A key Baltimore County councilman said Wednesday that he will seek to block the construction of a Royal Farms gas station in Towson, a project that has faced vociferous opposition from the local community.
The gas station is one part of a larger project that would see a vacant firehouse on York Road redeveloped under a proposed $8.3 million dollar deal between the county and Caves Valley Partners.
“My job as a county councilman is to listen to the community and in this case to take action to bring some closure to an extraordinarily controversial issue,” said David Marks, a Republican who represents Towson.
Marks initially supported moving forward with a review of the project as a planned unit development, which allows developers to build outside of zoning rules in exchange for an agreed-upon community benefit. The council approved the PUD in December.
Marks said he will introduce a resolution at the council’s meeting next week that would put an end to the review for the gas station, blocking its construction.
There is no guarantee that the move will be successful. The council typically operates under a policy of deferring to the local member on issues that affect his or her district, but the development has had the strong backing of County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, a Democrat.
Read full article: Councilman will seek to block construction of Towson gas station – Baltimore Sun
