SNOW HILL– County officials took no action on a request for sewer capacity tied to a shopping center planned near the intersection of Route 50 and Route 589.
Presented with an EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) purchase request for the property at the major intersection this week, the commissioners made no motion to approve or deny the request. Development of the site, which is set to include a Giant, can’t move forward without sewer capacity.
“We are waiting to find out why the commissioners took no action so we can determine our next steps,” said Mark Cropper, the attorney representing the applicant.
County staff presented the commissioners Tuesday with two wastewater purchase agreements, submitted by Cropper, for EDUs from the Riddle Farm Wastewater Treatment Plant. One request was for 12 EDUs for a development closer to Holly Grove Road while the other was for 162 EDUs for the 120,561-square-foot shopping center expected to include Giant.
“The commissioners are a party to this agreement and we would need your concurrence on this acceptance,” said Bob Mitchell, the county’s director of environmental programs, adding that the request would account for all of the plant’s available EDUs.
The commissioners took no action and made no comments regarding the proposed agreements. In an interview Thursday, Commissioner Chip Bertino said he didn’t think the proposal was in the best interest of ratepayers or county taxpayers.
“We’d lose control of those EDUs and development opportunities and options for that area. It’s in the best interest of the county for government to have control of those EDUs,” he said.
Commissioner Eric Fiori had various concerns with the agreements. He said the EDUs would have been bought through a deposit program which meant they might not be used immediately.
“It ties up all the EDUs so nobody else has a chance to get projects off the ground,” he said, adding that it would prevent other developers from building in that area.
“We’re stopping commercial development because one developer wants to tie up the EDUs,” Fiori said.
He said staff had been asked to present alternatives to the deposit program and had yet to do so.
“At the end of the day if you don’t have the financials in place to produce your project you shouldn’t be tying up valuable EDUs,” he said.
Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said he supported growth but hadn’t made a motion Tuesday because he knew the votes weren’t there.
“I think it’s going to end up in court…,” he said. “I didn’t want to add fuel to the applicant’s fire.”
