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Planning commission approves Frederick Youth Center site plan, allows forest-conservation and landscaping modifications
Summary
The commission unanimously approved the Frederick Youth Center final site plan and multiple modifications including a reduction in required parking (37 to 35), targeted lighting allowances for safety, reductions to street-tree and buffer requirements, and a specimen-tree modification tied to critical-root-zone impacts, with staff conditions for final recording.
The Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve the final site plan for the Frederick Youth Center at South End Park and to grant multiple requested modifications on Feb. 9.
Staff said the project repurposes a vacant office building for use as a youth center, includes a 623-square-foot addition, and requested six modifications: meeting forest conservation requirements via a combination of street-tree credits, specimen-tree credits and a fee-in-lieu; reducing parking from 37 to 35 spaces; allowing measured lighting spillover for safety between the youth center and the adjacent Boys & Girls Club (staff specified foot-candle levels along named property lines); and reducing required buffer widths and some street-tree planting locations because of narrow planting strips and overhead utilities. Staff recommended approval subject to conditions.
Applicant Jeremy Holder (Osherman Family Foundation) said the city will own and maintain the facility and emphasized strong community involvement in program planning. Mary from Fox & Associates provided tree-count details: four trees would be removed along Scotty’s Bus Lane but the project will plant 16 trees on the youth-center parcel and four additional trees on the Boys & Girls Club parcel; the applicant intends to retain a specimen tree if possible, but sought a modification because the calculated Critical Root Zone disturbance exceeded the 30% survivability threshold by 1 percent.
Commissioners approved each modification and the final site plan by roll-call votes of 4-0, and asked staff and applicant to finalize cover-sheet notes and recordation items prior to permit issuance.
