Frederick City and County News of Interest
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:
With this issue, we're adding a new feature
to help readers find more information on the topics discussed in the
newsletter, and learn how to reach out to decision makers on issues to
express their thoughts. Look for the subheading "WHAT YOU CAN DO" for useful links.
The newsletter is organized with dynamic links so you can click the topics listed here, to connect to the specific topics below:
City Brickworks Project
Odd Fellows Property (1730 N. Market Street)
Madison on N. Market
City Ordinance on Residential Rental Licensing
City Charter Review Committee
West Side Library
Data Centers
Sugarloaf Overlay
Upcoming Events & Meetings
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City Brickworks Project
HEADS
UP TO OUR READERS: read about soil toxins and the need for developer
and City actions to address development at this site — and all former
industrial locations in future projects — in the Frederick News Post
Letter to the Editor at www.fredericknewspost.com/
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The
developers of the 65-acre property at South and East Streets will be
presenting a revised Master Plan to the City Planning Commission (PC) on
August 14. They are seeking 8–9 modifications to the Land Management
Code (LMC) as well as stating (initially in March) that they would seek
enrollment in the state’s Voluntary Clean-up Program (VCP) for the
identified soil contaminants at the site. Despite this verbal
commitment, how will the PC guarantee that the developer enrolls in the
VCP? Will the developer proffer documentary evidence of enrollment? Will
the PC ask for such as a condition for Master Plan approval?
CRG will provide comment regarding developer-identified LMC
modifications as well as mitigation options/mandates for reducing
exposure to the site’s soil toxics. In the longer term, CRG intends to
strongly urge the City to revise the LMC to include local requirements
for assessing and reducing soil contaminant exposures in all former City
industrial sites to avoid future residential development on sites that
could pose public health threats.
Other concerns expressed by residents and business owners include the
lack of connectivity from the Brickworks site to the downtown core;
negative effects on downtown businesses; lack of green
space/recreational areas within the Brickwork core (i.e., between
Monocacy, East and E. South Streets); no adherence to Form Based Code
(FBC) which, when enacted, will govern the look and feel of the East
Street corridor; four-sided architecture which will consist (according
to the renderings) of street facing windows and wall art, but no doors;
absence of moderately priced dwelling units and school acreage or
construction; options for addressing high volume stormwater runoff; and a
large suburban-looking shopping center with surface parking dominating
the premier space (Monocacy and East Street from Monocacy to the East
Street circle).
WHAT YOU CAN DO
— For more info about the Brickworks Project click this link and scroll to Item 6: cityoffrederick.granicus.com/
— If you have comments about the Brickworks Project, you can contact the Planning Commission through Gabrielle Collard: gdunn@
Odd Fellows Property (1730 N. Market Street)
On
July 27, a revised development plan for the Odd Fellows (Banner School)
property was brought to the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC) for a
Level 1 hearing (acceptance/rejection of the proposed development). The
design has changed dramatically from previous versions submitted over
the past 1–2 years. Contrary to the HPC New Construction Guidelines, the
new buildings will be:
- taller than the historical Odd Fellows building,
- flat roofed instead of gabled with dormers as in the Odd Fellows,
- dwarf the mass of the historical buildings, and
- compatible with non-historical new apartments across the street rather than the historical buildings on the site.
CRG
members urged the HPC to follow its written guidance rather than permit
the requested changes for construction of new contemporary buildings
that would mask the treasured Odd Fellows structures. Unfortunately,
City staff and the HPC members unanimously ignored the guidelines and
accepted the proposed construction. CRG wonders why not just delete the
New Construction section of the City’s guidelines if, AGAIN, they are
not followed.
The project now moves to the City Planning Commission (PC). Although it
is zoned R-16 (16 housing units/acre), the developer is seeking
commercial capacities in a Farmers Market on the site as well as some
retail on the first floor of the N. Market-facing building. LMC
regulations indicate that on-site retail should be solely for residents
of the site and specifically excludes farmers markets; whether the PC
will ignore those requirements remains to be seen. CRG will post the
date and time for that PC hearing to encourage resident input on
possible City acceptance of the proposed non-permitted commercial
businesses on the site.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
— For more info about the 1730 N. Market Street project, click this link and scroll to Item 4: cityoffrederick.granicus.com/
— If you have comments about the 1730 N. Market Street project, you can
contact the Planning Commission through Gabrielle Collard: gdunn@
Madison on N. Market
Across
the street from Odd Fellows is a 60-unit development committed to
including Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs). The owner and
developer are congratulated on their vision and actual construction of
these units!
City Ordinance on Residential Rental Licensing/Disclosure upon Sale of Real Property
The
Board of Aldermen (BoA) will hold a hearing on revising a City
ordinance that addresses responsibilities of persons SELLING or BUYING
housing or rental properties. The ordinance places complete
responsibility on the BUYER for multiple unrealistic requirements
including reviewing the City’s Comprehensive Plan, Land Management Code,
all development applications submitted to the City for consideration,
and discovering whether the property is in the Historic Preservation or
other overlay districts. CRG believes the role should be reversed as a
current landowner would be familiar with the rules governing his/her
property (e.g., the overlays: historic district, well head, highway
noise, Carroll Creek, airport); what aspects of the City’s major
documents pertain to the property; and, if a rental property, the
management standards required by the City. The City has a development
review database that is fluid, changes frequently, and properties
disappear in weeks (https://spires.
