Frederick Planning Commission Workshop: CIP, Willowdale, and Brickworks Reviews (February 18, 2025)
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City of Frederick Planning Commission Workshop Summary – February 18, 2025
The Planning Commission held a workshop on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM at City Hall (101 North Court Street) to review the FY2026–2031 Capital Improvements Program and three development applications: The Corner at Willowdale (PC23-672PSU/FSI, PC23-673PFCP), and the Brickworks Lots 4 and 6 (PC24-932PFCP, PC24-930FSI, PC24-931FSI). No formal votes were taken; staff and applicants were directed to provide additional information for upcoming hearings.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Karen Norman (Downtown Frederick Partnership) expressed continued support for the downtown streetscape project and urged that it align with downtown flood control efforts so the city can "dig once."
- Vicky Understein (East Frederick Rising) expressed appreciation for past commission support for East Street redesign and Rails with Trails and asked that these projects remain in the recommendation letter.
- Hannah Nickerson (East Frederick Rising) called East Street "a death trap" and argued that funding for its redesign should not wait for form-based code adoption; she suggested using the project as a pilot.
- Heather Goddard (East Frederick Rising) expressed concern that the forest conservation drawdown for Brickworks Lots 4 and 6 increases the burden on remaining lots, potentially complicating negotiations for a future school site on Lot 3.
- Kevin Sellner (resident) asked whether trees would be native, whether they would be placed in connected water-capturing green spaces, and whether the developer would be required to fund off-site planting if on-site space is unavailable.
- Bart Nicholas (Citizens Way) urged the commission not to approve modifications denied at the master plan level unless they are applied to a specific situation; he supported the building orientation modification only for the two pad sites and asked for clear grocery entrances along East Street.
- Hannah Nickerson also asked about greenways, green street infrastructure, separated bike lanes along East Street, and tree placement relative to the shared use path.
- Kevin Sellner asked whether the tree plots on Lot 4 would be connected in a swale or greenway to convey stormwater to the regional pond.
Discussion Items
FY2026–2031 Capital Improvements Program
- Gabrielle Collard, Deputy Director for Planning, reviewed updates on projects from the commission’s prior-year recommendation letter: conference center/hotel (site plan approved August 2024, groundbreaking December 2024); East Street improvements from Fifth to Market (no current funding; $750,000 requested for design); downtown streetscape study (city council approved a piggyback contract in January 2025); East Street improvements between Monocacy and South Street (partially to be constructed by the Brickworks development); Rails with Trails (Phase 1 complete; Phase 2 about 1.5 miles remaining with designs underway; Phase 3 bridge awaiting SHA approval to advertise for bids; Phase 4 in 30% design); Monocacy Boulevard/I-70 interchange (no specific CIP; estimated cost $118 million); smart traffic systems study (not yet initiated); streets master plan (work to begin in 2025); flood improvements; West Side Community Center (construction anticipated 2026–2027); sidewalk retrofit program; equity emphasis area sidewalk repair (no direct cost to property owners); and Harry Grove Stadium renovations (state-funded, not a CIP project).
- Commissioners asked about the status of smart traffic studies (none done), form-based code adoption (still in policy discussions; four major policy topics remain), Husky Park relocation (currently a DPW storage yard being moved to open land for redevelopment), and police headquarters completion (late spring 2025).
- Staff noted that projects remain in the CIP until complete; once funded, they generally stay funded.
The Corner at Willowdale – PC23-672PSU/FSI, PC23-673PFCP
- Applicant Luke Zeller (Harris Smariga Associates) presented a plan for 13 fee-simple townhouse lots on a 1.56-acre site, accessed by a single driveway from Willowdale, with an existing playground retained and utility connections along Shookstown Road.
