Strip Mall

A southern Anne Arundel County citizens group is lobbying county planners to bar Safeway from building a strip center in Deale, saying the project would destroy valuable wetlands and create acidic water runoffs that could contaminate the community's waterways.South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD) says the wetlands on the 16-acre site, at routes 256 and 258, have tripled in size since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Baltimore division inspected the site and authorized Safeway's permit to clear the area in 1987.

Opponents of a proposal to build a large-scale supermarket and strip mall in South County are gearing up for another round -- this time with the county.Led by a local environmental group, residents and business owners plan to pressure the county to deny Safeway Inc. a waiver to build on a 13-acre site at the southwest corner of Routes 256 and 258 in Deale, which is in a 100-year "storm drainage" flood plain. A developer must get permission from the county to build in a designated flood plain.

Opponents of the long-contested plans for a Safeway strip mall in Deale are posting signs throughout south Anne Arundel County, stuffing fliers into grocery bags and making buttons in preparation for another battle.The Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled a public forum at 7 p.m. Dec. 1 at Deale Elementary School, and those opposed to the project want the community to be there. Corps representatives will explain its reasons for permitting the project at Routes 256 and 258."This meeting has been a long time in the making," said Amanda Spake, president of a South County environmental group that opposes the project.

A half-mile stretch of Montgomery Road has become a crossroads where old and new Ellicott City meet.On one side, there are old homes and large, green pastures left from farms. But on the other side, five traffic lanes away, there are growing subdivisions and the county's second-largest shopping center, Long Gate.While development has led to homes for thousands, two Montgomery Road residents who have lived there a combined 99 years want to leave. They say the roadside community they knew is gone forever.

Howard County Zoning Board members rejected a proposal last night to convert an Ellicott City site with six homes into a strip mall, voting 3-1 to keep the area across Montgomery Road from Long Gate Shopping Center zoned residential.Board member Charles C. Feaga cast the dissenting vote. Chairman Darrel E. Drown recused himself, but did not give a reason.The change in zoning from residential to commercial for the strip mall was sought by residents Ralph Bathgate and Mary Grace Howard, who have lived on the 6-acre site of the proposed strip mall for a combined 99 years.

It's a matter of debate whether the late James W. Rouse, Columbia's idealistic developer, envisioned his planned community as a place where he could buy a hammer at a Hechinger or a big-screen TV at a Best Buy.But suburban experiments -- and Rouse's blessing -- aside, there's a simple rule when it comes to retail: Where there are people, stores are not far behind.The long-awaited opening last week of the Lord & Taylor department store at The Mall in Columbia -- marking the end of the first phase of the Rouse Co.'s $150 million expansion and renovation of that 27-year-old complex -- is only the latest validation of that rule.

ZONING DECISIONS are often complicated in Howard County. But a case involving plans to build a strip mall on Montgomery Road in Ellicott City has the subtle flavor of that old chicken-and-egg joke.You know, which came first? This time, the subject is development.People whose own homes were viewed with apprehension by old-time residents a few years ago now fear a proposed shopping center on land where the older houses sit.What goes around really does come around.Heavy development of this area near U.S. 29 and Routes 103 and 100 began in the 1970s.

Western Howard Village Center?Not quite. But in a few years, western Howard County residents likely will have their first library and a second strip mall at Carrs Mill Road and Route 97 in Cooksville, which borders more heavily populated Glenwood.Residents also could be playing baseball at a 180-acre park and doing aerobics in a 36,000-square-foot community center within a decade, if funding is approved by the next county executive and the County Council.Those developments would create the first large-scale meeting place for the mostly spread-out community of western Howard.

Opposed to a proposed strip mall on Montgomery Road, nine Ellicott City residents argued yesterday before the Zoning Board that it would be better for the community to keep houses on the property.But a local developer said two other residents -- who live on the proposed site -- want to sell because the area is no longer fit for homes.Triangle Development Corp. and residents opposed to the mall finished presenting their conflicting visions yesterday of what the parcel across from Long Gate Shopping Center should be -- a small residential community or a five-store strip mall.

In the midst of newly constructed upscale restaurants and freshly renovated strip malls on U.S. 40 in Ellicott City, a 36-year-old shopping center is showing its age.The faded paint on the Golden Triangle Shopping Center at the southeast corner of Baltimore National Pike and U.S. 29 is peeling. The lines are barely visible in its small parking lot. Two storefronts sit empty.And the number of vacancies is expected to grow as Super Fresh -- the center's anchor since it opened in 1962 -- prepares to move out of its 25,000-square-foot site in the northern end of the strip mall.

