Frederick Planning Commission Meeting - October 13, 2025
Frederick Planning Commission Meeting - October 13, 2025
The Frederick Planning Commission met on October 13, 2025, at 6:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting began with the swearing-in of a new commissioner, approval of previous minutes, and consideration of continuances before addressing two major agenda items: a final site plan for the Galleria at Carroll Creek and an annexation request for the Sage Way property.
Announcements
- Commissioner Zach Bologna was officially welcomed as a new permanent member. He expressed his commitment to learning the commission's procedures.
- The next planning commission workshop was announced for October 20, 2025, at 2:00 PM, followed by a citywide community outreach meeting at 6:00 PM.
Minutes
- The minutes from the September 8, 2025, September 15, 2025, and October 10, 2025, meetings were all approved unanimously.
Continuances
- PC25-50PSU/FSI & PC25-56PFCP (Highland Trail): A 30-day continuance to the November 10, 2025, hearing was granted unanimously due to stormwater review issues.
- PC25-193FSI (AstraZeneca Perfusion Addition): A 60-day continuance to the December 8, 2025, hearing was granted unanimously because the project's increased square footage required an additional review cycle.
Public Comments & Testimony
-
Galleria at Carroll Creek:
- Jill Pitts Simmons (332 East Third Street) opposed the project, arguing it would harm Frederick's historic skyline (clustered spires), raise parking concerns, and found the design too contemporary. She urged the commission to protect the historic character.
- Bob Ruby (East Second Street) questioned the adequacy of the transportation mobility fee for the current density, noted the voluntary cleanup program with MDE from 2005, and requested status updates on contamination issues.
- A downtown resident (name not stated) urged approval, citing the site's proximity to transit (MARC station, bus hub) and walkability, consistent with the comprehensive plan's goal of transit-supportive density.
- Roberta Huber (Maxwell Square) criticized the parking calculations, questioned the parkland dedication fee ($210,000), and raised concerns about MDE agreement age and school impact fees.
- Another speaker (name not given) supported the project but noted concerns about truck routing on South Carroll Street, pedestrian connectivity, and building electrification standards.
-
Sage Way Annexation:
- C Raven (5512 Old National Pike) opposed the annexation, citing dangerous entrance conditions on Alternate Route 40, potential property value decline, and a desire to preserve green space and Sugar Loaf Mountain views. He suggested the property could remain a wedding venue.
Discussion Items
-
Galleria at Carroll Creek (PC24-934FSI):
- Staff presented a final site plan for a 61,200 sq. ft., 7-story building with 210 multi-family units and 4,000 sq. ft. of non-residential space, plus underground parking. Key conditions included MPDU agreement, APFO compliance, stormwater approval, parking table correction, parkland dedication ($210,000), and forest conservation fee ($5,096.52).
- Applicant Mike Wiley (Piedmont Design Group) and owner Ed Warmold addressed parking management (gated access, card readers), HPC Level 1 approval, MDE cleanup plan updates, and truck routing design. They argued the project meets all LMC requirements and is pedestrian- and transit-oriented.
- Commission discussion focused on parking calculations, with some members skeptical about the commercial parking ratio (1 space per 4 seats). The commission noted that the project fully complies with the city's parking code. No further amendments were made.
-
Sage Way Annexation (PC24-1010ANX):
- Staff recommended approval of the 24.98-acre annexation with R16 (high-density residential) zoning, subject to a road connection to the adjacent Summerville subdivision, a $8,000/unit regional infrastructure improvement contribution (RIIC), $750/unit for a pedestrian bridge, full parkland dedication on-site, 100-foot stream buffer, and on-site forest conservation.
- Applicant attorney Bruce Dean (McCurdy Dean & Gratator) acknowledged the property's tier-two growth designation and argued that R16 density is necessary to support the required infrastructure (road connection, bridge, water tank, etc.). He noted that 50% of the property is unbuildable due to water pressure, making net density lower. He warned that excessive financial demands could make the project infeasible.
