OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Frederick Planning Commission Special Public Hearing - June 16, 2025

Planning CommissionMonday, June 16, 2025
BodyFrederick, Maryland
SessionPlanning Commission
DateMonday, June 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Okay.

0:01

That's not a good sign.

0:04

So anyway, we are continuing with the special meeting for the June 16th, 2025, Frederick City Planning Commission.

0:13

And before we go into the meeting, tonight's proceedings, I'm going to give everybody a little bit of background about the Planning Commission and the procedures that will follow.

0:22

Members of the Planning Commission are all residents of the city and volunteers appointed by the mayor and city council.

0:28

The commission is made up of five regular members and one alternate.

0:31

Its powers and duties are assigned by the Charter of the City of Frederick and described in section 202 of the land management code.

0:39

All of tonight's cases have been appropriately advertised pursuant to Section 301 of the land management code.

0:45

And we will be using the following format to hear cases tonight.

0:48

We will begin with an introduction of the case, then we will be have the presentation of the case and an initial recommendation by staff.

0:56

Following that, we will give the commission a chance to ask questions of staff.

1:03

Then the um applicant and or authorized agent will come up and present, give their presentation of the case.

1:11

There we go.

1:12

Following that, we will have commission questioning of the applicant.

1:15

We will then have public comment.

1:18

If appropriate, we will have commission questioning of the public of the public comment.

1:24

Following that, we will allow the applicant to respond to any public comment.

1:28

Then we will bring it up front here for um commission discussion and questions, and then finally the commission will take an action.

1:35

In support of the Planning Commission, staff members from the City of Frederick's engineering engineering department here.

1:42

No, no engineering department tonight.

1:45

Planning department and legal departments are here.

1:48

And I need to let everybody know that anybody who wishes to speak tonight regarding any of the applications, um, including members of the public, must be sworn in.

1:58

Um regarding public comment, you have the opportunity to sign in over there on the sign-in sheet on the table to the side.

2:06

And um if you don't sign in by the time the sheet is picked up, don't worry, after everybody who has signed in gives gets the opportunity to speak, we will give anybody else who wants to speak the opportunity.

2:18

Um we will limit public comment to three minutes per person.

2:22

If you're representing a group, then that person gets 10 minutes.

2:27

The group gets 10 minutes, the person representing the group gets 10 minutes.

2:31

Um we don't have anybody manning the actual timing clock, but um Gabrielle will be running the timer and we'll give you a heads up notice when you've got 30 seconds left and then when your time is up.

2:42

And um, so we need to kind of stick to those times to keep the meeting moving.

2:46

And um given that everybody who wishes to make comments before the planning commission tonight at this point needs to stand and raise your right hand, and I will swear everybody in you might as well stand if you think you want to make comments because then we won't have to do this again.

3:07

Um do you solemnly swear or affirm that the responses given and the statements made in this hearing before the planning commission will be the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

3:15

If so, answer I do.

3:18

Thank you very much.

3:20

All right, so we are gonna start the evening by giving um Gabrielle a chance to make some announcements.

3:26

Thank you very much.

3:27

Good evening, everyone.

3:28

I just have one announcement this evening because we've already held our regularly scheduled workshop.

3:33

Actually, I have two announcements.

3:34

I'll make two.

3:34

Uh the first one is that we have our citywide planning department community outreach meeting next Monday, the 23rd.

3:40

That's a week later than we normally have it in our schedule due to the need to schedule this special meeting.

3:46

Um that meeting is held, it's information only.

3:49

Um staff lead that meeting, and it's an opportunity to let the public know about the the latest projects that have been submitted to the department for review.

3:57

Uh, these are often items that many months out will be coming through a process like this, so it's a great opportunity just to learn about the newest things uh that uh the commission will be discussing.

4:06

So that is next Monday, the 23rd at 6 p.m.

4:09

held in this room, uh, and it's streamed online on channel 99 as well.

4:14

So you can watch from home.

4:15

The second announcement I have is just to wish a very bittersweet um fond farewell to Monica Robbins, one of our case planners.

4:22

Um she is working um, she is taking a career change, uh well, not really, still facilities planning.

4:29

Um, she'll be going to work for Frederick County Public Schools, which is an amazing organization and one we partner very closely with.

4:35

Um, so it's great to have her still around and we'll be working with her in that capacity.

