OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Carroll County Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – September 2, 2026

County Commissioners & Boards — Wednesday, September 2, 2026
BodyCarroll County, Maryland
SessionCounty Commissioners & Boards
DateWednesday, September 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:09:23

Transcript — Verbatim
0:18

Morning everyone.

0:19

Morning.

0:19

Good evening.

0:20

Evening.

0:20

Mr.

0:21

Kane?

0:23

Mr.

0:23

Robertson?

0:24

Here.

0:25

Mr.

0:26

Hobb.

0:27

Ms.

0:28

Carpenter?

0:29

Here.

0:32

Mr.

0:32

Swisson?

0:33

Here.

0:34

Mr.

0:34

Lester.

0:36

Mr.

0:36

Smith?

0:37

Here.

0:38

Mr.

0:38

Gordon?

0:39

Here.

0:39

Secretary Daly?

0:40

Here.

0:42

Mr.

0:42

Vice Chairman, please let the record reflect.

0:45

We have board members are present and we don't reform.

0:48

Okay.

0:48

Well, stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:01

Understand.

1:11

Okay, you've had a chance to look at the agenda.

1:14

So I'd like to ask for approval of the agenda.

1:18

I move that we approve the agenda for September 2nd, 2026.

1:23

I'll second.

1:24

All in favor?

1:25

If you first on the list is a capital project's decision on that.

1:34

Yeah.

1:34

So I'm going to ask Scott to come up before he dives into his presentation.

1:40

I did just want to bring something to your attention since it's a little timely.

2:27

So they they sometimes will have like a weird extension at the end of the email address that appears to be coming from us but has extra letters or something in it.

2:38

So just wanted to let you all know that we'd been we've been alerted to that.

2:43

And if there if you ever encounter anybody who says they got a weird-looking email from Carroll County government asking them to send money or whatever, um we we will never do that via email, and they should always um verify with the uh you know by directly calling or emailing somebody here at the county to confirm that that that email is uh is indeed uh a real email and just uh to follow up that real quick um that was also put out via social media from the county government, and it was also an email blast that was sent out to anybody that receives county emails to make them aware of that matter, as well as I believe the sheriff's department sent something out as well.

3:32

So you know, we've all been as uh judicious as we could be able to get that out for the public's awareness.

3:38

Thank you.

3:39

Okay, Scott, good evening.

3:44

Good evening, and back before you again uh to kind of recap the presentation from uh your regularly scheduled meeting a couple of weeks ago uh regarding CIP uh budget requests uh for the upcoming FY28 budget cycle touchy mouse.

4:07

I know it is and so here's a list of the staff recommended projects.

4:16

I'll go through these in a little bit more detail.

4:18

Uh we have uh some visuals to to go through as well, but I'll just uh go down the list.

4:25

Uh ride an hour way, uh east of Old Liberty, uh ride an hour away uh connection, Homeland Drive to Bonnie Bray Road, Georgetown Boulevard extended, uh London Town Boulevard to Progress Way, Arrington and Raincliffe Road uh connection and realignment, uh Protherer Road extension and recurrent configuration of the intersection with Ridge Road, uh Maryland 32 from 2nd Street to Main Street, uh intersection improvements, uh the Maryland 26th corridor as a whole, and then this was added uh the last project uh from the last presentation.

5:00

That was not not part of what I brought you two weeks ago, but we've added the Hemrington Road Spur Trail Bridge, which would end up being part of the Potapsco regional greenway.

5:16

So Riden Hour way east of Old Liberty basically would uh pick up right there at Nels Acres.

5:22

This is just uh east of St.

5:24

Stephen's Reformed Episcopal Church and would carry the roadway west and it would actually connect in with a segment of Old Liberty Road that currently exists.

5:36

So that's actually a portion of this segment and as everybody knows the the Ridenhour way of and the George I'm sorry the Dickinson Road or the the service roads designed to to relieve traffic congestion along 26.

