Walkersville adopts revised comprehensive plan after contentious public hearing

The Burgess and commissioners of Walkersville adopted a revised 2024 comprehensive plan on Sept. 11 after a public hearing marked by sustained opposition from residents worried about farmland loss, floodplain impacts and school capacity. The motion to adopt, moved by Commissioner Baker and seconded by Commissioner Gilbert, passed 3 to 2.

Supporters, including Dave Ennis, chair of the Planning Commission, urged adoption to allow the commission to implement recommended updates. Ennis said the commission had worked on the plan for years, held additional public hearings and “we did make changes to the original” proposal, adding that the plan by itself does not change zoning or permit immediate construction: rezoning and the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance would still be required before any shovel hits the ground.

Residents who spoke during a packed public comment period urged the board to slow the process or postpone the decision to the next term. Chris Qualls, a resident, warned of stormwater and floodplain consequences if permeable farmland were replaced with impermeable townhomes, saying, “You’re gonna replace it with houses that are impermeable… it’s only gonna get worse.” Others asked the board to remove residential designations or defer action so incoming commissioners could review the plan.

Opponents also questioned the planning process and sought procedural clarity. Mitch Brandon said the planning commission had not approved a required resolution tied to the latest changes and argued that “this is not prepared to come here.” In response, several commissioners and advocates for the plan said the planning commission voted to present the draft after additional hearings and that legal safeguards and APFO standards will be applied at rezoning stages.

The plan as revised reduces the acreage marked for residential development from earlier drafts; commissioners described the revision as a marked cut from previously discussed figures (a reduction cited during debate from roughly 120 acres to about 25 acres, with a corresponding drop in speculative housing totals). Commissioners emphasized that any future rezoning must satisfy traffic, sewer and school capacity tests under the town’s APFO before construction can proceed.

After the vote the Burgess instructed staff to convert the adoption into a formal resolution and to schedule a signing meeting before Oct. 9 so the adoption can be memorialized in resolution form. The board’s 3–2 vote concludes the hearing stage but does not authorize rezoning or immediate development; those actions require subsequent applications, public hearings and APFO review.