Frederick City and County News of Interest
VOL. 2, NO. 6 | JUNE 6, 2023
CRG is a grassroots coalition of Frederick residents who prioritize responsible growth, expanding infrastructure, and a functional natural environment. We advocate for development that accommodates projected population increases while fostering a strong and diverse community fabric and increasing economic opportunities. Our comprehensive approach emphasizes public safety, traffic mitigation, increasing school capacity, and housing for all members of our community.
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To our Readers:
The newsletter is organized with dynamic links so you can click the topics listed here, to connect to the specific topics below. Acronyms are listed below.
Charter Review Process / CRG Forum
City & County Budgets
Brickworks & Maryland Deaf Community Center
Form-Based Code Training Sessions
County Data Centers
Social Media Launch Celebrating One Year Anniversary
Frederick’s Alphabet Soup
Upcoming Events
Acronyms
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Charter Review Process / CRG Forum
The City’s Charter Review webpage emphasizes that “public engagement…is essential.” (https://www.
At the forum, attendees discussed:
- The importance of updating the City Charter
- Critical issues under review, including districting, timing of elections, open primaries, non-citizen voting, term limits for elected officials, and a legislative process that clearly defines and separates the executive and legislative branches of City government to ensure overall balance between the two branches.
- The interplay of NAC revitalization and Charter revision and whether/how NAC “voices” would be a vital part of future City discussions and decision-making
Several
committee members and the aldermanic liaison to the committee
participated in the forum, providing insight into the opportunities and
challenges, and attendees gained a clear understanding of the difficult
and intricate decisions and recommendations with which the committee is
charged. This task requires partnership, cooperation and input from all
(residents, businesspeople, City staff and officials, etc.). We applaud
the diligence and the thoroughness of the Committee's efforts so far and
encourage everyone to watch their progress closely and keep informed
(via the web link above and attending future CRG events).
This forum was a continuation of candidate forums held over the past two
election cycles and introduces our 2023 series focusing on issues of
concern to residents, including the Charter Review process. CRG will do
all possible to highlight individual Charter topics in the coming months
as the Committee approaches their goal of delivering a final report in
the Fall. Future events will be publicized in the CRG newsletter and
through social media. We welcome your attendance.
City & County Budgets
The
City has adopted its 2024 budget and, disappointingly, there was no
commitment to construction of Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs)
even with a reserve exceeding $15M. The County has adopted some
protections for assistance for senior and veteran homeowners. CRG
continues its advocacy for creative (e.g., seed money to leverage other
funds) use of City fees in-lieu collected from developers who opt to NOT
build affordable/workforce housing and there are rumors of possible
City discussions of revising its approach to actually building units.
We’ll see…
Brickworks & Maryland Deaf Community Center
It
appears there’s little willingness to slow the march forward for
development of the Brickworks property at South and East Street,
regardless of the pending City considerations for adopting a form-based
code for construction in the East Street Corridor. Recent investigations
into past use of the properties in brick manufacturing and on-site
industry and City waste disposal pose a possibility for at least some
City or state examination of future impacts of the brownfield site’s
development. A Planning Commission (PC) workshop is scheduled for June
20 at which time the developer is expected to respond to the (February)
comments of the PC and Planning Staff. Hopefully, the issue of possible
soil contamination will be raised as well.
Further north on the Corridor, owners of the East Street location for
the Maryland Deaf Community Center, facing unexpected design expenses
for the design and construction of its future community center, will not
reconsider a redesign to place parking in the rear of the center that
would be consistent with the form-based code designs under review by the
City. These two projects, therefore, put a substantial crimp in a
consistent form design along the Corridor.
Form-Based Code Training Sessions
The
City has scheduled 4 training sessions for the consultant-drafted and
City-revised form-based code, beginning with a June 6 session at City
Hall at 7 PM. The three remaining sessions are scheduled for June 26,
July 11, and July 24. All residents, business owners, and NGO
representatives are encouraged to attend to become familiar with a final
code’s possibilities that will govern future building designs along the
Corridor and perhaps as a model for FBC application in other small area
plans.
