Hagerstown holds public hearing on Dowd Farm PUD amid resident concerns about access and infrastructure

The Hagerstown Mayor and City Council heard hours of testimony March 25 on a proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) overlay for the Dowd Farm property, a roughly 12-acre site bordered by Landis Road and I‑70/US‑40. The Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of the plan at its public review meeting; city staff kept the public comment record open for 10 days and scheduled a follow-up workshop on April 8.

The PUD application would rezone the annexed property from Commercial Regional to a PUDR overlay that the applicant says would allow a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, commercial pads and a small commercial‑industrial area, plus a central 2.2‑acre green. Zoning staff warned the mayor and council the decision must be discretionary and supported by findings of fact under the Land Management Code.

Planning staff summary and developer presentations explained the proposal and the key issues. Steven Bockbell, Hagerstown zoning administrator, said the PUD process is a zoning action that approves a general zoning exhibit and that detailed engineering, stormwater, forest conservation and traffic studies come later in subdivision and site‑plan review. Paul Flynn, attorney…