Carroll County holds public hearing on fall amendments to water and sewer master plan; record left open 10 days

The Carroll County Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing Jan. 30 on proposed fall amendments to the 2023 Carroll County Water and Sewer Master Plan, and voted to conclude the hearing while leaving the written record open for 10 calendar days.

County planning staff said the fall amendment package proposes changes in three service areas — Freedom (water), Hampstead (sewer) and Manchester (water and sewer). Planning staff described moving four residential properties in the Freedom area from “existing” to “long-range” water service because of the cost and logistical difficulty of connecting across Route 26, and two Hampstead parcels from future to priority service to accommodate a proposed Tractor Supply development. Andrew Gray of the Department of Planning and Land Management summarized map and text edits and said, if adopted, the board’s action will be sent to the Maryland Department of the Environment for final review and approval.

Commissioners asked staff for clarifications on why the four Eldersburg/Freedom properties were moved to long-range. Staff said Bureau of Utilities engineers determined there is no reasonable, cost-effective route to extend water lines under Route 26 and that existing easements are insufficient. Staff also explained that moving the four parcels frees up reserved system capacity for the broader service area and that the lots are currently served by private wells and septic systems.

After the presentation and questions, a commissioner moved to conclude the public hearing and keep the record open for 10 calendar days; the motion was seconded and adopted without recorded opposition. The board did not vote on adopting the amendments at the Jan. 30 session and will consider any additional written comments received during the 10-day period before a final decision.

Planning staff noted the amendments were previously certified as consistent with the county master plan by the Planning Commission on Nov. 19 and were advertised in the Carroll County Times on Jan. 16 and Jan. 23.

The hearing provided an opportunity for residents to submit comment cards or speak; no callers were on the phone line at the time of the hearing and no public speakers registered in person during the hearing.

Next steps: county staff will keep the public comment record open for 10 calendar days, after which the commissioners can act on adopting or modifying the fall amendments based on the full record.