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Walkersville hearing opens on zoning-map update that would reclassify 29 parcels, including 29-acre site proposed for multifamily
Summary
The Planning Commission held a first public hearing on a proposed zoning-map update covering 29 properties; staff described multiple rezoning recommendations, including a 29-acre Staley parcel proposed for R-4 that staff estimated could allow about 60 multifamily units. Written comments raised traffic, environmental and rail-access concerns.
The Walkersville Planning Commission opened a public hearing Sept. 23 on a proposed update to the town zoning map that would reclassify 29 properties, Planning staff member Susan said.
Susan said the map follows the recently updated comprehensive plan and will move through additional public hearings before being introduced as an ordinance to the burgess and commissioners. "There are 29 properties that are proposed for a change," she said, and staff highlighted a mix of small neighborhood parcels, commercial corridor lots and larger sites.
Among the proposals, staff described changing a Decaro parcel on Maryland 194 from R-1 to B-1 (neighborhood business) and multiple parcels along East Frederick Street from B-2 to B-1 so nearby residential uses would be conforming. Susan said the B-1 designation could allow limited residential redevelopment while generally precluding certain uses such as gas stations on small lots.
The staff report also identified property 25—the Staley site south of the railroad—as proposed to move from limited industrial to R-4 residential. "It's 29 acres and it is proposed for rezoning from limited industrial to R-4 residential," Susan said, adding the change would allow roughly 60 multifamily units on the parcel under the draft map.
Susan read four written comments entered into the public record. One was from a neighboring resident who asked to keep her small Pennsylvania Avenue lot in R-1 after saying she had rescinded an earlier rezoning request. Another, from Evan Winston of Hercules Fence, urged care about rezoning to light industrial because his business relies on outdoor storage and suggested permitting screened outdoor storage in LI districts. William Crum submitted a lengthy opposition to the proposed rezoning of the Nathan property to general industrial, citing traffic, road and environmental concerns. The Maryland Department of Transportation advised that development of the Staley property could affect the Main Street rail crossing and warned that a state license agreement would be required for access.
At the public hearing, resident Penny Bridal said she and two neighbors wanted their three-house block to remain conforming with one another and that she had rescinded her earlier rezoning request because she did not realize the broader implications. "I did not know everything that was gonna happen when I asked to be rezoned," she said, and asked that the change not harm her neighbors.
No vote was taken on the map update at the hearing. The commission will hold additional public hearings before sending draft ordinance language to the burgess and commissioners for consideration, Susan said. The public record for the map update includes the written comments summarized at the meeting; staff said they would include any further written input in subsequent hearings.