5:53

And then a second piece of Rodenhour way would be homeland to Bonnie Bray making that connection the county just recently purchased a property just to the uh the east of this segment uh to sort of uh bring this to fruition hopefully in the near future and this would be Georgetown Boulevard extended the uh the blue line that extends north from the London town and and Georgetown convergence there up to uh to Progress way along the west western bound of the uh the Beatty property both of these projects are uh hopefully would be in conjunction with uh upcoming developments uh Prothro Road extended would uh pick up where the the road currently terminates uh southeast of Brangles Road and carry it forward to where it would meet up with uh Marriott'sville Road and Ridge Road and there would also be a intersection sort of realignment there on the the eastern portion of this project and then Errington Raincliffe Road uh what we're proposing in the CIP is just for the basically the very first portion of this roadway there at Slacks Road and again it would be in conjunction with the development that would occur but the reason for that project would be to to straighten out those those sharp S curves there in that area the Maryland 32 project this would be matching funds that we were proposing for this state project and it would be intersection improvements from 2nd Street to Main Street and this would also include like dedicated right and left hand turn lanes along this portion as well continued support for Maryland 26 we don't have a specific project in relation to this but it would be whatever opportunities might come up for the county to assist the state in moving this project forward and then this would be the new project part of the Patapsco Regional Greenway which would connect Carroll County all the way down to Baltimore City there are multiple players in this particular project to and including Howard County Baltimore County Baltimore City even Anna Rundle County has a portion of this but the uh the mock-up or the picture there would is a depiction of what this could look like over the uh waterway there and the rail line there at the very southern end of the county and it would connect in with that uh trail system to the top of the screen there in the map this would would cover the portion of the the blue line there and with that we'll open it up to any questions you might have or any further explanation so I just want to really quickly point out that the first several projects that um Scott covered were projects that um some of them many of them we've already we've requested in prior um uh budget years and they've not uh been advanced to the final um approved um budget um in some cases in other cases they have been and then funds have kind of been redirected um right now um at the Nelsacres area um Arrington Pretherough and Georgetown are all um projects that are number one um planned major streets part of part of the adopted um freedom community comprehensive plan and they are also um there's a there's a bit of an more immediacy to their their need because they're associated with development projects that are actively in the um review process so um that's one of the reasons why these particular roads have um been kind of consistently put forward for consideration um there are a couple of others

10:01

And they are also there's a there's a bit of an more immediacy to their their need because they're associated with development projects that are actively in the review process.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning Regulations█████████████████████████████████████████████67%
Procedural██████9%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████8%
Community Engagement████6%
Transportation Safety███5%
Economic Development██3%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Parks and Recreation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Carroll County Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting – September 2, 2026

The Planning and Zoning Commission of Carroll County met on September 2, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the Reagan Room. The meeting covered capital projects for the FY28–33 Community Investment Plan, proposed code amendments for self-service storage facilities, and public testimony. Commissioners voted to approve the capital projects list and sent a letter of support to the Board of County Commissioners. The self-service storage discussion resulted in several modifications to draft design standards. The scheduled Master Plan work session was postponed due to low attendance.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Audrey Novak (36-year resident at 6505 Carroll Highlands Road) urged the Commission to distinguish between self-storage uses adjacent to residential areas and those elsewhere. She requested that projects not be allowed unless vested before the deferral, opposed vehicle storage next to homes, and emphasized that storage does not further economic development.
  • Jay Brooks Leahy (representing Barefoot Land Company, developer of a self-storage facility on Route 32 in the C3 zone) submitted written comments. He raised concerns about proposed restrictions on loading areas, suggested definitions or alternative screening language, questioned the 20% window requirement (recommending faux windows instead), and noted that the 50‑square‑foot maximum sign size is inconsistent with the 200‑square‑foot allowance elsewhere. He asked that design requirements apply only to public street frontages and supported adding qualifiers like “where feasible.”
  • Kelly Schaefer Miller (73 E. Main Street, Westminster, on behalf of Scott Cooper, contract purchaser/developer of a self-service storage on Liberty Road, file S240018) urged grandfathering of plans in process, noted the impact of amendments on existing sites, and argued that making self-storage a conditional use in C2 is inconsistent with other permitted uses in that district. She supported retaining discretion in design review and pointed out that Section 158-158(J) may contradict reuse provisions.

Discussion Items

1. Capital Projects (Decision) Scott Graf presented staff‑recommended projects for the FY28–33 Capital Improvement Plan: Ridenhour Way east of Old Liberty, Ridenhour Way connection from Homeland Drive to Bonnie Bray Road, Georgetown Boulevard extension, Prothero Road extension and Ridge Road intersection realignment, Maryland 32 intersection improvements (2nd Street to Main Street), continued support for Maryland 26 corridor, and the Hemrington Road Spur Trail Bridge (part of the Patapsco Regional Greenway).

  • Commissioner Robertson emphasized that Ridenhour Way has been a priority for years and questioned why it was not completed before nearby developments. He stated the letter to the Board of County Commissioners must be emphatic about the need to start or complete these road projects, otherwise future approvals will be difficult.
  • Staff explained that developers are responsible for mitigating their proportional traffic impacts. For Ridenhour Way, the developer of Nels Acres designed the road and contributed a fee, but the county must construct it. BGE utility conflicts have delayed construction for nearly a year. The project was removed from last year’s CIP and needs to be reinstated.
  • The Commission concurred with the staff recommendation and directed staff to send a letter to the Board of County Commissioners supporting the projects. Motion passed 4–0–1 (Commissioner Gordon abstained).