- Commission discussion was contentious. Commissioner Strawson opposed the annexation, arguing that high-density zoning is inappropriate for this location—far from downtown and transit—and inconsistent with the comprehensive plan's emphasis on walkability and connectivity. She noted the lack of safe multimodal access. Other commissioners (Valencia, Llewellyn, Bologna) expressed conditional support, emphasizing the road connection to Summerville as an absolute requirement. Commissioner Valencia proposed lowering the density to R8 and adding conditions for MPDUs on-site (no fee-in-lieu), historic preservation review, and a bikeway contribution if feasible.
Key Outcomes
- Galleria at Carroll Creek: The commission voted unanimously (5-0) to approve the final site plan (PC24-934FSI) with the 10 conditions read into the record by staff. The approval finds the plan compliant with LMC articles 4, 6, 7, 8, and 12, consistent with the master plan and 2020 comprehensive plan, and with adequate public facilities.
- Sage Way Annexation: The commission voted 3-1 (Strawson opposed, Valencia, Llewellyn, Bologna in favor) to recommend approval to the City Council with the following modifications to staff's recommendations:
- Zoning changed from R16 to R8 (lower density).
- The road connection to Summerville is required (removing the feasibility exception; must be built unless proven infeasible by the Department of Public Works).
- The RIIC ($8,000/unit) will be CPI-adjusted from annexation resolution adoption to first building permit.
- The pedestrian bridge contribution ($750/unit) is not deductible from the RIIC.
- Full parkland dedication must be met on-site.
- The motion also incorporated staff's other conditions (right-of-way improvements, water tank contribution, etc.). The recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for final action.
Meeting Transcript
It's six o'clock, and I'm going to call the meeting to order and welcome everybody to the October 13th, 2025 meeting of the City of Fredericks Planning Commission. Um, before we begin tonight's proceedings, I'm gonna give everybody we're gonna give a background of the planning commission and the procedures we'll be following this evening. Members of the planning commission are all residents of the city and are 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. Um cases will be presented tonight in the following format. We'll start with an introduction of the case, followed by the um presentation of the case and initial recommendation by staff. Following that, we'll do a formal questioning of staff by the by the commission. We'll then allow the applicant to come up and make their remarks regarding the case, followed by commission questioning of the applicant. Um following that, we will have public comment, and um, if appropriate, we'll allow the commission to ask questions of the public comments. Finally, we will allow the applicant to respond to any public comment. Then the discussion comes up here for or the for discussion and questions among the commission and then um the commission action. Um I see some new faces in the audience today. Anyone who's here who wants to make public comments, would you please sign in at the sign in sheet over on the table on the side of the room? And um just a reminder that members of the public have three minutes to give their comments. Anybody representing a group will have 10 minutes to give their comments and we will have the timing clock going. So at this point, everybody who is going to be making a presentation or comments before the commission tonight needs, including the public comment, needs to stand and be sworn in. So if everybody would stand and raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the present 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, answer I do. Thank you. All right, before we do anything else, we're going to um welcome our new member. He is our one of our permanent members, not the alternate. This is uh Commissioner Zach Bologna. Um, I'm gonna give Zach the opportunity to introduce himself and then Gabrielle has some remarks to make. Great. Uh great, yeah. Uh, thank you so much. Um it's my first meeting here as a member of the planning commission officially. Um, I'm a resident of Frederick for the last five years. I've been involved in the uh NAC committee and those types of neighborhood advisory and been volunteering here or there throughout the uh throughout the city and various different uh events and efforts since my time here. Very excited to be part of this and looking forward to uh you know assisting with this at any future uh cases here result you know having to do with planning. So um bear with me. This is the first meeting. I'm just getting up to speed and uh learning all the ropes here. So I'll probably be a little bit quiet this time, but hoping that uh as I start to hear more cases and understand more about uh how things are typically done. Um I'll be able to add a lot to this committee and uh do what I can. Thank you. Thank you. We're excited to have you. Gabrielle. Thank you. And I just wanted to echo Joan's um appreciation and welcome on behalf of the mayor's office. We do have a certificate of appointment and also appreciation uh for volunteering to serve in this capacity from our department's perspective. Um it is it is an honor and a great privilege to be able to provide technical feedback uh to the planning commission, and it's a it's a responsibility that makes it all the more um meaningful when we have such great volunteers who participate their time and and share that with us. So thank you. We appreciate your stepping up and then stepping out with the planning commission. Look forward to working with you. And then we have announcements.
openpublica.com