Mount Airy town council denies Beck property plan, citing safety concerns 

The Mount Airy Town Council voted 3-1-1 last week to deny a pre-concept plan for the 91-acre Beck property, where a mixed-use development is proposed.

The development, called Mount Airy Crossing, would be split by Route 27, dividing the plot into an east and west side. The proposal includes 135,200 square feet of commercial space, 43 single-family detached units, 141 single-family attached units, and 166 senior housing units, per a March plan from Pleasants Development.

Plans for building homes on the Beck property have been under way for years, and have taken different forms. In 2022, Rockville developer Kaz Brothers submitted a proposal to the town to build more than 700 housing units on the property. After residents mounted protests against the high-density housing plan, Kaz Brothers reduced the proposal to 588 units. It did not win approval.

Pleasants Development took over the project and presented its own vision for the property in January 2023. Its first plan was for 119 single-family homes, 263 town homes and 200 multifamily units, for a total of 582 new homes on the property. In July, Pleasants updated its plans after getting feedback from 150 town residents during a three-day meeting in May 2023.

The three council members who voted against the developer’s most recent plan, on May 6, included Council President Tim Washabaugh, Stephen Domotor, and Jason Evans. Each expressed safety concerns with the plan, saying pedestrians would have to cross Route 27 to get from one side of the development to the other.

“This is a fundamental failure in providing a safe pedestrian-friendly environment,” Washabaugh said. “The posted speed limit at that stretch of state highway 27 is 50 miles per hour.”

Domotor said the plan is “unacceptable from a safety standpoint, and it’s not what’s best for Mount Airy.”

The town council unanimously adopted an ordinance in August 2020 that permits mixed-use zoning in town, but the ordinance requires that developers design neighborhoods in a safe manner.

Cecily Bedwell, principal at Design Collective, Inc., presented the development’s pre-concept plan to the council before the vote. She said she believes the plan is consistent with the town’s ordinances, explaining that a traffic signal would be added to the crossing.

Clark Wagner, vice president of land acquisition and entitlement with Pleasants Development, addressed the idea of using a tunnel or a bridge to connect the two sides of the development, stating that the state prefers the crosswalk approach.

“Our experts on traffic engineering have talked to (the) State Highway Administration over the years. They are advising us that the State Highway Administration does not prefer either a tunnel or a bridge, that they would prefer the latest and greatest safe pedestrian crosswalks with pedestrian-activated signals at the new traffic light,” Wagner said.

Council member Karl Munder, who voted to approve the plan, said he believes the developers submitted a plan with a safe street design. Council member Lynne Galletti abstained from the vote.

Although the pre-concept plan was denied, Washabaugh said he remains open to working with Pleasants Development to revise the plan toward acceptance.

“I would be open to a continued collaboration with Pleasants to ensure the best possible outcome for Mount Airy,” Washabaugh said.