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Planning commission recommends denial of waiver for interparcel connection at Lake Frederick
Summary
After a lengthy public comment period with many Lake Frederick residents urging preservation of a planned interparcel connection to Route 277 for safety and emergency access, the Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of MREC Shenandoah’s waiver request. The commission will send its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on June 11.
The Frederick County Planning Commission voted to recommend denial of a requested waiver by MREC Shenandoah Virginia LLC that would have removed an interparcel street stub intended to connect the Lake Frederick community with an adjoining property along Route 277.
Staff described the request as a waiver from the county subdivision standard that requires interparcel connections when developments exceed certain sizes. The area in question is the last remaining phase of the Lake Frederick master development plan; staff noted the property has been shown on prior master plans with a connection stub to the adjoining parcel and that the waiver application followed a recent master plan revision that rebalanced housing types.
Dozens of residents spoke during the citizen comment period. Many opposed the waiver and asked the commission to retain the interparcel connection. Several speakers said the proposed connector would provide a second emergency egress from Lake Frederick, reduce emergency‑response times by “5 to 7 minutes,” and give the community access to a potential future traffic signal on Route 277. Residents also said the Lake Frederick development currently has only one exit for roughly 3,000 residents and described evacuation and emergency‑response concerns.
Representatives for MREC said the property has topographic constraints and existing easements— including power‑line easements and land owned by Frederick Water— that make a central interparcel connection impractical in the location staff had identified. The applicant’s representative said portions of the parcel are under contract for sale and that previous master plans have shown multiple potential connections, some of which have not been reserved or constructed in past phases.
Commission discussion weighed transportation planning principles, safety concerns voiced by residents, and the practical constraints cited by the applicant. Commissioners noted that the comprehensive plan encourages interparcel connectivity in the corridor and that a connection could help future access to a commercial parcel’s signalized intersection if that parcel develops as planned.
By roll call, the commission voted to recommend denial of MREC’s waiver request; the denial recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for its June 11 meeting. Planning staff said approval of the master development plan is a precondition for record plats and construction sequencing that would fund and build the planned Route 277 connection; the applicant argued that approval of the waiver was necessary now to allow pending property contracts to close and construction of the northern Route 277 entrance to proceed.
The commission’s denial means the Board of Supervisors will consider the waiver with the planning commission’s recommendation for denial on June 11, 2025.
