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 onto neighboring properties or the municipal right-of-way.

Because floodplain constraints limit on‑site stormwater facilities, the applicant placed a planter-style stormwater feature along the front of the building and proposed a partial fee‑in‑lieu to compensate for unmet quantitative stormwater control. Benjaminson said the project meets stormwater treatment requirements to a near‑minimum level but cannot fully implement quantitative volume control without major floodplain modifications; staff indicated a dollar fee would be collected and placed in the city stormwater management fund.

Two zoning modifications were requested: driveway separation distance (to align a new driveway with an existing 7‑11 driveway across Old Camp Road) and an exception for interior green‑space percentage (the floodplain constraint reduced interior green space by about one percent). The applicant also requested a forest conservation fee‑in‑lieu because overhead utilities and limited plantable strips constrained on‑site planting. Staff noted two specimen trees (a 52‑inch sycamore and a 24‑inch weeping cherry) were proposed for removal; the urban-forestry manager judged both in poor condition and staff recommended support for the tree‑removal modification.

Questions from commissioners centered on floodplain impacts, stormwater runoff and operational concerns for a laundromat frontage that faces Route 40 (the Golden Mile). Commissioners asked whether the project would worsen downstream flooding; staff and the applicant said their modeling predicts filling a floodplain “finger” on the site would not raise flood elevations on adjacent properties and that FEMA/MDE review would be required to finalize that finding.

Public comment raised long-standing local concern about backups under Old Camp Road and repeated flooding behind the 7‑11; the applicant said culvert undersizing beneath Old Camp Road contributes to backwater conditions. Staff confirmed that the city maintains a capital improvements program (CIP) for drainage projects and that collected fees in lieu can be pooled to fund larger drainage improvements, though one project’s contribution typically will not cover large corridor fixes alone.

Staff recommended mitigation on lighting (to limit spill onto nearby Fort Detrick and campus portions), additional landscaping and Level 1 screening along the Fort Detrick border; the applicant agreed to add planting where feasible and to pursue required federal and state floodplain clearances. The case will return at hearing with refined floodplain exhibits, exact fee amounts, and a finalized landscape and lighting plan.