VOL. 1, NO. 7 | DECEMBER 1, 2022
Frederick City and County News of Interest
- Election Results & Challenges
- NACs and Resident–City Dialog:
- N. Market Street — BYOB establishments:
- West End County Library Branch:
- City Charter Review:
- City Surveys:
- East Street Corridor Redevelopment through Form-based Code:
- Tracking City Development:
- Emerging Issues - CDI and Future Digital Centers
- Upcoming Meetings of Import - City and County Delegation Meetings
- Additional Information: Quantifying City Development
Citizens
for Responsible Growth (CRG) is a grassroots coalition of Frederick
residents who strongly favor development to accommodate the projected
increase in the County’s and City’s population, but want to ensure it is
undertaken in a way that considers the cumulative impact on our
infrastructure, i.e., housing (market-driven and affordable/workforce),
green space, schools, traffic, and the environment. Current practice is
to consider each project as it — alone — affects its immediate
surroundings. We contend that each project must be considered as an
integral part of multiple land uses that work together to protect public
safety, provide accommodation, minimize congestion, and guarantee easy
access to a functional natural environment that surrounds our built and
arable lands.
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Election Results & Challenges
Congratulations to the newly elected officials!
Many officials have stated positions and opinions on growth,
development, and housing and these issues will remain high priorities
for County and City policy formulation. CRG will continue to provide
input and we hope that some of you will join us.
NACs and Resident–City Dialog: The CRG
submitted revisions to the City’s Land Management Code (LMC) and 2020
Comprehensive Plan in late 2021 and early 2022. We will re-initiate a
concerted effort to codify these two portions of the City’s governance,
basically mandating resident input to new construction prior to any
formal City staff acceptance of a proposed project.
Updates
N. Market Street — BYOB establishments:
The myriad of late-night issues on North Market Street during the
spring and summer revealed a flaw in the system of alcohol/liquor
licensing and accountability. Basically, establishments in Frederick
County that have (and often advertise) a BYOB policy are not regulated
by the Frederick County Liquor Board (FCLB). If they are not a
restaurant that serves alcohol (as any Class B — i.e., on-site alcohol
consumption — establishment), no other agency has any jurisdiction as to
how they manage their business. This absence of institutional control
and responsibility, combined with a lack of accountability to the public
and the surrounding neighborhoods, directly contributes to creating an
unsafe environment for all involved, both patrons and local residents.
Concerned citizens are pursuing several options designed to close this loophole, including:
- Requiring BYOB establishments to be licensed with oversight provided by the County Liquor Board. This would allow for the same core rules that restaurants, craft breweries, and distilleries must follow regarding responsible beverage service (RBS) training and in-house policies and procedures to avoid underage service and over-consumption and assure better accountability, with adequate response should problems arise.
- Reviewing best practices of MD Counties in the development of specific BYOB guidelines, recognizing their business model is atypical of other regulated businesses. One example is the Bottle Club law in Hagerstown that limits hours of operation and requires that only beer and wine be consumed, and only when food is being prepared and served.
- Mandating that BYOB establishments follow the same hours of operation as craft breweries and distilleries which are required by state law to close at 10:00 pm.
West End County Library Branch: Residents continued to advocate for Frederick County to construct a new library branch in the City of Frederick's West End at a public forum organized by outgoing County Executive Jan Gardner on November 16, 2022. The evening forum, held at Hillcrest Elementary School, was well attended, with approximately 40 residents present. County Executive Gardner held the forum to solicit public feedback about where and when a West End library branch should be constructed based on three options that she presented.
While several perspectives were shared, the majority of those who testified supported a library branch that would be constructed within the land set aside by the City of Frederick for the West End Regional Park, with the strong preference for a 2025 opening date.
Given the impending change in governments on December 5, all decisions with respect to where and when the West End Library is constructed will now reside with the incoming Jessica Fitzwater administration. County agencies are currently in the process of assembling their budgets for the incoming county executive to review, approve, and present in the beginning of 2023. County Executive-elect Fitzwater has publicly committed to holding several public budget listening sessions throughout the County. Residents are encouraged to continue to advocate for a West End Library Branch to be constructed and opened in the 2025 timeline.
City Charter Review: The mayor is about to announce selection of 7 to 9 individuals to review the City Charter over the next 6 months. The Charter was last revised in 2007 and not adopted until 2013 so a re-examination of what works or could be improved for governance of the state’s second largest city is long overdue. A report with recommendations will be submitted to the Board of Aldermen and mayor for review and consideration in mid-2023. The Committee’s meetings will be open to the public to learn of the members’ deliberations. If you have concerns on our election processes, operating procedures, and roles of our Board of Aldermen and mayor, be prepared to provide input to the members of the City Charter Review Committee in the coming months.
