The Abingdon Community Council held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 27, 6:00 p.m. at the Abingdon Library.
Harford County Sheriff’s Corporal Hopps presented the crime analysis of Harford County Sector 30 (Abingdon/Bel Air South) and Sector 40 (Abingdon/Joppa/Kingsville.) In both sectors, total calls for service were below the numbers recorded for the same time period last year. Of the 794 service calls in Sector 30, there were 5 assaults, 3 burglaries, 2 motor vehicle thefts and 15 thefts. Sector 40 recorded 10 assaults, 4 burglaries, 1 robbery and 17 thefts out of 629 calls for service. Corporal Hopps explained that the way crimes are reported for statistical purposes do not always align with the actual event. For example, if a teenager takes a parent’s car without permission and reports this to the Sheriff’s Department, this will be coded as a motor vehicle theft when in fact that is not really the case. Corporal Hopps encouraged citizens to lock their house and car doors. He recommended that garage door openers never be left inside a car parked outside the house because it is an invitation to a home robbery. Corporal Hopps stated that at this time there are no plans to increase the number of police patroling the Route 24/924 commercial areas.
Harford County Councilman Joe Woods reported that he will receive an update on the Harford County Land Use Master Plan in the upcoming week. He recently met with the Governor’s staff regarding the planned toll increases at the state bridges and tunnels. Public hearings on this issue are currently underway statewide. There are plans to reinstitute preemptive traffic controls at some of Harford County’s major intersections. These allow emergency vehicles to freeze intersection traffic lights on red so that the emergency vehicles can clear the intersections safely. Some of these controls were deactivated during the current local road construction projects. This technology will be installed at more locations in the future.
Fred Ward Associates will be presenting the updated plans for the Box Hill South commercial development site. They are appealing to Harford County for a variance that would allow a change from two separate building sites into one large 85,300 square foot retail building located on Merchant Drive. This meeting is open to the public and is scheduled for Friday, July 1, 6:30 pm at the Abingdon YMCA.
Councilman Woods reported that at this point there is no update on the proposed possibility of a Walmart at Bel Air South Parkway, Route 924 and Plumtree Road. He is unaware of any information on the Walmart traffic study.
DSW and Home Goods stores will be opening this fall in the Constant Friendship Shopping Center. Ashley Furniture will move into the Bel Air Giant Foods location and a Mars Supermarket is locating to the previous Bel Air Super Fresh site.
A large housing development of 136 single family homes is planned for 115.5 acres on the east side of Laurel Bush Road, north of Hookers Mill Road. The Harford County Development Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on this parcel on July 20, 9:00 a.m., Second Floor Conference Room, 220 South Main Street, Bel Air.
The next Abingdon Community Council meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Abingdon Library. There will be a presentation on the Harford County Master Land Use Plan. This public meeting is open to everyone.
