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Landowners ask Taneytown to reclassify frontage and consider future annexations
Summary
Two landowners and a nearby resident addressed the commission: a resident said he could not afford annexation costs, while a 35-acre property owner proposed converting corner frontage to commercial and signaled openness to a coordinated annexation to resolve enclave issues.
Several members of the public used the meeting’s comment period to raise annexation concerns and land-use requests for areas along Harney Road.
Resident Larry Danner told the commission he is a long-time property owner who is on a fixed income and worried that future annexation or development next door would require costly utility connections or otherwise disrupt his household finances. “I’m on limited income... I can’t afford to move even,” Danner said when identifying himself and his address to the commission.
Property owners Mark Frazera and Darren Barnes described a 35-acre parcel that fronts U.S. 140 and Harney Road and asked the commission to consider expanding commercial future-land-use designation at the corner to reflect patterns of development and to avoid enclave issues. Frazera said the owners had met with staff and would be willing to be included in a coordinated annexation request and, if necessary, to bear costs to help other owners connect. “We would be open to increasing that amount of commercial property if the commission thought that was a good idea,” Frazera said.
Planning staff (Speaker 8) explained the annexation process to the public: the municipal growth element must be finalized and filed with the county; annexation agreements can be negotiated and may include fee waivers or negotiated connection terms for existing homes; and coordinated annexations typically accompany larger property owner-driven proposals. Staff said they would bring map options for commissioner feedback if the commission wished to consider a land-use change and possible future annexation.
No formal action was taken on annexation during the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to gather sketch plans and return with options for how to update the land-use map and how a coordinated annexation could be structured to avoid creating enclaves and to address resident concerns about assessment or connection costs.