City Surveys: Under the auspices of the City’s “What If” initiative, the City has posted a survey that provides residents an opportunity to provide specifics on increasing communication between City officials, staff, and residents. As 2-way communication is a primary tenet of the CRG, should you wish to provide comment on ways to increase dialog, go to the following link and submit your opinion (https://forms.office.com/
East Street Corridor Redevelopment through Form-based Code: The City of Frederick is refining the 2017 Small Area Plan for East Street. As discussed in earlier newsletters, the refinement includes both a re-envisioning of traffic patterns on East Street as well as the development of a form-based code that will set the framework for new and infill development along the corridor. The Form-Based Code Charrette report is available at https://www.cityoffrederickmd.
On December 14, the City will hold a listening session to receive resident feedback on the report. Thereafter, the contractor will finalize a draft of the code that will codify the guidelines for future development along each block of the East Street corridor. Resident participation and feedback is critical during this process as the form-based code overlay will take precedence over the existing Land Management Code for regulating future development. It is important to note that nothing in the form-based code will require existing businesses along the corridor to make any modifications.
The CRG is pleased to learn that the City is actively looking for funding for the execution of a vital transportation study. This study will determine whether the re-envisioned transportation plan will accommodate the anticipated level of service required from development along the corridor and importantly, regional growth.
The City has also announced that there are resources to address the design and construction for Phase II of the Rails and Trails program. This phase goes from Eighth Street all the way to Route 26, including a new linear park in front of the Monocacy Village Shopping Center. The City hopes to release a Request for Proposal before the end of this calendar year with the goal of construction to be completed by FY26.
Tracking City Development: CRG members have been watching new construction throughout the City and wondering where/when/how to best address what appears to be unchecked development with little attention paid to the presence, absence, or plans for adequate supportive infrastructure. In Spring 2022, one of our members began to follow the Frederick County Residential Pipeline Report, in part a response to questions asked about the seeming unconstrained development in the past few years.
Based on the Pipeline Report, there are 10,410 approved City dwelling units represented in 27 approved developments. The 2021 Frederick County census results indicate 106,417 units occupied by 279,835 people — or an average of 2.6 persons/unit. In the City, with 10,410 residential units approved for the next few years (2,746 of those already developed/sold), at 2.6 persons/unit, 27,066 new residents could find City housing. With a 2021 census population of 79,855 City residents, housing just built or to be built within the next few years (assuming 3+ years for permitting and construction, i.e., by 2026) can accommodate 106,921 individuals, exceeding the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ projected 2045 City population of 93,100. (For more info about these data, please see Additional Information section at the end of this newsletter.)
These data imply that we will have built all the needed housing for our 2045 population by 2026 — certainly sooner than 2030. So why is there the huge commitment for new residential construction, far in excess of needed housing for the current or future population? And with obvious constraints to the needed infrastructure in roads, sewer and water line placements and pumping stations, and schools, couldn’t we build slower, focusing on construction practices with all of the necessary infrastructure, resiliency to the new climate, and affordable/workforce housing that is currently estimated at 15,000–20,000 units (County projection, R. Trout, pers. commun., July 19, 2022)? Bottom line: New residential construction far exceeds the needs of projected City populations, so why not commit to establishing new construction policies, incentives, and credits to build responsibly what is actually needed in the coming years?
Emerging Issues
CDI and Future Digital Centers: The County has passed the Critical Digital Infrastructure ordinance that provides some construction requirements for large digital centers expected in the coming decades. The first center location is the former Eastalco site with Quantum Maryland LLC submitting an application to the County for construction and infrastructure for the 27 parcels that comprise the site. The application includes sewer and water supply and discharge infrastructure, stormwater mitigation, locations of an on-site power station, and extensive berm and forestation placement.
Of concern are the magnitudes of water usage and sewage capacities, as well as implications for these services should digital centers be considered for all 27 parcels. As well, Quantum Maryland LLC owns land surrounding the Eastalco site, 2 to 3 times the size of the Eastalco location. With the huge data fibre conduits planned from Virginia to the site (perhaps the largest on the East Coast), the fibre transmission corridors, the additional land owned by Quantum Maryland LLC, as well as 2 other nearby properties already in place for other digital centers, raise serious concerns on digital center construction second only to Loudoun County, construction at what sacrifice of agricultural land and non-center public services? CRG and 5 other local organizations have requested an informational hearing with the MD Water and Science Administration on one aspect of the current application — damage to Tuscarora Creek (<200 linear ft) and its floodplain (>507,000 sq ft).
