Proposed shopping center location in the background of the intersection of Route 235 and Sotterley Road/Route 245. Photo by Ron Bailey.
Hollywood, MD — Former St. Mary’s County commissioner Barbara Thompson said everyone knew it was going to develop eventually. She was referring to the vacant land on the north side of Route 235 just past the Route 245/Sotterley Road intersection in Hollywood. Thompson was speaking at the public hearing on plans for a new shopping center at that intersection.
The proposal by Dean Partnership, LLC for the 14-acre site is for a 50,000-square-foot multiple-use commercial center. The only announced tenant is a CVS drug store. The property could also contain a convenience store, major fuel sales and other retail buildings including a restaurant, according to documents presented to the planning commission.
There also would be an eight-acre undeveloped parcel across from the fire department for some unspecified future use.
Thompson’s husband Mike, a member of the Metropolitan Commission, expressed a concern that was heard repeatedly at the public hearing. “It has to be the worst intersection in St. Mary’s County. Something has to be done to improve that intersection,” he insisted.
Less than 24 hours after the planning commission’s Dec. 14 hearing, a four vehicle accident occurred at the intersection. Four people were injured, one was trapped, one of the vehicles caught fire and two people had to be flown out,
The shopping center would be built in phases, with the CVS the first phase closest to Sotterley Road. The center would have entrances and exits on Route 235, Sotterley Road and Old Three Notch Road. Even before testimony was heard,
Commission Chairman Howard Thompson, who lives in Hollywood, bore down on the existing situation and the potential to exacerbate it with what is being proposed by the developer.
Chairman Thompson detailed site distance problems at the Sotterley Road/Old Three Notch Road intersection, the short acceleration lane on Route 235 from Sotterley Road and conflicts with vehicles going into and out of Burch Mart. But he said the biggest problem at the intersection of 235/245 and Sotterley Road was the one through lane crossing the intersection in each direction. That creates conflicts between those going through and those making left hand turns onto Route 235.
Thompson was particularly critical of the proposed Sotterley Road entrance/exit for the proposed center. He said traffic often backs up at the Route 235 light all the way back to where the proposed entrance would be. He suggested the developer put in an extra lane there. A developer’s representative said they were proposing a shoulder instead. Thompson responded, “I don ‘t find that adequate.”
Others among the five people who spoke about traffic concerns talked about the narrowness of Old Three Notch Road. Thompson called it an old farm road.
Barbara Thompson did criticize the design, instead suggesting a more mixed use type of development with residences about the commercial areas. “It shouldn’t be a glorified strip mall. It should be more walkable,” she said.
There also was considerable discussion about the eight acres of the property which was not included in the plan. A drawing presented looked like a park and ride lot to one speaker and a car dealership to another, both of which didn’t sit well, although the developer’s representatives insisted there was no plan for the residue of the property.
The developer has submitted plans for the three entrances to the Maryland State Highway Administration as part of a traffic study. Chairman Thompson has been critical in the past of the state level of cooperation with the county. Thompson said he was recently assured by state officials that the cooperation would improve.
Early in the discussion Chairman Thompson said the project could not be voted on until the state weighed in on the project. In the end the hearing was continued until the commission’s Jan. 25 meeting in hopes that the state will have representatives at the meeting to express their thoughts on what needs to be done at that intersection to accommodate the shopping enter proposal.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com