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Hagerstown council hears case to rezone Trolley Drive parcels to Neighborhood Mixed Use
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Summary
At public hearing ZM2026‑01, city planning staff and the applicant for Trolley Drive LLC asked the council to reclassify roughly 8.79 acres from RMOD/CG to NMU, citing neighborhood change and recent nearby residential and commercial development; the record stays open for 10 days for supplemental materials.
The Hagerstown mayor and city council heard a first public hearing on Feb. 24 on a rezoning request from Trolley Drive LLC that would reclassify roughly 8.79 acres lying between Emmett Road and Trolley Drive from RMOD (Residential Moderate Density) and CG (Commercial General) to NMU (Neighborhood Mixed Use).
Stephen Bachmiller, the city’s deputy director for planning and zoning administration, told the council the application covers two parcels (including 115 Emmett Road) totaling 10.69 acres with 8.79 acres requested for rezoning. He said the Planning Commission reviewed the application and recommended approval, concluding the applicant demonstrated either a change in neighborhood character since the last comprehensive plan or a mistake in the prior zoning record.
Counsel for the applicant, identified in the record as Jason Diblovis/Jason Deibelbus, framed the legal standard under Maryland law: rezoning requests must show either a substantial change in neighborhood character since the last comprehensive rezoning or a mistake in the prior zoning designation. He noted recent roadway construction (the extension of Trolley Drive), the nearby CarMax redevelopment, approved apartment and townhouse projects on adjacent parcels, and the annexation and development of nearby acreage as evidence of change.
Council members focused questions on likely development intensity and infrastructure impacts. One council member asked whether the change would substantially increase housing density; staff said RMOD’s typical yield could be low (roughly 6 units per acre in ideal conditions, yielding perhaps 30 units on the portion in question) while NMU allows a broader range of housing types and higher density, noting NMU has no minimum lot size and could allow multifamily and townhouses. Staff also said the NMU ordinance (for tracts between 5 and 50 acres) includes a requirement for at least two housing types, which would prevent a single‑type development on larger tracts.
Members also pressed for clarity about building height (staff said NMU permits four stories by right, with special exceptions possible to six stories) and on infrastructure: sewer capacity and Pump Station 33 assumptions were raised, and staff agreed to check utility assumptions and accept supplemental materials into the record. On traffic, staff said applicant modeling assumes most trips would use the new Trolley/Corboy Drive connection to Route 40, and that any road dedication or widening would be addressed at the site plan/subdivision stage.
No final vote was taken; the council left the record open for 10 days for additional exhibits and information.
Next steps: The hearing record will remain open for supplemental materials; council is scheduled to take further action after the record closes.