Upcoming Meetings of Import
City and County Delegation Meetings: City officials are holding a budget meeting on December 7 at 7 PM. Aldermen will present their priorities for possible City and state funding consideration and public comment can occur. If there are identified within-City limits funds needed for specific City actions, residents are encouraged to immediately contact their aldermen and provide input and funding amounts to be considered. Thereafter, as in previous years, Frederick County state representatives will hold meetings with City and County officials on December 15 to identify priorities our representatives should pursue in the legislature to improve conditions locally. Besides the liquor regulations noted above, other topics of interest to the CRG include expanding use of speed cameras beyond the current state regulation for deployment only within 0.5 mi of a school, installation of speed bumps, increasing state funds to complement low income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) provided by the federal government to spur affordable housing construction, and allowing local jurisdictions the power to install solar panels on schools at their discretion. If you identify other issues that must be changed at the state level, please notify your County Council representatives, County Executive, City Board of Aldermen, or mayor of the topic as soon as possible.
Contributors: J. Bokee, R. Huber, S. Jakubczyk, R. Robey, M. Rosensweig, K. Sellner
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Additional Information: Quantifying City Development
CRG members have been watching new construction throughout the City and wondering where/when/how to best address what appears to be development with little attention paid to the presence, absence, or plans for adequate supportive infrastructure. In Spring 2022, one of our members began to follow the Frederick County Residential Pipeline Report, which is designed to show what is in the pipeline (i.e., approved residential units to be developed that will impact the City/County infrastructure in the future.)
Understanding this important number is essential to assure that development is limited to available infrastructure support which includes adequate roads, sufficient schools, libraries, parks, and sufficient services such as police, ambulances, and utilities — water, sewer, electric, gas, trash removal, etc.
Permitted homes should be a component of the pipeline calculation because these are homes that are approved to be built but not necessarily being built at this time. Thus, they do not have any current impact on the City/County infrastructure. Permitted homes have up to 2 years to be built and that period can be extended.
A breakout of the Developed/Permitted projects separates developed/sold homes from the permitted homes, the easiest way to isolate the permitted homes. To do this, streets within the City developments on the Residential Development Pipeline Report were identified and then looked up in the Maryland State Real Estate Database (SDAT) to identify the developed/sold homes.
Calculations were limited to City developments due to the enormity of the undertaking which involved driving through each of the 27 approved development projects to identify the streets in each community and then to compare that with the SDAT. From there, the homes sold to individuals were counted for each street and then totaled for each development. Finally, the sold homes calculation was subtracted from those Developed/Permitted to obtain the number of permitted homes — in total and by development.
Currently, there are 10,410 approved city dwelling units representing 27 approved developments. Just to give an idea of the time this process requires, the December 31, 2016 Division of Planning Annual Report contained 22 developments that are listed in the October 2022 Frederick County Residential Pipeline Report.
The October 2022 Pipeline Report shows 34,329 Approved Dwelling Units County-wide. The City total is 30% — or 10,410 — of the County total. Of those (City) units, which will impact City/County infrastructure, there are:
- 2,746 units have been developed/sold and are impacting the current City/County infrastructure.
- 7,664 dwelling units are in process with
- 1,271 permitted
- 6,393 unpermitted
One final piece of the puzzle is the 14+ plus development projects currently in various stages of the approval process. These projects include another 1,401 proposed dwelling units. This inexact number of projects includes residential projects reflected in the City development map and other projects that are not currently on the map because they are between approval processes. Since the City normally approves most projects, it is likely that these projects will end up in the Pipeline Report.
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Many
Frederick residents want to know — but cannot find — information about
how to participate in discussions of important local issues. The City
and County generally hold meetings from 3–10 p.m., making it impossible
for most of us to attend meetings or weigh in on issues of interest. Our
mission with this monthly newsletter is to highlight City and County
activities so you can learn more and, with your limited time, weigh in
on areas of growth and development, City and County policies, and other
local activities. Occasionally, opinions or longer stories will be
offered by knowledgeable experts/readers. We welcome suggestions for
articles focused on specific topics. Contact Kevin Sellner (kgsellner@gmail.com), Marge Rosensweig (marjorierosensweig@gmail.com)
