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Planning panel lays out 2024–2025 work program, prioritizing zoning‑map updates and Old Town study
Summary
The Walkersville Planning Commission identified updating the zoning map and modernizing the zoning ordinance as top priorities for 2024–2025, discussed hiring consultants for area studies (railroad station and East Frederick Street), and noted a public hearing before the burgess and commissioners is scheduled for September 11.
Susan, a staff member, told the commission that the comprehensive plan adoption will be followed by a zoning‑map update and that the next formal step is a public hearing before the burgess and commissioners.
"Once the comp plan is not yet adopted, it's going to be a public hearing before the commissioners on September 11," Susan said, and she described updating the town's zoning map to reflect new subdivisions and to resolve areas where houses are nonconforming in B‑2 commercial zones.
Members agreed the zoning‑map update would be involved and likely require at least a short application window for property owners (Susan suggested 60–90 days), a series of hearings, and a recommendation to the burgess and commissioners for adoption. Committee member (speaker 3) warned that inconsistencies between the plan and map "open up possibilities for lawsuits," and the commission agreed to take care aligning plan language and map designations.
The commission discussed options for Old Town, where mixed uses, small lots and a mix of residential and OTM business designations complicate a piecemeal rezoning approach. Susan suggested considering an overlay or a broader study rather than lot‑by‑lot rezonings.
Members also discussed consultant needs and budgeting for special‑area studies and potential zoning ordinance modernization (the current ordinance dates from 1972). The Chair and members noted that consultant estimates should be coordinated with the burgess and commissioners' budget schedule and that the commission will request cost estimates as it prioritizes work.
No zoning map changes or rezoning decisions were made at this meeting; members asked staff to draft timelines, cost estimates for consultant work, and a proposed schedule for joint workshops with the burgess and commissioners. The commission noted the town meeting and public hearing on September 11 as the near‑term milestone in the adoption process.
