The City of Frederick Planning Commission held a workshop on July 15, 2024, at 2:00 PM at City Hall. The workshop covered three agenda items: two related to the Frederick Commerce Center South development (preliminary subdivision/forest conservation plan and a final site plan for Lot 4) and one final site plan for 5 Davis Avenue. No votes or formal decisions were made; the session was for discussion and feedback ahead of a public hearing scheduled for September 2024.
Welcome to July 15, 2024 workshop of the City of Frederick Planning Commission. Before beginning today's proceedings, I'd like to give an overview of the process we will follow today. Since it is different than the process we use for the hearing. For each item on our agenda, we will start the conversation with the applicant by having them come up to the front table and walk us through their project. For those of you who are new to the process, we do ask that you provide a thorough overview of your application, specifically addressing any modifications that you are requesting. Following the applicant applicant's presentation, the commission will then ask any questions of the applicant. Then we will ask staff to add their comments on the application, followed by the commission's questions, comments to staff. After the staff presentation, we we may go back to the applicant for additional questions. We will then ask for public comment and if needed, go back to the applicant andor staff with additional questions. Anyone wishing to make public comment is asked to sign up on the sign sheet provided on the table to my left. Then anyone who has not signed up will be given the opportunity to comment. Before beginning public comments, please give your name and address. Public comments are three minutes long. You will be able to see the timer somewhere in the room. And then you'll have 30 seconds remaining. Anyone speaking publicly at the meeting regarding any application must be sworn in prior to giving their remarks, including the applicant, city staff, and members of the public. Therefore, at this time, I ask that anyone who anticipates giving comments or testimony on any agenda item, please stand up to be sworn in. Do you solemnly swear or firm that the response is given and the statements made in this hearing before the planning commission will be the whole truth and nothing but the truth? If so, please say I do. Thank you. If you can please come up, thank you very much. So are we not expecting either of the others? No. No. Okay. Good thing you don't have to vote today. Good thing for us you don't have to vote today. Um good afternoon for the record, uh, Bruce Dean with McCurdy Dean and Gratator, Joe Whitebread with Tramell Crow and Company, and Chris Moriga with Harris Morgan Associates. Um we have two items that we're gonna be discussing with you today related to Frederick Commerce Center South. The first is the preliminary subdivision, and then followed by a site plan on one of the lots that's shown on that preliminary, as you may recall. There's these properties, the Toms and Mercer farms were annexed into the city. Um with that approval being late in 2023. I think it was December, right before Christmas. And last month in June, the county council voted to give express approval of the annexation, which meant that the zoning became valid and development could commence immediately. We didn't have to wait five years, so we were very happy about that. Um if that hadn't happened, I don't know that we'd necessarily be here today. Because the city doesn't actually have a real firm policy on what happens if the county doesn't give express approval. So it's happened, but it's been a long time. Um so in that case, we are here. We do have our zoning valid, and so these plans can move forward, and with that, I'm gonna turn it to Joe to walk you through the project. Thank you. Um so the first two items we're discussing now are the preliminary subdivision plat and the preliminary forest conservation plan. The goal of these two documents is really to uh sort of set up a framework for the overall development. So create all the lots that we anticipate using uh and do with forest conservation for the entire project. Uh and then subsequently we'll discuss the site plan for one of these specific lots that we have in. Um, our idea is to continue the industrial park that was started with Frederick Commerce Center lot three. That is the warehouse building that is constructed and uh now has an active user occupying part of the building along Gas House Pike and is you know part of the extension. We're looking at more warehouse product, uh slightly different. The one that is constructed on lot three is a very large crosstalk facility, uh, which just means it has loading bays on either side of the building, and product moves or can move from sort of one side to the other. Uh some of the buildings that we might consider on uh some of these lots uh will be rearloaded products, so they will be smaller in size, uh, and you'll see that with the lot four site plan.