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Frostburg commission to revise demolition guidelines adapted from Cumberland; vote postponed
Summary
Staff presented updated demolition guidelines largely adapted from the City of Cumberland; commissioners identified wording gaps and documentation requirements and agreed to have staff circulate revisions and to vote at the next meeting rather than adopt the rules that night.
Jamie, a planning staff member, presented a draft update to the Frostburg Historic District Commission's demolition guidelines on May 11, saying the draft largely adapts language from the City of Cumberland and that commissioners can edit or adopt it as their regulations.
"We've put our information in there where it has, you know, made sense to do so... it is essentially exactly as there's is," Jamie said, describing the adaptation from Cumberland and inviting edits.
Commissioners raised several specific issues. One commissioner pointed out that a subsection labelled "letter f" on the first page appears blank and asked Jamie to check whether text is missing or whether items should be renumbered. Commissioners also pressed for clearer documentation standards for cases when demolition is proposed: they requested language requiring multiple elevations and photographic angles and asked that submitted photographs be described as archival (acid‑free) so a permanent record remains if demolition occurs. "So it's going to be something that's acid free, basically," one commissioner said when clarifying the archival paper standard.
Members suggested adding a short preamble emphasizing that demolition is a last resort and described an appeal path for applicants unhappy with commission decisions: appeals would go to the Board of Zoning Appeals and then, if necessary, to higher court review. A commissioner recommended including language similar to Hagerstown's guidance noting that total or partial demolition is permanent and should be considered only after appropriate review.
Rather than adopt the guidelines immediately, commissioners agreed to have Jamie revise the draft, circulate the edits by email and resume the matter at the next meeting for a formal vote. Jamie and the commission also discussed seeking input from other towns' guidelines and running the draft past legal counsel if members wished.
No formal adoption or vote on the guidelines occurred at the May 11 meeting; the commission directed staff to prepare a revised draft for a future vote.
