Queen Anne's County planning commission denies Dunkin' site plan at Postal Road intersection

The Queen Anne's County Planning Commission voted to deny a minor site plan for a proposed 1,507-square-foot Dunkin' restaurant at the Postal Road intersection with U.S. Route 50, following extensive public comment citing traffic safety concerns and questions about the applicant's traffic analysis.

Residents at the commission meeting said the intersection already experiences congestion and risky driver behavior. "I stand in opposition to the project," James Lyons, a Stevensville resident, said, arguing that adding a "Dunkin' Donuts like this doesn't do anything to improve the intersection" and would make it "more unsafe." Kathy Johnston, a Cox Neck Road resident, said traffic coming off the Route 50 ramp frequently exceeds posted low speeds and that studies did not capture peak periods such as 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. "Pretending that everyone is gonna be coming off that ramp nice and slow when they're on their way to church ... is ridiculous," she said.

Helen Bennett, a small business owner in Chester, questioned how the state and county traffic studies average conditions across low- and high-volume hours and urged commissioners to consider the proposal a potential public nuisance. "When they do a traffic study, they average the grades ... and I think that that's misleading and needs to change," Bennett said.

The applicant and supporters said the proposal met local standards and that the property was previously developed for commercial uses. Todd, identified at the meeting as the local business owner and applicant, said the site is in the town-center zoning district and that the county and state-required traffic analysis shows the project would not create a traffic hazard. "Todd has provided the traffic analysis that the county and the state require ... and the county and the state have concluded that this will not create a traffic hazard at this intersection," a representative for the applicant said during the meeting, adding that Todd is willing to accept reasonable conditions.

After public comment, a commissioner moved to deny the minor site plan for the request by 100 Old Point LLC, citing traffic generated by the proposed use, curb-cut orientation, internal circulation, the age of the traffic study data and the time and day the counts were taken. The commissioner read a motion that said the commission "hereby finds the site plan will substantially increase traffic hazards or safety concerns due to traffic generated by the proposed use, location or orientation of curb cuts, the layout of internal circulation, the age of the data from the traffic study, and the time and day of year," and moved to deny the petition. The motion was seconded and approved on voice vote.

Planning staff materials and the applicant's packet included a truck turning-radius diagram and the planning file referenced for the application is SP-25-04-0149. Commissioners and staff noted the property has housed commercial uses in the past and that the applicant offered to accept conditions; opponents said those facts do not address present safety concerns or the study's time-of-day limitations.

The commission's action denies the minor site plan application and returns no further approvals for the proposal at this meeting. Public commenters asked the county to revisit how traffic studies account for peak travel periods and for additional safety measures at the intersection.

The discussion occurred during the planning commission's public hearing on the minor site plan application by 100 Old Point LLC and concluded with the commission's vote to deny the application.