Aldi seeks 45 parking spaces to ease shift-change congestion at Frederick warehouse

The Frederick City Planning Commission heard a proposal on May 19 for a final site plan adding two employee parking lots at the Aldi warehouse on Gas House Pike.

The applicant said the plan would add one northeast lot with 32 parking spaces and a southeast lot with 13 spaces, together intended to relieve congestion during shift changes and to reduce truck and vehicle queuing that has spilled onto Gas House Pike. "We're here to propose 2 additional parking lots," said Patrick Van Nuys, project manager with Timmins Group, the applicant's engineering firm.

Commissioners and staff said the expansion addresses a practical problem during shift changes when departing and arriving shifts overlap. "They're at the capacity for the existing parking ... during shift change you get double the cars on-site," said Luke Feddro, senior project manager with Timmins Group. The applicant said there will be no new employees tied to this expansion; the spaces are intended to better stage arriving and departing workers.

Staff noted the lots will include landscape, lighting and stormwater-management improvements and that sidewalks and existing pedestrian routes will be used to separate people from truck access areas. "The parking lots will be lit ... to the city standards so they are safe at nighttime," Feddro said. Applicants also pointed to an existing trailer-storage area that has been used informally to absorb cars during peak times; the new lots are intended to free that area to serve its original purpose.

The staff report references a total of 510 parking spaces on the site after the change and a calculation elsewhere in staff materials that the minimum required number would be 532. Planning staff explained that no parking modification is required because the plan adds no building square footage; under the city's Article 9 nonconforming‑parking rules, required parking is tied to building area and past approvals. "They're not adding any additional building square footage ... so there's no requirement for parking," a city planner (Miss Under) said.

The commission also discussed truck queuing. Planning, police and public-works staff said they have worked with Aldi over the last year to adjust shifts and queuing procedures; staff said those changes have largely resolved the historic congestion on Gas House Pike but that the added parking should provide additional buffer capacity during heavy periods such as the holidays.

There was no public comment on the case at the workshop and no formal vote recorded; staff said the applicant will return for any required follow-ups as the plan proceeds to public hearing.

Why it matters: the change aims to reduce safety and congestion issues on a busy arterial by adding parking and clarifying internal queuing and lighting, while relying on the city's nonconforming-parking rules rather than a code modification.

What remains: commissioners asked for figures on employee counts and for staff to clarify the parking calculations in the staff report; staff said they will expand the written explanation for the hearing and that the applicant will return with final plan sheets and any remaining technical details.