Howard County hearing draws opposition to proposed Woodbine fueling station at 15920 Old Frederick Road

Woodbine — Petitioner Woodbine Bank asked a Howard County hearing examiner in April for conditional-use approval to build a motor-vehicle fueling facility and convenience store at 15920 Old Frederick Road in Woodbine, but residents and experts at the hearing raised detailed objections about traffic, stormwater runoff, lighting, hours of operation and potential health risks.

The application, introduced by attorney Eric Gunderson on behalf of the petitioner, proposes a fueling facility with 8 pump units (16 fueling positions) and an approximately 4,000-square-foot convenience store. The petition and a technical staff report from the Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) were entered into the record; DPZ recommended approval. The hearing examiner said she would close the record and issue a decision later.

Why the proposal matters

The site lies in Howard County’s rural western planning district and is adjacent to an existing convenience fueling site in the Lisbon Center. Opponents and several expert witnesses said the combination of the proposed size, likely hours and the site’s location on two‑lane Old Frederick Road could generate impacts greater than typical for fueling stations elsewhere in the same zoning district.

What proponents said

- Joe Rudder, a planning consultant who testified for the petitioner, said the proposal complies with county zoning standards for conditional use and is consistent with the county’s designation for a suburban commercial node in this area. “I agree with all of the assessments and conclusions in the staff report,” Rudder said.

- Jim Whitmer, the project civil engineer, testified the site plan includes on-site micro‑bioretention and stormwater measures designed to meet Howard County and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) requirements and that a more detailed traffic study and review would be performed at the site-development-plan stage. “Absolutely. … [A]…