Developers advance West Patrick Street commercial site plan; flood‑plain and stormwater tradeoffs draw scrutiny

Adtech Engineers presented a combined final site plan and forest conservation plan for a proposed commercial development at 1435 West Patrick Street during the Planning Commission workshop on April 21. The applicant described a roughly 12,000‑square‑foot building intended for a laundromat use with three additional tenant spaces and a parking area designed to keep the building out of the floodplain.

Sean Benjaminson of Adtech described long coordination with city engineering, MDE and planned FEMA review for proposed grading and floodplain changes. "One of the driving factors we have on this project that will probably talk ad nauseam about between now and later is the presence of the flood plain," Benjaminson said. The design attempts to keep the finished building vertically above the revised flood elevation and minimize changes that could extend the floodplain…