Planning Commission Workshop – October 21, 2024
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Planning Commission Workshop Summary – October 21, 2024
The Frederick Planning Commission held a workshop on October 21, 2024, at 2:00 PM in City Hall. The meeting covered four agenda items: a final site plan for a hangar at the airport, the final phase of the Renn Quarter master plan, and two text amendments to the Land Management Code (LMC) concerning permitted uses in Mixed-Use (MU) districts. No public comments were received on any item. The workshop served as a discussion forum; formal decisions will be made at future hearings.
Agenda Item 1: Cabana Air Final Site Plan and Forest Stand Delineation (PC24-554FSI / PC24-659FCSB)
- Applicant: ADTEK Engineers, Inc. (Sean Benjaminson) representing Cabana Air.
- Project: Construction of a new hangar at the Frederick Municipal Airport, with associated parking, stormwater management, and street improvements. Three landscape modifications requested due to FAA restrictions on tree planting.
- Discussion: Commissioner questions addressed sinkhole mitigation (geotechnical surveys ongoing), stormwater design (micro-bio retention facilities that draw down within 24 hours), FAA height limits for trees, and parking quantity (25 spaces provided, exceeding the minimum of 9). Staff noted that stormwater management and APFO are still under review but will be cleared before the hearing. The project is consistent with the 2020 Comprehensive Plan and Airport Master Plan.
- Outcome: The item will proceed to a future Planning Commission hearing for a decision. Conditions from outside agencies (FAA, MAA) may be included as conditions of approval.
Agenda Item 2: Renn 3 Combined Preliminary Plat/Final Site Plan (PC24-555PSU/FSI)
- Applicant: Harris Smariga & Associates (Chris Smariga) and Karen McJunkin (owner).
- Project: Final phase (Phase 3) of the Renn Quarter master plan, consisting of 101 townhomes (86 of which will be condominium ownership). All units are townhomes, with a mix of front-load and rear-load designs. No new modifications are requested.
- Discussion: Commissioners clarified the condominium ownership structure (to simplify tax ID numbers for a rental townhome community) and the street ownership (internal roads serving condominiums will be private, while Big Al Cohen Boulevard and Compass Street remain public). Staff noted that school capacity testing will be required before the hearing due to a change in the unit mix from the original master plan.
- Outcome: The item will proceed to a future hearing.
Agenda Item 3: Text Amendment to Allow Hospitals in MU Districts (PC24-661ZTA)
- Applicant: Frederick Health Village, LLC (represented by Bruce Dean, McCurdy Dean & Gradator; Chris Smariga; Don Schilling; Gary Large; Jennifer Perry).
- Proposal: Amend Section 404, Table 404-1 to add hospitals as a permitted use in MU-1 and MU-2 districts. The applicant owns 90+ acres zoned MU-1 near Monocacy Boulevard and I-15, and may want to build a hospital there in the future.
- Discussion: The applicant argued that the amendment provides assurance without needing an Institutional floating zone (IST), which is discretionary. Commissioners questioned whether a conditional use would be more appropriate; staff explained the trade-offs: permitted use would lose context-specific review but would subject the hospital to MU bulk and dimensional standards. The applicant noted that the state's Certificate of Need process makes proliferation unlikely. Staff noted that other MU sites (e.g., Brickworks) might be suitable but are mostly too small.
- Outcome: The Commission will make a recommendation to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. No public comment was heard.
Agenda Item 4: Text Amendment to Allow Catering in MU Districts (PC24-765ZTA)
- Applicant: Clark, Adams, Powell, LLC (Clark Adams) on behalf of Canopy's Catering (owner ML Carroll).
- Proposal: Amend Section 404, Table 404-1 to add catering as a permitted use in MU-1 and MU-2 districts, and add a definition of "catering" to the LMC. Canopy's Catering currently operates in an M-1 zone and wishes to relocate to a MU-1 property (potentially the Frederick Health Village campus).
- Discussion: The applicant noted that catering is similar to other permitted uses like bakeries and restaurants. Staff raised concerns about the lack of a definition and the potential for catering operations to morph into restaurants. The applicant proposed including an accessory retail component (e.g., grab-and-go) up to a certain percentage of sales. Commissioners expressed support for the amendment but opposed requiring a specific percentage, as it would be difficult to enforce and unfair to new businesses. The applicant agreed to refine the definition.