4:39

But you won't see her um here at the planning commission.

4:43

Um so we just want to thank her for all her work over the years.

4:45

Um she's been a very um committed employee and um has led really led a lot of um great projects and um helped our department tremendously.

4:53

So we will miss her dearly.

4:54

So thank you.

4:55

Thank you.

4:56

And on behalf of the planning commission, I want to second what Gabrielle said.

5:00

We've been really enjoying working with you, and we're gonna miss you very much.

5:02

Um hopefully we'll see you on the other side of us when we see Frederick Public County School issues, perhaps.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████50%
Procedural████████████13%
Mixed Use Development███████████12%
Public Engagement███████8%
Planning Commission Training██████7%
Retail████4%
Affordable Housing██2%
Economic Development██2%
Transportation Safety1%
Summary of Proceedings

Frederick Planning Commission Special Public Hearing - June 16, 2025

The Frederick City Planning Commission held a special public hearing on June 16, 2025, at 6:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting covered several development applications, a zoning text amendment, and regular business items. All votes on agenda items were unanimous except where noted.

Announcements

  • Farewell: Staff announced that planner Monica Robbins is leaving for a position with Frederick County Public Schools; the commission expressed gratitude for her service.
  • Upcoming Meeting: The citywide planning department community outreach meeting was scheduled for June 23, 2025, at 6:00 PM.
  • Rules of Procedure: The commission unanimously approved adding a discussion item to the July 21, 2025 workshop agenda to reopen and amend the commission's rules of procedure, including a designated time for non-project specific communications and updates to commissioner conduct sections.

Consent Calendar

  • No consent items were presented.

Public Comments & Testimony

Public comment was limited to the Zoning Text Amendment (PC25-55ZTA). Multiple residents of the Ren Quarter community expressed opposition to the proposed changes, arguing that the developer (Matan) made binding promises to provide commercial/retail space as part of the mixed-use development. Speakers stated that residents purchased homes based on those promises the developer has not made sufficient efforts to attract retail tenants. Specific concerns included:

  • Lack of transparency about marketing efforts for commercial space.
  • A perception that the developer is seeking to avoid commitments.
  • The need for walkable amenities like grocery stores and restaurants.
  • The amendment would set a bad precedent for other projects.

Discussion Items

Grove Hill Architectural Review (PC21-1010-05PND)

  • The applicant requested approval of package for 65 townhomes on an 8.52-acre site. The design includes six of the six required Class B design elements (main entrance, vehicle/pedestrian areas, building modulation, roofs, exterior materials, windows and entries). Staff recommended approval with conditions (obtain unconditional approvals for master plan and preliminary plat). The commission unanimously approved the package.

2024 Annual Report

  • Gabrielle Collard presented the report, noting a decrease in new residential permits from 2023 (974 units issued in 2024, with a correction from 971 on page 4). Certificates of occupancy increased significantly (1,883 in 2024 vs. 1,071 in 2023). The report includes maps of small area plans and highlights ongoing initiatives (Let’s Move Frederick, Vision Zero, Green Streets Master Plan, Streets Master Plan). The commission unanimously approved the report with noted corrections (page 2 names and page 4 number).

Tuscarora Creek Phase 6 Townhouses (PC24-981PSU/FSI)

  • A request for a combined preliminary plat and final site plan for 34 townhouses on approximately 4 acres, plus a modification to street tree spacing (Section 605F) due to utility conflicts. Staff supported both requests, citing compensating features (additional canopy trees). The commission, after discussion, unanimously approved the modification and the site plan, adding a condition to address engineering and forestry comments.

Frederick Community College – Campus Services Building (PC25-53FSI)

  • Request for a final site plan for an 18,889 sq ft building, with four modifications: reduced parking (95 to 19 spaces), no on-site bike parking, lighting spillover, and buffer/screening. Staff recommended approval of all modifications except lighting spillover on the southern lot line. The commission unanimously approved the parking reduction, lighting spillover (eastern lot line only), and buffer modifications. The bike parking modification was denied (unanimous), as the commission felt on-site bike racks were necessary. The site plan was approved with conditions, including adding on-site bike racks and addressing fire engineer comments.

