Planning commission approves waiver to isolate existing trailer park parcel

The Garrett County Planning Commission voted April 2 to grant a waiver that will allow owners to create a separate parcel around an existing trailer park without meeting the ordinance standards that apply to newly designed parks.

Planning staff (Speaker 1) told commissioners the county’s trailer-park standards were written for new developments and are strict on interior setbacks and density. Under the agricultural-resource classification, the ordinance’s density calculation would normally require about 1 dwelling unit per 3 acres—an outcome that, for this site, would translate to roughly a 33-acre parcel. The property owners asked to isolate the existing park with a much smaller parcel (the staff presentation cited roughly 12.77 acres) to preserve surrounding farmland.

The staff presentation said health-department approval remains required. "Health department's still gonna sign off and I would still be signing off," Speaker 1 said, adding that the existing wells and septic layouts are on record at the health department. Commissioners stressed the waiver must be contingent on the health department and any necessary building permits.

Speaker 4 moved "the waiver request on behalf of Benjamin Gerard and Emmanuel Gerard," Speaker 2 seconded, and the motion passed on an affirmative voice vote.

The waiver exempts the site from full trailer-park design requirements for the purpose of creating the smaller lot; any future replacement of units or expansion would still require building permits and health-department upgrades. Staff indicated the health department and subdivision administrator will hold final release until required verifications are complete.

Next steps: staff will finalize the lot line paperwork and hold the plat until the health department completes its review and any required conditions are met.