2. Deferral Code Changes – Self‑Service Storage Facilities (Discussion) Staff led a review of draft amendments prepared by consultant Michael Baker International. The amendments create two new definitions (drive‑up and internal self‑service storage), modify use tables, and add design standards in Section 158.158. Key discussion points:

  • Definitions: The Commission agreed to remove “multi‑story” from the internal self‑service storage definition to allow adaptive reuse of single‑story buildings (e.g., former Kmart).
  • Use Table: Commissioners expressed interest in allowing self‑storage as a conditional use in the I‑1 (light industrial) zone for both types. Staff will add that change for further review.
  • Design Standards (Section 158.158-C): The Commission reviewed subsections on unit size (max 500 sq ft), minimum lot size (2 acres for drive‑up, 1 acre for internal, reducible for adaptive reuse), setbacks, facade design, and materials. Several provisions were modified or struck:
    • Individual storage doors facing interior: Kept but with added flexibility – “where feasible” or subject to substantial screening.
    • Prohibition of access drives, loading areas, and storage aisles between building and street: Struck (Commissioner Robertson moved to eliminate it).
    • 20% ground‑floor transparent windows or equivalent architectural treatment on street‑facing facades: Retained.
    • Facade articulation every 50 feet for buildings over 25 feet: Retained.
    • 200‑foot‑long walls must incorporate a 5‑foot‑deep, 20‑foot‑wide offset every 100 feet: Retained.
    • Parapet design to avoid false fronts: Retained.
    • Blank wall treatments (prohibition of blank walls visible from public streets, open spaces, etc.): Struck entirely. Commissioners stated screening and landscaping are more appropriate.
    • Building materials and colors: The Commission kept only the introductory sentence (materials/colors shall unify architecture) and subsection A (high‑quality, durable materials). All other material‑specific requirements (metal siding trim, concrete block limits, stucco trim, prohibited materials) were removed. Color provisions (F–I) were retained as written, including discouraging bright colors, requiring color palette approval, prohibiting neon/linear building lighting, and barring buildings designed as logos.
  • Public Comment was taken mid‑discussion before proceeding to design standards.

The Commission paused the discussion at approximately 9:00 PM and decided not to begin the Master Plan work session due to the absence of several members. The meeting was adjourned after a motion.

Key Outcomes

  • Capital Projects: Approved staff‑recommended list for FY28–33 CIP; directed staff to draft a letter to the Board of County Commissioners conveying the Commission’s strong support, especially for Ridenhour Way. (Vote: 4–0–1)
  • Self‑Service Storage Code Amendments: The Commission agreed on revised definitions, a conditional‑use addition for I‑1, and numerous modifications to design standards. Further discussion will continue at a future meeting.
  • Master Plan Work Session: Postponed; next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 9:00 AM in the Reagan Room.

Meeting Transcript

Morning everyone. Morning. Good evening. Evening. Mr. Kane? Mr. Robertson? Here. Mr. Hobb. Ms. Carpenter? Here. Mr. Swisson? Here. Mr. Lester. Mr. Smith? Here. Mr. Gordon? Here. Secretary Daly? Here. Mr. Vice Chairman, please let the record reflect. We have board members are present and we don't reform. Okay. Well, stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Understand. Okay, you've had a chance to look at the agenda. So I'd like to ask for approval of the agenda. I move that we approve the agenda for September 2nd, 2026. I'll second. All in favor? If you first on the list is a capital project's decision on that. Yeah. So I'm going to ask Scott to come up before he dives into his presentation. I did just want to bring something to your attention since it's a little timely. So they they sometimes will have like a weird extension at the end of the email address that appears to be coming from us but has extra letters or something in it. So just wanted to let you all know that we'd been we've been alerted to that. And if there if you ever encounter anybody who says they got a weird-looking email from Carroll County government asking them to send money or whatever, um we we will never do that via email, and they should always um verify with the uh you know by directly calling or emailing somebody here at the county to confirm that that that email is uh is indeed uh a real email and just uh to follow up that real quick um that was also put out via social media from the county government, and it was also an email blast that was sent out to anybody that receives county emails to make them aware of that matter, as well as I believe the sheriff's department sent something out as well. So you know, we've all been as uh judicious as we could be able to get that out for the public's awareness. Thank you. Okay, Scott, good evening. Good evening, and back before you again uh to kind of recap the presentation from uh your regularly scheduled meeting a couple of weeks ago uh regarding CIP uh budget requests uh for the upcoming FY28 budget cycle touchy mouse. I know it is and so here's a list of the staff recommended projects.

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