"Anytime you can resolve a problem without going to court, we think that's a better way to do it," said Commissioner George O'Donnell.

The commissioners do not believe the proposed development site - on western Kent Island near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - is appropriate for a large retail store and want Wal-Mart to look at alternative sites in Queen Anne's County. Specific sites were not mentioned by the commissioners.

The four-month postponement doesn't cancel the court hearing, but it "allows the Wal-Mart Corp. to explore opportunities for another site," said O'Donnell.

Commissioner John McQueeney said the commissioners do not oppose Wal-Mart, but they oppose building a big store at the Route 50/Route 8 location. A citizens group, Up Against the Wal, was organized to oppose the project. Opponents said the development would further aggravate traffic congestion near Routes 50 and 8, and the Wal-Mart store would force smaller stores out of business.

Last May, Petrie Dierman Kughn of McLean, Va., bought 44,972 gallons per day (gpd) capacity in the Kent Narrows Stevensville Grasonville sewage treatment plant and 28,202 gpd capacity in the county's public water system for the Kent Island Commons project.

In October 2000, Wal-Mart Stores East Inc. bought a 24.85-acre parcel (part of the 28-acre Kent Island Commons site) for $4.8 million from PVD Limited Partnership of Woodbridge, Va. 

Kent Island Commons was a joint development planned by Petrie Dierman Kughn and Coastal South Inc. to build a Wal-Mart superstore, a 123-room hotel and conference center, and restaurants, stores and offices. The development site is located just east of the Bay Bridge Marina. 

In May 2000, the commissioners, acting in their capacity as the county sanitary commission, denied the developer's request for sewer and water allocation needed for the project. Petrie Dierman Kughn sued in Queen Anne's County Circuit Court. In late April 2001, Judge John W. Sause Jr. wrote a memorandum of law supporting a writ of mandamus that ordered the sanitary commission to approve the developer's request. In May 2001, the commissioners approved the sewer and water allocation, but also appealed Sause's decision to the Court of Special Appeals.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company agreed to the 120-day delay in hopes of reaching some resolution with the county. But Daphne Davis Moore did not say Wal-Mart was specifically looking at other Queen Anne's County sites.

"We would rather work with the county than against the county," said Moore. 

©The Star Democrat 2002