, then, doesn’t one take his life in his own hands and make something of it? I know, all these “preservationists” are ruining your opportunities. A good therapist would have a field day with you. But I do get it–it is fun to bitch rather than examine one’s own life. But it is very distorting.