Lothian Residents Disappointed in “Weak” Decision from 8/4 Judicial Hearing on Belle Grove Zoning Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 4th, 2022
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(202) 596-5271
On Thursday, August 4th, a judicial hearing was held in Anne Arundel County’s lawsuit against a mining and reclamation site on Sands Road in Lothian, Maryland for operating beyond the scope of their special exception permit and operating additional unlicensed businesses on the property. For decades, residents of Lothian, a historic Black community, have been forced to breathe in diesel fumes and face nonstop industrial truck traffic that has resulted in truck accidents and put local pedestrians and children at risk. After a year of discussions with Anne Arundel County government, residents have convinced the county to take action, leading to the county’s lawsuit against the Westport facility on Sands Road, owned by the Belle Grove Corporation.
At the hearing, the judge approved a consent order that will require Belle Grove Corporation (Westport Reclamation) to pay a $3,000 penalty, as well as stop operating a contractor’s yard at the Westport site and remove junk and debris within 60 days or face an additional $5,000 fine. The order does not require Belle Grove to cease other operations while the 55 year-old special exception permit and state environmental permits remain in place. The community is disappointed and feels that the decision has not gone far enough to address the violations to the zoning code and the risks to public health and safety. Residents have filed a separate lawsuit to rescind the facility’s special exception permit, explicitly requesting the remedy that the county has refused to push for here.
“Instead of solutions for the long-suffering residents in Lothian, this seems like a very gentle outcome for a long overdue enforcement action by the County. Had citizens not complained bitterly, it is doubtful the case would have even gone to trial in the first place. In the end, the defendants negotiated a 90% discount on their fines and the court gave them up to two months to resolve a list of violations. It’s a very weak and symbolic penalty for a business that imposes harsh burdens on its neighbors using an outdated special exception from 1968 that is also long overdue for examination and review,” added Fred Tutman, the Patuxent Riverkeeper.
The case is Anne Arundel County v. The Belle Grove Corporation, Case No. D-07-CV-22-008583, in the District Court for Anne Arundel County. Documents:
the county’s complaint (complaint begins on p.8 of the PDF)