- Two modifications were discussed: (1) light spillage from proposed 12-foot poles along the access drive and rear of units; the lighting model cannot incorporate landscaping, and spillage extends to neighboring properties though evergreen screening is proposed; (2) removal of six of 15 specimen trees—two within townhouse footprints and four along the access drive where the critical root zone would be impacted past the 30% threshold. The applicant intends to attempt to preserve the four along the drive using arborist techniques.
- Staff (Pam Reppert) noted the project passes school, water, and sewer adequacy. She acknowledged the applicant’s attempt to save trees and use downlighting.
- The chair observed that the site’s maximum parking appears to be 39 spaces while the plan shows 44 spaces with visitor parking; staff indicated a modification would be needed.
- No public comments were offered on this item.
Brickworks Lots 4 & 6 – Preliminary Forest Conservation Plan (PC24-932PFCP)
- Eric DeVito (Greenberg Gibbons) and Chris Mariga (Harris Smariga) stated the plan is consistent with the overall preliminary forest conservation plan approved December 9, 2024. About 160 trees are proposed on Lot 4 and about 65 on Lot 6, but none will count toward forest conservation because of area requirements. The shortfall is expected to be made up off-site or on Lots 2 and 3.
- Staff expressed concern that shifting the obligation to future lots could handicap their development if off-site planting is not found. Chair Strawson asked staff to add a summary sentence clarifying that nothing is changing in the overall plan.
- The applicant acknowledged they are incentivized to find off-site options and are actively pursuing them, including parcels in the annexation area.
Brickworks Lot 4 – Final Site Plan (PC24-930FSI)
- The applicant presented the mixed-use retail core: a grocery store, three multi-tenant retail buildings, two pad sites, and a planned residential component. The project has been reoriented to meet most building orientation standards except for the two pad sites along Monocacy Boulevard.
- Modification requests include: building orientation for Pad 1 and Pad 2 (entrances placed away from Monocacy Boulevard to reduce pedestrian conflict, with a shared use path connection), loading spaces (nine 9-by-20-foot van spaces in the parking area instead of full-size 12-by-50-foot loading berths), dumpster enclosures placed in the parking lot, a level 1 landscape buffer modification between Lots 4 and 6, and lighting adjustments.
- The applicant said Pad 1 has a confidential tenant but did not disclose it. Commissioner Menelas expressed concern about granting modifications without knowing future tenants and requested a matrix table detailing each modification, justification, and compensating design feature. Another commissioner questioned the loading space location in the parking lot. Staff (Pam Reppert) opposed loading spaces in parking areas and dumpsters away from buildings, and asked for clearer circulation and stacking analysis, noting past issues with Starbucks drive-throughs.
- The applicant agreed to provide a matrix, a block and connectivity plan, and revised details before the hearing.
Brickworks Lot 6 – Final Site Plan (PC24-931FSI)
- The applicant described a 340-unit multifamily building with a structured parking garage, ranging from three to five stories, with two courtyards and a lobby. Modification requests cover light spillage along the shared access easement between Lots 4 and 6, and a rear setback reduction from 20 feet to roughly 13 feet on Brickwork Street because the building fronts that street.
- Commissioner Menelas asked about the building’s wing along Monocacy Boulevard; the applicant clarified the layout.
- Public commenter Kevin Sellner asked whether there would be vegetation on the east side of Lot 6; the applicant responded that street trees and courtyard landscaping are planned.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; all agenda items will return for public hearings.
- The commission will vote on a CIP recommendation letter at its March 2025 regular meeting.
- The Willowdale applicant will provide an additional modification to address visitor parking and continue working with staff on lighting and specimen tree preservation.
- The Brickworks applicant will prepare a modification matrix, revise loading/dumpster configurations, provide a pedestrian connectivity plan, and update elevations and landscaping plans before the hearing.
- Staff will track forest conservation commitments across Brickworks lots as subsequent plans are submitted.
