Judge Rules In MacPhail Road Connection Case

Press release from the Town of Bel Air: Posted on: June 17, 2022

Judge Rules in MacPhail Road Connection Case

Bel Air, Maryland - On Thursday, June 16, Circuit Court Judge Paul Ishak heard arguments from attorneys for the Town of Bel Air and the Harford County Board of Education regarding a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction filed with the Court by the Board of Education earlier in the month.

On April 8, 2022, the Planning Commission for the Town of Bel Air issued a conditional approval of the Board of Education’s plan for the Homestead Wakefield Elementary School Project requiring a connector road through the campus as required by the Town’s Comprehensive Plan.

The attorneys for the Board of Education asked the Court to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would prevent the Town from imposing any conditions required of the Planning Commission in its decision of April 8 requiring the connector road.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Ishak ruled in favor of the Town and denied the Board of Education’s request for a temporary restraining order.

The Town of Bel Air recognizes the need for replacement of all the buildings of the Homestead Wakefield Elementary/Bel Air Middle School campus and the reconfiguration of the campus. The Town fully supports Board of Education projects to accomplish that objective. The campus is a public resource funded by the entire County. The campus renovation project represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape this valuable resource to fulfill a number of public needs. Making the wisest and most productive public uses of the campus requires County, Board of Education and Town representatives to partner and collaborate to listen to the needs of each respective partner, and to work cooperatively to prioritize to fulfill as many public needs and objectives as possible. The Town hopes that all partners recognize the wisest use of public resources will be accomplished through collaborative efforts of the Town, County and Board of Education representatives, not through litigation. As it has maintained from the beginning, the Town of Bel Air recognizes the need for this project and will continue to work with our partners in every way possible to move this project forward and bring it to a successful conclusion in the most expeditious time possible.

Contact: L. Jesse Bane - Town Administrator - (410) 638-4550

###

Additional Info...

This press release was produced by the Town of Bel Air. The views expressed here are the author’s own.