(2/10) In January, the Planning Commission voted 6-1 to approve the draft of the Comprehensive Plan and sent it to the Burgess and Commissioners for final approval.
The Comprehensive Plan is a long-term project, having been on the Commission’s agenda multiple times over the last year. It is defined on the Walkersville website as "an official document that provides direction for public decisions regarding land use, development, zoning, infrastructure, transportation, water resources, community facilities and services, capital improvements and municipal growth." It is reviewed and updated, if necessary, every 10 years and lasts for 20 years.
The plan includes land-use maps reflecting existing development and plans for new development, recommended changes to the zoning map, zoning ordinance, and other parts of the Town Code, and road improvement recommendations and community facility recommendations, including proposals for future parks. All the maps are available to view on the Town's website.
One map specifically emphasized the Town's desire to establish a permanent agricultural buffer between the Town, surrounding municipalities, and growth areas in the future. Properties surrounding the Town are designated as an agricultural buffer on the plan map. The agricultural buffer accounts for 4,220 acres on the plan, which is over half of the area on the plan map.
One map shows proposed connector roads: one through the Staley property and the realignment of Dublin Road and Fountain Rock Road. The railroad is shown as a future bike path and the Commission also discussed a connection between Utica Park and the Rail Trail that will be discussed at a future meeting.
The plan focuses on slow growth after years of heavy development, including the Bell and Grant properties as well as the townhouses at Longley Green. Some zoning remains available for industrial growth and a smaller amount for commercial development.
The plan is dependent on the development of the Staley property. The 110-acre farm should provide the same amount of growth over the next 20 years as the last 10 years have seen.
Another property considered over and over in the past for residential development is the Stone property. Member Richard Brady said the property had been zoned for mixed use or low density residential at one time but was rezoned agricultural. "I think from a planning standpoint, the Stone property should be actively considered in some form for low-density residential development."
Chair David Ennis pointed out that multiple motions have failed three or four times already. Member Russ Winch objected to Brady's motion saying, "This is vote shopping. We keep voting over and over again, trying to get a result that no one wants."
Vice-Chair Mike Kuster was adamant in his vote against developing the Stone property stating he felt the roads and the schools would not be able to handle the additional numbers. "If we look at the school system, our APFO will not allow development until we are back here writing the next plan in a decade." APFO, or Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, is a tool used to manage growth by analyzing a development's impact on public infrastructure. "We are being inundated by development north of us as it is," he said.
Commissioner Liaison Gary Baker concurred with Kuster that the Stone property is the wrong location for development. "There's too much going on in that area and that specific property is in the wrong spot," he said.
Winch, who is adamantly against adding any development, explained that schools should not be a consideration for adding development. "We cannot put in thousands of acres of housing so the Board of Education can decide to add a new school to the budget 20 years from now because there isn't funding available now. I understand your concerns, but it doesn't happen that quickly." He described a thriving community of vibrant farmland and residents loudly proclaiming they do not want any more growth.
Member Jeremy Peterson has been opposed to the development of the Stone property in the past, however this time he was on the fence. He asked if putting the property on the plan guaranteed its development. "If we vote yes to this, we are giving the elected commissioners a chance to say yes or no to it. But if we say no, we are not giving them an opportunity at all," he said.
Member Nathan Shatto felt it would be shortsighted to not consider some development on that property.
Ennis added that the plan is a 10-20year plan and nothing would happen overnight, pointing out that there are APFOs in zoning to prevent development if the school system is overcrowded and there will be sewer and traffic APFOs added to the current plan as well. "A lot of the farmland outside of the town limits is in easements right now, so there really isn't a lot of development potential available," he said.
Brady's motion to add the Stone property for development was not approved by a 3-4 vote.
Ennis also spoke of the City of Frederick’s recent review of how to spend impact fees to support local schools. Impact fees are fees paid by developers for infrastructure that must be built to accommodate new development. Since a "good portion" of children from northern Frederick attend Walkersville schools, Ennis suggested the Burgess and Commissioners ask the City to apply the fees to Walkersville Elementary, Middle and High Schools.
Vice-Chair Mike Kuster agreed with Ennis that the Burgess and Commissioners should make the request to the City, or to involve the Board of Education, to ascertain the funds for upgrades to Walkersville schools.
Ennis also asked to include in the plan a prompt to begin looking at zoning requirements for alternative energy production in town. "This would be something we can begin to look into for the next 10 years," he said.
The Plan will be presented to the Burgess and Commissioners for final approval and will also be available for public comment.
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