Meeting Transcript
All right, it's two o'clock. Call the meeting to order, and I would like to welcome every wrong thing. Welcome everybody to the February 18th, 2025 workshop for the City of Frederick Planning Commission. Before we get started today, I'm going to give us an overview of the process. Since the, as everybody knows, the workshop process is a little different and less formal than the hearing process. For each item on the agenda, we will start by having a conversation with the applicant, have them come up to the table and walk us through your project. After the applicant, we will have commission will ask questions and discussion with the applicant. At that point, we will ask the staff to give any additional thoughts that they have on the agenda item. Same thing, we'll have questions. We may go back and forth with the with the staff and the applicant. At that point, we will ask the public if there's any public comments and take time to address um to hear those. And then that will conclude the item. So at this point, I'm going to um everybody who speaks today before the commission must be sworn in. So Gabrielle, I'll let you take it away. Thank you. As you know from previous years' discussion, uh, the planning commission is not only authorized, but required to make recommendations on the CIP. Uh, that's both under state law as well as our local ordinance, uh, which is now chapter two of the city code. In the past that was in the charter, so those references have been updated to represent to reflect those changes. Last year we had provided a matrix of various projects that the commission had expressed support for in previous years, as well as projects that we thought related to the work of the planning commission, whether it be in public infrastructure, such as water and sewer improvements, bicycle pedestrian improvements, things of that nature. This year we've gone ahead and updated the matrix and provided some updates on the projects that you discussed last year. In addition, we've also included the recommendations from the Sustainability Committee and the Active Mobility Advisory Committee, which was formerly BPAC, but changed names to reflect kind of the broader scope of all the good things they discuss. So I was going to jump into updates on projects from your recommendation letter to the mayor and board and now city council from last year. One of the first we had was the conference center and hotel facility, and then the parking component of that being part of the city's CIP. As you are aware, the final site plan for construction was approved by the planning commission in August of 2024, and a groundbreaking was held in December of 2024, so that is well on its way. Next item we had were the East Street improvements. This is limited to the scope between Fifth and Market Streets, including both west and east sides of the street to include curb and gutter, stormwater, pedestrian scale street lighting, street trees, sidewalks, and protected bike lanes. This project currently does not have any funding. $750,000 is being requested for design. The downtown streetscape study was another item that the commission had weighed in. This is not a specific CIP, but instead it is the study that was presented to the board now City Council in November of 2021. This was in funded part by the city and in coordination with the downtown Frederick Partnership as of January. The City Council approved an agreement to piggyback on a Montgomery County contract for services regarding utility and parking analysis and design work for that streetscape project, so to create some of the foundation analysis that's going to be needed. The next item we had talked about were the East Street improvements between Minocase and South Street. This recommendation is also not associated with a specific CIP. However, one of the projects that we'll discuss today in our workshop, the Brickworks is making certain improvements to that stretch of roadway as depicted on their recently approved preliminary plot. Next project that we've talked about over the years has been the Rails with Trails Construction. As you know, that's four phases with phase one being complete. Phase two is extending that shared use path along the northbound side of East Street from 8th Street to just shy of 1526. This was a project that we discussed in relation to the Warman's Mill Court Apartments, which was a mixed use development that was recently approved for rezoning to mixed use and contributions that they will be able to make to that project as well as our own CIP money. The 100% design plans are underway. Phase three is that bridge that will go over 1526 and link phases two and four. We have been awarded funding grant funding for that, and advertising to put out the bid for the design work is awaiting approval from state highway administration. So also moving forward. And then phase four is that final segment from the bridge to Minoxy Boulevard and 30% design plans are underway for that. The next project is the interchange of Minoxy Boulevard and 26. This has been in our request letter, I think, since 2018. It is not there's not a specific CIP for it, and the proposal was that a CIP project be added because it is ultimately something that will need to be constructed. It is identified in the highway needs inventory with an estimated cost of 118 million dollars, which may even be higher now. I think that may have been information left over from our report last year. We also recommended that the city embark on a study of smart traffic systems to support future CIP projects.
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