Zoning Text Amendment – MU District Phasing (PC25-55ZTA)

  • The applicant (Ren Quarter LLC) proposed eliminating the fixed 75% residential / 25% non-residential phasing requirements in favor of a case-by-case phasing plan approved by the reviewing authority. Staff recommended approval, but commissioners expressed concerns about a lack of data, vague criteria, and potential loss of accountability. The commission voted unanimously to continue the item to the July 14, 2025 hearing, directing the applicant to provide:
    • Data on lessons learned from previous phasing changes (e.g., 2012 amendment).
    • A sample phasing plan and criteria for evaluating modifications.
    • Analysis of the 75/25 ratio's appropriateness.

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous approvals for Grove Hill architectural package, 2024 annual report, Tuscarora Creek phase 6 (modification and site plan), and Frederick Community College site plan (with modifications as adjusted).
  • Denial of the bike parking modification for FCC (unanimous).
  • Continuance of the ZTA to July 14, 2025, for additional information from the applicant.
  • Motion to reopen rules of procedure approved for future discussion.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. That's not a good sign. So anyway, we are continuing with the special meeting for the June 16th, 2025, Frederick City Planning Commission. And before we go into the meeting, tonight's proceedings, I'm going to give everybody a little bit of background about the Planning Commission and the procedures that will follow. Members of the Planning Commission are all residents of the city and volunteers appointed by the mayor and city council. The commission is made up of five regular members and one alternate. Its powers and duties are assigned by the Charter of the City of Frederick and described in section 202 of the land management code. All of tonight's cases have been appropriately advertised pursuant to Section 301 of the land management code. And we will be using the following format to hear cases tonight. We will begin with an introduction of the case, then we will be have the presentation of the case and an initial recommendation by staff. Following that, we will give the commission a chance to ask questions of staff. Then the um applicant and or authorized agent will come up and present, give their presentation of the case. There we go. Following that, we will have commission questioning of the applicant. We will then have public comment. If appropriate, we will have commission questioning of the public of the public comment. Following that, we will allow the applicant to respond to any public comment. Then we will bring it up front here for um commission discussion and questions, and then finally the commission will take an action. In support of the Planning Commission, staff members from the City of Frederick's engineering engineering department here. No, no engineering department tonight. Planning department and legal departments are here. And I need to let everybody know that anybody who wishes to speak tonight regarding any of the applications, um, including members of the public, must be sworn in. Um regarding public comment, you have the opportunity to sign in over there on the sign-in sheet on the table to the side. And um if you don't sign in by the time the sheet is picked up, don't worry, after everybody who has signed in gives gets the opportunity to speak, we will give anybody else who wants to speak the opportunity. Um we will limit public comment to three minutes per person. If you're representing a group, then that person gets 10 minutes. The group gets 10 minutes, the person representing the group gets 10 minutes. Um we don't have anybody manning the actual timing clock, but um Gabrielle will be running the timer and we'll give you a heads up notice when you've got 30 seconds left and then when your time is up. And um, so we need to kind of stick to those times to keep the meeting moving. And um given that everybody who wishes to make comments before the planning commission tonight at this point needs to stand and raise your right hand, and I will swear everybody in you might as well stand if you think you want to make comments because then we won't have to do this again. Um do you solemnly swear or affirm that the responses given and the statements made in this hearing before the planning commission will be the whole truth and nothing but the truth? If so, answer I do. Thank you very much. All right, so we are gonna start the evening by giving um Gabrielle a chance to make some announcements. Thank you very much. Good evening, everyone. I just have one announcement this evening because we've already held our regularly scheduled workshop. Actually, I have two announcements. I'll make two. Uh the first one is that we have our citywide planning department community outreach meeting next Monday, the 23rd. That's a week later than we normally have it in our schedule due to the need to schedule this special meeting. Um that meeting is held, it's information only. Um staff lead that meeting, and it's an opportunity to let the public know about the the latest projects that have been submitted to the department for review. Uh, these are often items that many months out will be coming through a process like this, so it's a great opportunity just to learn about the newest things uh that uh the commission will be discussing. So that is next Monday, the 23rd at 6 p.m. held in this room, uh, and it's streamed online on channel 99 as well. So you can watch from home. The second announcement I have is just to wish a very bittersweet um fond farewell to Monica Robbins, one of our case planners. Um she is working um, she is taking a career change, uh well, not really, still facilities planning. Um, she'll be going to work for Frederick County Public Schools, which is an amazing organization and one we partner very closely with.

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