Residents urge caution on Mount Airy 2033 master plan; concerns raised about Harrison Leisure site, Lot 73 and environmental impacts

A public hearing on Mount Airy’s proposed 2023–2033 comprehensive master plan drew a range of comments Wednesday night about recommended land-use changes, environmental protections and community facilities.

The hearing gave residents a chance to comment on the draft plan, which the mayor said “conforms to the Maryland requirements for municipality master plans and continues our efforts to wisely manage all growth, development, land use, and public services.” The council closed the hearing after oral comments and read several emailed submissions into the record.

Why it matters: The master plan sets the town’s land-use recommendations for the next decade and frames later zoning changes, annexations and infrastructure decisions. Speakers urged the council to clarify how recommendations would be implemented, to study environmental impacts before development and to consider where new community facilities would sit relative to existing homes.

Public commenters singled out three recurring topics: a recommendation to reclassify Lot 73 from residential to industrial; future uses of the Harrison Leisure property (near Route 27 and Wattersville); and preservation of natural corridors and wildlife.

Michael Dixon, owner of a 24,000-square-foot building on Back Acre Circle, said the draft plan’s recommended rezoning of Lot 73 would help keep an existing Mount Airy employer from relocating. “They’re outgrowing our current building faster than we can provide space for them,” Dixon said, describing the tenant (now called EPIC) as “one of the largest employers of Mount Airy” with roughly 80 employees. Dixon told the council he uses green-building techniques in his existing facility and asked the town to consider compatible industrial uses on Lot 73.

Longtime resident Charlie Mansfield praised the plan overall but urged the council to update the town code to implement several plan policies, suggesting explicit code language for “complete streets” and “green streets” and a review of mixed-use development standards. “It appears to me to be a very good document,” Mansfield said.

Several speakers asked the town to protect natural areas. In an emailed comment read into the record, Nancy Hernandez, parks and events manager, asked that proposed ball fields be preceded by environmental study and noted that the plan’s maps should reflect that many residents prioritize trails. “I feel we need to consider the environmental impacts before undertaking any plans,” Hernandez wrote, citing spring peepers (a chorus frog) and the American kestrel as species of concern under the Maryland State Wildlife Action Plan and referencing the Maryland Forest Conservation Act.

Neighbors near the Harrison Leisure property — a triangular parcel described in public comments — urged the council to site any public uses (senior center, community center, fire/EMS) away from existing homes and closer to Route 27 for access. Steve Trice asked that any community facility be located “out there” near Route 27 rather than adjacent to homes; Simone Blanchard welcomed the plan’s shift away from previous “Office Park Employment” concepts and noted reports that an unmarked cemetery may be on or near the county-owned 6.6-acre tract discussed in the plan.

Several emails read into the record questioned infrastructure assumptions. Gary Fry’s emailed comment said the draft map showed forest cover that has been removed and asked how road access would work for major commercial development, whether a planned roundabout could support it, and whether public water contamination and well siting near Twin Arch had been adequately considered.

Town staff and council replies clarified process limits: changes mapped in the master plan would not automatically change zoning on privately owned parcels; properties would come back to the council for annexation or rezoning hearings if/when annexation occurs. A staff speaker said the Planning Commission’s current recommendation for Lot 73 is to change the future land-use designation to industrial, and that any rezoning or development would return to the council in later proceedings.

The council read several emailed comments into the record, including a statement from Adele Connolly (chair, Commission on Aging and Livability) advocating for a new, separate senior center on the Harrison Leisure property and for cross-county transportation options for seniors.

The town closed the public hearing after citizens’ remarks. No final land-use votes on the master plan or on any rezoning were taken at the hearing; the mayor and staff said the council may revise the draft based on input and could schedule adoption or further public hearings at a subsequent meeting.

Ending: The public hearing closed at about 7:10 p.m.; the council will consider the master plan and any edits at future meetings. Several related items — including a budget amendment for rails-to-trails work — were taken up later in the same meeting and are the subject of separate formal actions recorded by the council.