Commission reviews Wise Guest & Go final plan; county planner outlines deferrals, billboard amendment and master-plan work

The Hamstead Planning and Zoning Commission on March 25 reviewed a final site plan for a Wise Guest & Go service station and heard a multi-topic briefing from the Carol County Department of Planning.

Bill Swanik of HRG presented the final plan for 721 Hanover Pike, saying the final submission is a "carbon copy" of the concept plan with only stormwater-management changes introduced during final design. He described modifications to stormwater facilities — replacing curb cuts into the basin with inlets and pipes — and said town staff sent mainly clerical comments. Swanik said the applicant remains dependent on county stormwater review; once county approvals arrive the applicant hopes to combine a public hearing and final approval in a single evening.

The commission took no final action on the plan at the meeting and asked staff to continue coordinating reviews.

Separately, a Carol County Department of Planning representative identified in the meeting as Carile ("Carly") Fiat briefed the commission on county-level work. She said the county has temporarily deferred acceptance and review of certain types of development applications for the Freedom area to allow code review and ordinance drafting. Deferrals listed include retirement villages/homes (six months), cluster subdivisions (six months), planned commercial centers (eight months), self-storage facilities (three months) and data centers (12 months). Fiat said the deferrals apply to the Freedom area only and are intended to give staff and the commission time to study zoning text and suggest possible modifications.

Fiat also described two text-amendment efforts: a recommended amendment to allow consolidation and relocation of nonconforming off-premises signs into a larger sign up to 50 feet high (the county held a public information session March 5), and a separate amendment to remove residential as an accessory use to planned commercial centers; both remain pending further review and public hearings.

Commissioners asked whether the billboard consolidation applies countywide and whether it would affect Hamstead signage; Fiat said the measure was directed at the 140 corridor and she believed it was countywide, but added that she did not think it applied to Hamstead's town area.

The planner also summarized master-plan workgroup recommendations (housing, economic development, agriculture), state comments on the draft water-resources element, joint public hearings with neighboring municipal commissions, and that a fall 2025 water-and-sewer amendment adopted Feb. 19 (covering Mount Ary, Tony Town and Freedom) will be forwarded to the Maryland Department of the Environment for approval. Fiat said the county received an MDE extension for the triannual master-plan update, moving that work to 2027, and that the draft annual report should be available for review in May.

Why it matters: the Wise Guest & Go project remains contingent on stormwater approvals; the county’s deferrals and pending text amendments could change what development types are permitted or reviewed in the Freedom area and affect future proposals.

Formal actions taken: the commission approved the minutes of its Feb. 25 meeting and later voted to adjourn the March 25 meeting; no permits or final approvals were granted for the Wise Guest & Go plan during this session.

Next steps: staff will continue to exchange comments with the Wise applicant and county reviewers; the county planning office will continue drafting text amendments and studying the deferrals for consideration at future hearings.