Frederick Planning Commission Meeting - February 9, 2026
Frederick Planning Commission Meeting - February 9, 2026
The Frederick Planning Commission held a regular meeting on February 9, 2026, to elect officers, approve minutes, and consider three development proposals: signage at Harry Grove Stadium, a Chase Bank final site plan, a Frederick Youth Center site plan, and a WIP Clean Car Wash site plan. All votes were 4-0 in favor of staff recommendations except where noted.
Election of Officers
- The commission elected Commissioner Llewellyn as chair by a vote of 4-0 after discussion to postpone election of vice chair and secretary until a full commission is seated.
Approval of Minutes
- Minutes from January 12, 2026 (Planning Commission hearing), January 20, 2026 (workshop), and February 7, 2026 (pre-planning meeting) were approved with votes of 4-0 (one abstention on January 12 minutes from Commissioner Temple who did not attend).
Continuance
- A zoning text amendment (PC 25-248 ZTA) regarding sections 404, 816, and 824 was continued to March 9, 2026 by a 4-0 vote.
Harry Grove Stadium Signage Request
- The applicant (Richard Griffin, Economic Development Director, and Slater Fuchs, Frederick Keys GM) requested a recommendation to City Council for two new signs (each 183 sq ft) on the new batting building, with naming rights for IBEW Local 24.
- Staff recommended approval of the signs but with a condition that they not be internally lit, citing code restrictions on lighted electronic signs. Commissioners debated this, noting existing internally lit signage (Nimeo Field) and minimal distraction. The commission voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the signage as depicted (internally lit) to City Council, contrary to staff's non-lighting recommendation. The motion did not include the lighting restriction.
Chase Bank Final Site Plan (PC 25-191 FSI)
- The applicant (Reed Cooksey, Stonefield Engineering) proposed replacing an existing bank with a smaller 2,938 sq ft bank with one ATM drive-through lane. Seven modifications were requested regarding setbacks, building orientation, parking, lighting, drive-through stacking, lane width, landscaping, and street trees.
- Staff recommended approval of all modifications. Commissioners praised the design, walkability, and use of native plants. The commission voted 4-0 to approve all nine actions (eight modifications plus final site plan) as recommended by staff.
Frederick Youth Center Final Site Plan (PC 25-520 FSI) and Forest Conservation Plan
- The applicant (Jeremy Holder, Osherman Family Foundation) proposed repurposing a vacant office building into a youth center with a 623 sq ft addition and improvements to the adjacent Boys & Girls Club site. Six modifications were requested: forest conservation (specimen tree), parking reduction (37 to 35 spaces), lighting spillover, street trees, and two buffer reductions.
- Staff recommended approval. Commissioner Roby questioned tree removal; the applicant explained efforts to retain key trees and planting replacements (16 trees on youth center site, 4 on Boys & Girls Club site). Commissioner Temple requested a five-foot sidewalk (commitment made). All actions (eight total) were approved 4-0.
WIP Clean Car Wash Final Site Plan (PC 25-481 FSI) and Forest Conservation Plan
- The applicant (Brett Schechter) proposed renovating an existing car wash with new equipment, vacuum stations, and modernization. Four modifications were requested: loading space reduction from large to small, lighting spillover, buffer width reduction, and using existing landscaping for street tree credit.
- Staff recommended approval. Commissioners asked about employee parking; applicant noted carpooling and an agreement with an adjacent skating rink. No public comment. All six actions were approved 4-0.
Key Outcomes
- All four development items were approved unanimously (4-0). The commission elected a new chair and continued one item to March 9, 2026. No public comments were heard.
Meeting Transcript
This evening because with our last month's um meeting, our chair had um that was her last official meeting with the with the planning commission. So we now have a vacancy of a chair. Previous uh vacancies, the prior month left our vice chair and secretary position also vacant. So currently we have no no officers, and the first thing we need to do tonight is an election of officers. I will ask the commission members uh to confirm in your discussion, as we discussed at our pre-planning commission meeting on Friday. Their intent just to elect a chairperson this evening and not the full panel of vice uh chair and secretary, and that is because we have several pending appointments and future appointments that will be made and um thought it best to have a full planning commission to select from our slate of officers. So if in your discussions that is the way you'd like to proceed this evening, I would just ask for you to have discussion on that and confirm that intent. With that said, I will call for a motion to elect a chairperson for the planning commission. So, as part of the discussion, I just want to confirm that um this evening we will be electing uh chairperson, but in future meetings we may have a full election once we have a full commission on board. Okay. Do I have a motion for a chair? I'd like to motion for uh Commissioner Lewen Llewellyn to for the chair position. All right, that is um motion for Commissioner Llewellyn. Do I have a second? I'll second that. That is a second by Commissioner Bueno. All those in favor. That is a vote of four to zero. Congratulations, Commissioner Lowellan, and I will hand the meeting over to you uh to give the official call to order. Thank you so much. Excellent. So I'd I would like to call this meeting to order. Uh welcome to the February 9th, 2026 meeting of the City of Fredericks Planning Commission. Before beginning tonight's proceedings, I'd like to give a little background of the planning commission and the procedures that will follow this evening. Members of the planning commission are all residents of the city and are volunteers appointed by the mayor and the city commission. The city council. The commission is made up of five regular members and one alternate. All of tonight's cases have been appropriately advertised pursuant to section 301 of the land management code, and cases will be presented tonight to the planning commission in the following format. Introduction of the case, presentation of the case, and initial recommendations by staff, commission questioning of staff, applicant or authorized agent remarks regarding the case, commission questioning of the applicant, public comment, applicant response to public comment, commission discussion and questions, and finally commission action. In support of the planning commission, staff members from the city's planning, engineering, and legal departments are here in attendance. Anyone wishing to speak publicly tonight regarding any application, including members of the public, must be sworn in prior to giving their comments. If so, answer I do. Thank you. Before we start the review of our cases this evening, we do have several administrative items to take care of. We'll start with any announcements from the planning department. Thank you, and good evening. This coming Tuesday, February 17th, will be the Planning Commission workshop. It's held at 2 p.m. in this room. It will be on Tuesday instead of Monday due to the President's Day holiday. Following that at 6 p.m. is our community is our citywide community outreach meeting in the same room. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have on the agenda approval of minutes. So I'm looking for a motion for the first set of minutes, which are the January 26, 2000, or I'm sorry, January 12th, 2026 Planning Commission hearing minutes. I move to approve uh the January 1226 Planning Commission meeting minutes. Seconded. Okay. That's a motion by Commissioner Buono, a second by Commissioner Temple.
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