(11/28) Work on the 2025 Comprehensive Plan titled "Envision Emmitsburg" continues moving forward with a goal to "encapsulate the idea of looking ahead to imagine a better Emmittsburg," said Town Planner Najila Ahsan at November’s Town Council meeting. The Plan is reviewed and updated every 10 years and is designed to set forth the Town’s policies in the areas of land use and community development, natural resources, transportation, utilities, recreation, and housing.

The chapters of the Plan include an introduction where the Town’s history is reviewed and Maryland's twelve planning visions are discussed in the following six chapters of the Plan. Chapter two reviews community input and vision by utilizing information gained from public workshops and surveys. Chapter three covers population and housing demographic trends and addresses affordable housing concerns. Chapter four analyzes the local economy and fiscal health to generate ways to increase revenue in the Town. Chapter five focuses on the environment and natural resources to preserve waterways, vegetative buffers and unique landscapes like the Catoctin Mountains. Chapter six details land use and community design and introduces the growth boundary area (GBA) and the growth opportunity area (GOA).

The biggest change to the 2025 Plan is in the GOA. In order to maintain the Town’s "small town character" yet carefully balanced expansion, a growth opportunity area was designed. This area extends a quarter to a third of a mile past the GBA. The new map shows a collection of properties in the northwest of town, along Track Road and Route 140, that have been suggested for inclusion to address fragmented water and sewer service issues. Some of these properties are already connected to the Town’s utilities (reasons as to how were not discussed), however the Town’s Code prohibits utility connections outside of its limits, so these properties are not able to have public service until they are annexed into the Town.

The GOA is a flexible way to allow growth for beneficial reasons such as economic or residential development or infrastructure projects without needing to change the Comprehensive Plan repeatedly.

Ahsan pointed out the main differences between the 2015 Plan and the 2025 Plan. The 2015 plan emphasized structured land use, transportation concerns and environmental resource preservation, with a lesser focus on community engagement. The 2025 Plan puts more emphasis on community driven goals, economic development, environmental sustainability and inclusivity.

The old Plan supported local business and tourism plans, which were further expanded with additional details in the newer Plan. The old Plan focused on single-family home development and the new Plan builds on this by expanding housing needs by addressing the affordable housing shortage with mixed-use, medium density options.

The new Plan places a large emphasis on ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households, as there is a significant portion of Emmitsburg’s population that falls under this category. It also addresses infrastructure improvements, better parking and accessibility, childcare needs, recreation facilities and programs for businesses and families.

The community survey showed a high demand for childcare sources and more diverse retail opportunities. Residents showed interest in partnerships to create stable jobs that include research and development laboratories and distribution centers.

One key takeaway from the community surveys was the growing desire for Emmitsburg to bring the downtown historic area into the Main Street Program. The Maryland Main Street Program was started in 1998 by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to improve the economic vitality and appearance of downtown business districts. Joining the Program would be a boost to the economic development in town.

The Council decided to hold another public workshop to discuss the Plan further before hopefully finalizing it in the next couple of months. The Planning Commission hopes to go to public comment by March 2025.