Prominent “Coming Soon” and “Now Hiring” signs are displayed at the future site of Royal Farms in Montgomery Hills, where residents appealed its construction permits during a public hearing in January.
According to the case filing with the county’s Board of Appeals, the eleven appellants qualify as “persons aggrieved” under Section 8-23 of the Montgomery County Code, as they live nearby and would be “adversely affected by the proposed development.”
Construction permit applications were filed last year to convert the Beltway Car Care/Sunoco station at 9475 Georgia Ave. into a Royal Farms, and the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services issued permits valued at over $200,000 in the fall.
In a 147-page case filed last November, the appellant group noted that the application for the building permits should have been denied for several reasons, including:
- The proposed changes are not within the scope of the building’s existing use;
- Impacts to traffic, parking, and an increase in motor fuel sales; and
- Other adverse effects to the adjoining property, including “lighting, noise, smell, and vermin that would be generated by the proposed use.”
The Montgomery County Board of Appeals sided with Baltimore-based Royal Farms in the January 29 hearing and voted 5-0 to grant the county’s motion for summary disposition and allow construction to proceed.
The appellant group can now appeal to the Montgomery County Circuit Court.