Williams nominated to head Balto. Co. agency on aging 1 Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. has nominated a 26-year employee and current deputy director of the Department of Aging to be head of the agency. Joanne Williams, 51, a White Marsh resident, is expected to win confirmation from the County Council next month. She would replace Arnold Eppel, who resigned Friday to become the executive director of Atrium Village in Owings Mills. "As deputy director, Ms. Williams is very aware of how the agency works, and I am always pleased when we are able to promote from within," Joseph Bartenfelder, council chairman, said Wednesday in a statement.

Two men were killed and two were seriously injured in a quadruple shooting in a parking lot behind a bar and strip mall in Odenton shortly after last call early yesterday, according to Anne Arundel County police. Most customers were still in the Traffic Bar & Lounge, a neighborhood tavern and dance club across from Fort Meade, manager Bill Major said, when a security guard heard gunshots outside while trying to clear loiterers. Major said he and other workers shut the bar doors, which open to the parking lot and to Annapolis Road, and wouldn't let anyone leave until police arrived.

So now we have the answer to the eternal question that arises as you peruse the doll section at Toys 'R' Us: Just how much more does Vice Presidential Barbie cost than Caribou Barbie? As Politico reported this week, about $150,000. That, the Web site learned from financial disclosure statements, is how much the Republican National Committee has spent dressing and styling Sarah Palin since she was picked as John McCain's running mate in August. Included in the expenditures were a $75,000 haul at Neiman Marcus, a $4,700 tab for hair and makeup sessions, and various and sundry items from Barney's to Macy's to Pacifier, apparently an upscale baby store.

I can see you asking, "Why do we care whether a restaurant is located in a strip mall?" For several reasons. First, there are hidden gems here. If you didn't know they were good, you might overlook them because of the location. Second, it gives me a chance to highlight some restaurants in the 'burbs that aren't chains. Third, you don't have to worry about parking. Here's my list, in alphabetical order: 1 Aida Bistro in Columbia: . Italian food, small plates and a wine bar. 2 Asean Bistro in Columbia.

The Beijing Olympics makes for riveting TV. But some moments might be better left imagined. I'm talking about the post-win interviews. Breathless athletes try to compose themselves to answer typical questions about how they feel, whether this particular win was expected or a surprise, and how they plan to deal with future pressure or rivals. I prefer to look at their expressions as they squint at the clock from the pool and pump their arms in the air, or dismount the bars after an uneven routine, burying their disappointment in the comforting embrace of their teammates.

A Howard County police crime scene technician testified yesterday that $125,000 was found in a car that police say was driven by two men accused of the 2003 robbery and killing of a Jessup deli owner. Jim Roeder told a Howard Circuit Court jury that police recovered from a gold-colored Chevrolet Malibu a tan vinyl bag containing $81,000 and a canvas bag containing $44,000 - together the exact amount of cash that was taken from Kwang Jun Kim. Kim, 53, was returning to Jessup Plaza Deli & Convenience, which sold sandwiches and sundries and offered check-cashing services, on Oct. 8, 2003, when he was robbed of $125,000 and fatally shot in the head.

As Daniel Byrne worked at the Shell gas station in Jessup on the morning of Oct. 8, 2003, he heard a loud bang and rushed outside. He saw a gold-colored car speed past the gas pumps, drive onto U.S. 1 and turn onto Route 175. He saw the license plate and wrote it down on the back of his left hand: LTM 792. He looked across the parking lot of a strip mall and saw Kwang Jun Kim, who owned a deli in the center, lying on the parking lot, bleeding from the...

An Owings Mills developer is buying the abandoned Parole Plaza strip mall outside Annapolis for $25 million and plans to transform the long-struggling commercial site into a $300 million mix of retail stores, office towers and residential units. Yesterday's announcement of the purchase by Greenberg Commercial Corp. would end years of uncertainty surrounding the 34-acre property, considered one of the most valuable commercial parcels available in Anne Arundel County. "I think this is the type of project that everybody wants to see," said Brian Gibbons, president and chief executive officer of Greenberg.

Good luck finding the Orchard Market and Cafe if you don't know where to look. It's tucked in the back of a Towson strip mall, invisible from the street. Yet, with no liquor license and no signs to attract drive-by traffic, this little Persian restaurant has managed to survive, and even thrive, since opening in 1988. A large part of the restaurant's appeal is probably its obscurity. People like to discover hidden treasures. However, obscurity alone wouldn't keep this restaurant going.

The sun has barely set, but a well-dressed crowd has already gathered outside the New Haven Lounge in Northeast Baltimore. In fact, the line snakes and stretches out the door this balmy Friday night. Folks are a tad restless, anxious even, because jazz sensation Roy Ayers is the show-stopping headliner. You hear a few people cajoling the doorman, telling him they have to, make that, must get inside. Hey, you really can't blame them. If you are a jazz enthusiast, if you enjoy the rush of live music, "The Haven" is definitely the place to be. For nearly four decades, the popular establishment has attracted top-notch jazz musicians and entertainers, along with standing-room-only audiences.