The Town of Bel Air and the developers of Hickory Flats, an 87-unit apartment complex, requested dismissal of a lawsuit Harford County launched challenging the project’s parking lease agreement with the town.

The county’s lawsuit takes aim at a crucial element of the future success of the development, under construction near downtown.

In its Jan. 23 motion to dismiss, the town argued that the county’s lawsuit aimed to “thwart” the development, which residents have voiced concerns about during public meetings and on social media.

Under the direction of County Executive Bob Cassilly, the county launched the lawsuit in November, claiming that a parking lease agreement the town entered into with Hickory Flats breaches a contract agreement between the county and town regarding their joint ownership of Bel Air’s parking garage.

The county said in the lawsuit that county officials were not informed of the parking agreement, and therefore the county was unable to provide written consent to allow Bel Air and Hickory Flats to enter into the agreement for spaces.

The parking lease agreement was officially implemented in August 2023 and would allow residents of the complex to use 70 of the 334 spaces in the garage for $35 per spot each month. The Bel Air Parking Garage is at 6 S. Hickory Ave.

Without the parking agreement, Hickory Flats would have had to reduce its number of units since, at the time, development density in Bel Air was regulated by the number of parking spaces a development could secure.

Bel Air argued in its motion for dismissal that the county’s lawsuit demonstrates a “fundamental misunderstanding of how the garage has operated for more than 30 years,” as Hickory Flats is one of over 30 entities that the town has parking lease agreements with.

“The town has never sought, nor has the county demanded approval for any of these leases because, under the agreement, the town has absolute discretion to utilize its 334 parking spaces,” the town’s motion said.

Bel Air emphasized that, according to state law, the county’s lawsuit would need to name the other tenants of the parking garage, which it does not.

“[The county’s] deliberate failure to add the other tenants of the garage as defendants demonstrates that the county’s lawsuit is designed primarily to thwart a development project that, for reasons not articulated in its complaint, [the county] does not care for, despite the fact that the town has the sole authority to approve the Hickory Flats development,” the town’s motion said.

Hickory Flats was subject to approval by the town’s planning commission and was proposed to the town in 2021, when Barry Glassman was the county executive.

Bel Air said in its motion for a dismissal that the county did not appear at meetings or public hearings held for the project between that time and February 2025, when a building permit was issued by the town.

The town and Hickory Flats have requested that because Cassilly’s administration has taken over a year to challenge any of the project’s approvals, the court dismiss the lawsuit due to what the town’s attorneys say is statute of limitations.

Cassilly’s administration said the county is preparing a response to the motions for dismissal. Officials said the response will likely be filed with the court by Feb. 20.

Under Cassilly, the county has made other legal challenges to large development projects.

In late December 2022, days into his term, Cassilly reversed the county’s position on a controversial warehouse development known as Abingdon Woods. The developers abandoned the development after striking an agreement with the Cassilly administration following legal pressure from the county.

In his recent State of the County address before the Chamber of Commerce, Cassilly emphasized that his plan since taking office has been to grow “with intention” and to promote “smart growth” that adds to quality of life. Some Bel Air residents and town officials have voiced concerns about Hickory Flats not being in keeping with the town’s identity and bringing significant traffic implications — both factors Cassilly has said play into the county’s livability for residents.

“For too long, Harford County leaders have told us that growth at any cost is successful; that chasing easy deals and fast projects and setting the bar low has been economic success,” Cassilly said in his address. “Growth that undercuts infrastructure, that strains our taxpayers or makes it harder for our employees to live where they want to work —that’s not a winning strategy. It is a competitive disadvantage.”

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