2025 Cascade Update

Controversial Dollar General Approved for Site Near Fort Ritchie Challenged In Ongoing Court Appeals

Geraldine Otremba, Cascade Resident, on Behalf of the Committee to Protect Our Mountain

Background

In August 2022, the Washington County Zoning Board voted 4-1 to approve a new Dollar General Market at 14413 McAfee Hill Road, granting to Outdoor Contractors Inc. special exception approval for a use that has been hotly opposed by local residents as not in character with the unincorporated community’s rural setting and in violation of the Rural Village zone standards that apply to the property.

Cascade residents appealed the decision to the Washington County Circuit Court, which sent the appeal back to the Zoning Board to determine whether the proposed use was “functionally similar” to a grocery store.

The Zoning Board’s authority to grant an exception at that second hearing required a finding that the use meets the criterion of compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood and a finding that the proposed use is “functionally similar” to a grocery store. Only one-third of the store would be devoted to food.

Cascade residents turned out in force and testified at length in opposition to adding another Dollar General in Cascade (three Dollar General stores are nearby in Blue Ridge Summit and Wayne Heights in Pennsylvania). They argued that the proposed use is not compatible with the rural character of the community; is not functionally similar to a grocery store, such as the town’s long-established grocery store, Sanders Market, which has provided fresh meat, produce, deli, and a full array of products for 60 years; and that this type of business would bring detrimental impacts (such as decreased property values) typically associated with convenience stores and liquor stores, which are not allowed at all in the Rural Village zone.

Opponents included residents from Cascade, Sabillasville, Frederick, Hagerstown, Blue Ridge Summit, and Waynesboro. They cited Dollar General’s own legal and financial filings describing the business as a general merchandise entity, argued that it is more functionally similar to a convenience store than a grocery store, and offered firsthand recent photographs from in-person visits to existing Dollar General Markets highlighting limited grocery offerings and moldy produce.

In a 5-0 vote, the Zoning Board, for a second time, approved the application.

The community’s response to the Zoning Board’s second approval was immediately and loudly negative. The commitment to ensure that Rural Village zoning is legally applied resulted in the formation of the “Committee to Protect Our Mountain.” The purpose of the committee is twofold: To ensure timely and accurate communication to the residents of Cascade and a commitment to raise the funds needed to continue a legal challenge.

The first fundraiser at the ZigBone Farm Retreat in the Fall of 2023 raised $11,500 for a second appeal to Circuit Court.

2025

At the end of the second court appeal, the court’s second decision instructed that the case be sent back to the Zoning Board—for a third hearing—to determine if the remaining 70 percent “general merchandise” portion of the proposed store was allowed. Outodoor Contractors and Cascade residents—both dissatisfied with the ruling—appealed to the state Appellate Court in Annapolis. A hearing is likely this summer. The community’s interests will again be represented by Attorney Michelle Rosenfeld.

The appeal by the Committee to Protect Our Mountain is now focused on stopping the proposed Dollar General Market and, more significantly, ensuring that Cascade’s Rural Village zoning is properly applied to allow only those local businesses and activities authorized by law to protect Cascade from the specter of super-sized development. The historic and vital aspects of Fort Ritchie are at risk. The commitment in Cascade is to protect and preserve our mountain and support the diverse array of small, local enterprises making the Ritchie Revival so vibrant.

A community meeting will be scheduled for March 9, 2025, at noon at the Ft. Ritchie Community Center. A second fundraiser at ZigBone will also be held to support the continuing legal challenge to the Maryland Appellate Court. Stay tuned and follow us on Facebook: Stop Dollar General in Cascade, Maryland.