County Data Centers
Construction
of large data centers in the southwest portion of the County near
Adamstown is moving forward with the site plan for the first center
(Align Data Corporation) accepted by a 4–3 vote of the County Planning
Commission. Reticence by many commissioners to the proposed plan was
nearly universal but again, as with the recent deliberations on the
Gordon Mills development in the Linganore area, members' "hands were
tied" to its current decision policies, thwarting serious concerns
raised re: stormwater capture, impacts, and treatment.
Another submission is expected in July for Phases 2–4 of the Align data
center campus which might increase the number of centers on the site to
4, with additional concerns about stormwater and noise. PC members
concluded their discussion and vote with a plea for the County Council
to revise stormwater requirements above the decade-old MDE regulations
that are ineffective with the new climate-driven intense storm volumes.
CRG members and power experts in the community are meeting with County
Council members to quickly revise the Critical Data Infrastructure
Ordinance (CDI) to address stormwater, energy, noise, and water
treatment capacities for best protection of the County’s residents,
properties, and natural resources. Whether the needed revisions can be
adopted quickly enough remains to be seen. Stay tuned!
Social Media Launch Celebrating CRG's One Year Anniversary
One year after launching our newsletter, News from Your Neighbors,
we recognize (from the feedback we have received) that the information
we gather and report is important for dialogue and citizen input on
issues and challenges. To be sure that everyone who is
interested in/concerned about City and County growth can easily access
CRG’s information, we are excited to announce our new Facebook Page, the
first iteration of our Social Media Launch. This will serve as a hub
for discussion, brief updates, mini articles, and meeting
schedules/announcements. Following our Facebook, linked below, will make
it easy to keep up to date with the actions of City and County
governments and identify ways to take part in the deliberations about
our community.
Check out our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.
Feel free to message us there directly, and like and share the page!
And, keep an eye out for our Instagram, officially launching later this
month. To make our Newsletter as accessible as possible, the issues from
over the course of our first year are posted on our website.
Read previous issues of this newsletter: responsiblegrowthf
Thanks to you, our readers, we are even more dedicated to increasing
transparency and dialogue surrounding growth in Frederick. We do this by
connecting neighbor to neighbor and reader to reader, bringing these
issues to light. Thank you for your ongoing support over the last year;
we have been heartened by your reception and are looking forward to
creating more opportunities for you to stay informed and connect with
your neighbors, across the City and County.
Subscribe to this newsletter: To help us celebrate one
whole year of publication, please share this link with friends and
neighbors (or forward this email) to sign up for our FREE newsletter: https://docs.google.com/forms/
Acronyms - Frederick’s Alphabet Soup
Acronyms
are pervasive in our lives and often annoyingly so. To help keep
everyone’s blood pressure down, we thought we would explain some of the
more used/useful acronyms that can be found in our newsletters as well
as the myriad documents in the world of responsible growth. For a more
complete description of the codes/organizations/etc., check out the
expanded list on our blog (should be available within weeks). And, if
you come across an acronym you think we should post, let us know.
AARCH — African American Resources Cultural and Historical Society
ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed
APFO — Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance
BoA — Board of Aldermen
BoE — Board of Education
BYOB — Bring Your Own Bottle
CCO — Carroll Creek Overlay
CDI — Critical Digital Infrastructure ordinance
DPW — Department of Public Works
DRRA — Developer Rights and Responsibilities Act
EFR — East Frederick Rising
FBC — Form Based Code
FIL — Fee-in-Lieu
FCSO — Frederick County Sheriff’s Office
FPD — Frederick Police Department
HPC — Historic Preservation Commission
HPO — Historic Preservation Overlay
LMC — Land Management Code
MDE — Maryland Department of the Environment
MPDU — Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit
NAC — Neighborhood Advisory Council
PC — Planning Commission
PIL — Payment-in-Lieu
RAB — Restoration Advisory Board
VPRO — Vacant Property Registration Ordinance
ZBA — Zoning Board of Appeals
Upcoming Events
Check these webpages for up-to-date information on upcoming City and County meetings and agendas.
Frederick City: https://cityoffrederickmd.gov/
Frederick County: https://frederickcountymd.gov/
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See the CRG blog at: responsiblegrowthfrederick.com
Contributors: M. Currier, S. Jakubczyk, M. Rosensweig, K. Sellner
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)
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