The planning and zoning commission was busy at their May meeting approving concept site plans and updating existing projects.
First up for the commission was the proposed concept plan for a hardware store to be located on a 15 acre vacant lot that is part of the Freeser property on the east side of town. First introduced to the committee in March, the hardware store will be a 15,000 square foot Amish-built ‘ski lodge’ inspired store with no connection to the local electrical grid. The store will focus on hardware and lumber sales.
As part of its review, the Committee unanimously decided to secure an easement for a proposed access road between Atrium Drive and Carnival Drive with the intention of connecting Atrium to Carnival.
The hardware store project has drawn quite a few objections from homeowners on neighboring Carnival Drive who do not want Carnival Drive opened up to Atrium Drive. "We already have issues with children on our street getting hit. The police are there all the time. The kids play in the road because we are the only area in town without a park," said Rhonda Bordell. Bordell recounted a lengthy list of issues with the project, including protecting the stream that runs through the property, keeping the small town feel, and protecting the forest on the 15 acres.
Another issue raised by Bordell was the potential infringement on resident privacy. "You are cutting down all the trees behind our houses to allow this building." Bordell reminded the Commission that the comprehensive plan calls for a proposed buffer between Atrium and Carnival to keep noise pollution and other nuisances down.
"This property is a challenging one," said Town Manager Jim Wieprecht. "It has wetlands, a stream, environmental features on both ends, resulting in only a small area eligible to be built upon." Since only five acres of the total 15 are buildable, much of the forest that provides privacy will remain and the waterways will likely be untouched, Wieprecht said.
After the Commission approved the concept plan, Wieprecht reminded concerned residents that this is still in the planning stages. "It doesn't mean it will happen anytime soon, it could take years," said Director of Planning and Zoning Darryl Hale.
Next up for the Commission was the concept plan for Recovery 180, located at 162-164 West Baltimore St. Recovery 180 helps people recovering from addiction to reenter society in a safe, healthy environment. The inside of the resident building will not see a lot of change in its design as it was separated illegally into apartments some time ago and any inside work is a concern for the county. The primary concerns for the Town are based outside; stormwater management, an easement request for road alignment with Harney Road and 140, and the 15 space parking lot which is modeled after a hotel because of how the Town's current zoning code is written.
Recovery 180’s plan is to have a total of 43 beds in a total of 12 bedrooms in six units. There will be six people per each two toilet/two shower bathrooms. The Council as well as some residents expressed concern over the living quarters being too cramped. However, a representative of Recovery 180 commented, "From where they are coming from, this is a step up". Per the County each person is required to have a minimum of 200 square feet to live in.
Resident Lisa Crawford had concerns regarding safety and security and how well the building will be staffed. "We will have 24 hour behavioral techs trained in conflict de-escalation and strictly enforced curfews. There will be one tech per every 15 residents," said the representative. "These are people coming from a detox program ready to reintegrate into society," he said. "This is not a release program.'' He stated that his other Recovery 180 business located in Westminster has been open for almost a year and hasn’t had any police activity or reports so they don’t foresee any issues with the new location. The Council approved the site plan and it now continues the planning process.
Next on the agenda was the request by Taneytown Auto Parts located at 11 Franklin St. for a site plan waiver to demolish two older dilapidated buildings and build two new buildings in the same place. The old buildings measure 3,220 square feet and the new ones will be approximately 200 square feet larger. They also plan to raise the roofline on a third building to make the roofs the same height as the existing buildings, thus they will have two buildings with a continuous roof.
Taneytown Auto Parts has been in existence since the 1940s when town code had the building under industrial zoning, although its current use is general business as storage. The Commission ruminated on if what was staying was enough to stay with the current code or did the property need to be rezoned to match the new current code. In the end, the Commission decided that since the existing use and the current use predate the current code, a waiver was appropriate.