Should the BoA adopt the current version of the ordinance, CRG urges the
City to develop a web tool that would allow a potential purchaser to
insert any address into a database that identifies any overlays, thereby
providing any BUYER easy access to specific overlay of the property,
enabling subsequent investigation into what the overlay restrictions
might mean for use, repair, or exterior renovation of the residence or
rental property.
City Charter Review Committee
The
Charter Review Committee (the Committee) is about to draft
recommendations for review and potential consideration by the BoA and
mayor, with a late September delivery date for its recommendations. Main
topics include separation of powers between the legislative branch
(BoA) and the executive (mayor), responsibilities and resources for
each, and district vs. at-large representation.
Presently, Frederick City operates with a “strong-mayor” system,
enabling a leader to spearhead much of the legislative process. As
Frederick grows, this structure of government may not be well-suited for
a larger, more diverse population which makes it difficult for
resident-driven equitable legislation to reach our elected officials.
Accordingly, the Committee is reviewing possible solutions to establish a
legislative body within the City's government to alleviate the burden
on the mayor to direct the entire legislative process with dedicated
staff to review, write, and present legislation to the Board for a vote.
Other considerations are district representation, a City Manager, term
limits, voting for all residents, and election dates and cycles. CRG
strongly supports the Committee’s commitment to recommending checks and
balances governance in the City.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
View recordings of the Charter Review Committee here: www.cityoffrederickmd.gov/
Form-Based Code
The
last FBC workshop to familiarize residents and interested organizations
and businesses was held on Monday, July 24, focusing on Parking and
Loading as well as Administration of the Code. To date, the workshops
have been poorly attended, a concern, because the code, should it be
adopted, will govern the future of the East Street Corridor
architecture, land use, etc. FBC will possibly be applied to the other 7
small area plans the City has identified.
The County is also potentially applying FBC to the South Corridor area
(Rte. 85/355) with several presentations already made to the County’s
Planning Commission. If you want input on either corridor, it’s critical
to weigh in as soon as the public is invited to help develop the formal
code, otherwise we cannot complain later!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
— For more info about the City of Frederick's Form-Based Code proposals, click this link: www.cityoffrederickmd.gov/
— If you have comments about the Form-Based Code proposals, you can contact the Planning staff through Gabrielle Collard: gdunn@
West Side Library
The
County and City have collaborated to locate a library in Hillcrest
Park on the City’s west side, a good step forward for this area of
Frederick. Once built, the library will be close to Hillcrest, Butterfly
Ridge, and Waverley elementary schools, certainly a plus.
Unfortunately, there appears to have been no discussion with local
residents at large or those participating in Neighborhood Advisory
Council 8 (NAC) on the location in this existing neighborhood park. Was
this a missed opportunity for an active open discussion with local
residents on the pros and cons of reuse of this existing park?
The collaboration between the County and City is commended but it
appears that much more resident input is needed in major decisions
between the two governments. CRG looks forward to joint government
cooperation that includes substantial resident participation on multiple
issues in the future, such as the South Corridor small area plan and
development, school construction, joint fiscal support and building of
moderately priced housing, and common implementation of
climate-responsive policies.
Data Centers
Quantum
Loophole (QL), the owner of the 2100-acre Eastalco site near Adamstown
for construction and operation of data centers, has failed to meet
state-required land use practices as it brings fiber conduit from
Northern Virginia to the property and how it treats/discharges water
from the site into nearby Tuscarora Creek. Maryland’s Department of the
Environment (MDE) is considering fines for failure to address requested
environmental fixes, potentially slowing continued data center
development of the site.
In one effort to prepare for future data center operations, QL
successfully sought exceptions from the County’s Board of Appeals on
July 27 for drilling/crossing the floodplains in the southwestern part
of the County for the data fibre from Virginia. Approximately 20
residents urged caution and revision of the proposed floodplain damage.
With this considerable effort from QL to move forward, the County’s
recently formed Data Center Workgroup has substantial work ahead to
examine remedies for future center construction and operations that now
appear possible through delinquent oversight of the site’s preparations.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Learn more about the County's Data Centers Workgroup: frederickcountymd.gov/8544/
Sugarloaf Overlay
On
July 20, the Frederick County Planning Commission held a public hearing
on the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Plan Amendment: Sugarloaf Rural
Heritage Zoning Overlay District. Sugarloaf Alliance members and several
others testified in support of the overlay ordinance, which will
provide added protection to the Plan. Sugarloaf will not be part of the
August PC meeting, but additional review and future plan adoption is
likely for the fall. Stay tuned!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
— View the July 20 PC hearing here: frederick.granicus.com/
— Read the background materials on the Sugarloaf overlay ordinance in this PC meeting agenda: https://www.frederickcountymd.
Upcoming Events and Meetings
Wed. August 2, 2:00 PM, Aldermen and Mayor Workshop, City Hall: Fee-In Lieu Programs-Parkland dedication, School Mitigation, MPDU; Comprehensive Plan/Planning/Discussion
Tues. August 8, 4:30 PM, Ad hoc Communication and NAC Engagement Committee, City Hall:
nearing end of the deliberations and drafting of recommendations to the
BoA and mayor for revitalizing City Neighborhood Advisory Councils
Mon. August 14, 6:00 PM, City Planning Commission Hearing, City Hall: Brickworks development to be discussed and potentially voted on.
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See the CRG blog at: responsiblegrowthfrederick.com
Contributors: P. Gallagher, 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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