Bowie City Council Supports Walmart Special Exception

After three hours of citizen comment, council discourse and multiple presentations, the Bowie City Council voted Monday 6-1 to support Walmart's application for a special exception to build a 186,000-square-foot Supercenter in city limits. 

Last week, the Bowie Advisory Planning Board recommended that the council disapprove the special exception because they felt it did not comply with the 2006 Bowie Master Plan. Yet, city staff recommended approval of the special exception with conditions, reasoning that the Walmart Supercenter would not "substantially impair the master plan." 

Councilman Henri Gardner (District 3)—who represents that area that includes the property where the proposed store would be built—lead the motion to support Walmart's application, but he said it was a difficult decision. 

While he does share citizen concerns about traffic and the quality of the development, he said his decision ultimately came down to three things.

"I'm looking at jobs and expansion and growth," Gardner said in an interview. 

He also said that it's clear to him Walmart wants to be part of the Bowie community, and has been a good corporate partner of the city's for the past 20 years in its current location at Collington Plaza.

However, many residents disagreed with Gardner, saying a new Walmart store is not the type of growth they wanted to see in Bowie.

"Walmart is not good for our community. If they cared about Bowie residents they would have cared for the store they already have here," Bowie resident Robin Williams said during the hearing. 

Some others spoke about the poor conditions of the current store, and how that caused them to spend their dollars outside of Bowie by visiting the Walmart Supercenters in Anne Arundel County.

"Walmart is already here. Walmart already has a Bowie base," said Denise Tyler, who added she would shop at a new store in Bowie instead of traveling to shop at the one in Glen Burnie. 

Several residents also took issue with the proposed store's lack of compliance with the 2006 Bowie Master Plan, which states no "big box" stores should be built at Mill Branch Crossing. 

"There will most assuredly be a shopping center at this site, but this development is inappropriate," said C.J. Lammers, another Bowie resident, at Monday's hearing.

In all, 12 residents spoke in opposition to the special exception, while six spoke in favor. Issues raised by the opposition included the traffic on Route 301 and historic Mill Branch Road, the development's proximity to a local farm, and the perception that Walmart pays workers poorly.

To this last point, one local resident and supporter of the development said that having Walmart in Bowie is a way to hold the company accountable.

"To me, I look at this as an opportunity to hold them to some higher standards," resident Chris Lawson said.