- Outcome: The Commission will consider the revised definition and make a recommendation to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. No public comment was heard.
Meeting Transcript
And we're calling the meeting to order. And I'd like to welcome everybody to the October twenty first twenty twenty-four um planning commission workshop for the City of Frederick. Um, before we begin today's proceedings, I'd like to give everybody an overview of the process we're going to follow, um, because this is a little bit different than the process we follow for the hearings. Um, we have four agenda items today for each of these items. Um, we'll start by having the applicant come up and um just give us an overview of their project, walk us through the project. Um, and specifically if anybody here is new to the process, we ask that you um not just sit in front of us and say, Okay, it's here, do you have any questions? But you know, give us the details, walk us through, especially if you're asking for modifications, explain to us what those are for and why you're asking for those. Um, following that applicant presentation, we will the commission will ask any questions that we have of the applicant, and then we will have the staff give their presentation. Um, since this is a little bit um less formal process, we will have the opportunity to kind of go back and forth and have more of a discussion. Um finally, after the applicant and staff have made their presentations, we will have the opportunity for public comment. And then if the we need to after the public comment, we can have the applicant respond um to anything that was raised during public comment. Um we have members from the city's planning staff here today. Nobody from engineering that I see, so um at this point, anybody and everybody who wishes to make a presentation before the commission needs to stand and I will swear people in you would raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm 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, say I do. Thank you very much. I know it's not officially on the agenda, but do you have anything that you need to uh announce before we get started? Uh no, just a good reminder that tonight is our citywide planning department community outreach meeting held at 6 p.m. in this room. Um, and that is for the latest and greatest projects that have just been submitted to our department, and it is um basically an informational meeting just to showcase those and answer questions for the public. Thank you. Thank you. All right, so the first formal agenda item is um cabana air. That's PC 24-554 FSI and PC 24-659 FSCB final site plan and forest and delineation preliminary forest conservation plan. Great. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Uh Sean Benjaminson with Tech Engineers uh representing uh Coman Air. Uh the project involves a construction of a new hangar out at the airport on the south side of the airport along Buckheimer Road. I've highlighted that in blue on the sketch. Uh previously there were a number of hangars out in a similar location. They were rotated different uh angle to this, and they were demolished uh 10-15 years ago uh due to the expansion of the airport and the flight uh angles. So this air uh this hangar is the first phase. Other phases will be undertaken by the uh airport itself. Uh but it's it's uh privately leased uh by my client uh from the City of Frederick Airport for the construction of the hangar. So uh the pro which button is that great. Uh so there's an existing driveway out here along Buckheimer Road, and we're bringing it in in line with that. Uh if you went to a street view today, you would see it uh it loves to collect water, and so we're fixing that as part of this uh effort. Uh we're making street improvements along Buckheimer on our side of the street, uh, as well as a driveway that will serve future hangars. See this white area here, and then further down for future development of hangars by the city. Uh we're also planning on installing the water and sewer connections for those future hangars, the sewer uh and and electric. Um the project involves the construction of uh 25 parking spaces. Uh the requirement minimum requirement is nine. We're pushing on the upper end of that threshold, uh not knowing how many uh airplanes are gonna be in the hangar. Uh and so there was a concern just to make sure there was sufficient because uh parking along Buckheimer exists today and it creates uh problems with the travel lanes, and so we're trying to make sure that's uh consolidated on the site. Uh the site is populated with uh various stonewater facilities and this uh weird hatch here, one, two, three, four, uh, to provide the stormwater management uh treatment for the site, as well as a the driveway that comes in here with a turnaround here for drop off. Uh this being a uh fixed-based operator type facility where uh someone could come in here and uh lease space uh for additional work with um offices and bathrooms and places for pilots to stay on that spot. This wide expanse right here is the future taxiway, which will be a separate application made directly by the airport and constructed by the airport through some grants. Uh they should be behind us in the approvals of that process. But Lord Welling will make sure that everything winds up and we don't have a grass batch between us uh and the new hangar when all is complete.
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