Emmitsburg planning commission approves Brookfield forest conservation plan and final subdivision with conditions

The Emmitsburg Planning Commission on April 28 approved the Brookfield Parcels C, D and E final forest conservation plan and the subdivision plat, with conditions requiring the developer to address town-engineer comments, submit a corrected fee-in-lieu payment and resolve outstanding map and worksheet errors before permits are issued.

Sheila, a town staff member, told the commission the plan covers Brookfield Phase 5 on the south side of Timbermill Run and identified several required corrections, including changing a shown 25-foot stream easement to the town-required 50-foot buffer for perennial streams, fixing calculation errors in the forest conservation worksheets, removing short-term protection notes because no planting is proposed, and adding a note about cultural/historic resources and critical habitat. She said the 100-year floodplain had been deducted from the net-tracked area and therefore "cannot be used as forest retention credit," and must be removed from proposed forest retention calculations.

"So this is the final forest conservation plan for the Brookfield, phase 5, project, which is located on the south side of Timbermill Run," Sheila said. She also stated staff's fee-in-lieu recalculation as "0.322¢ per square foot" and noted the calculation in the staff memo needed correction.

After discussion and questions from commissioners about the floodplain treatment, Speaker 3 moved to approve the forest conservation plan with conditions. The motion required the developer to: address all comments in the RK&K memorandum dated April 15, 2025, and any subsequent town-engineer comments; submit the appropriate fee-in-lieu payment calculated in accordance with the town code and an applicable inflation-adjusted rate; continue collaboration with town staff to ensure full compliance with all town code and development-process requirements; and pay any fees assessed by the town for reviews or permits prior to issuance of permits. The motion was moved and received oral "ayes" and was recorded as approved.

On the subdivision plat, staff said the final plan proposes 10 single-family lots, three homeowners association parcels and a remainder parcel within the R-3 zoning district and recommended approval subject to the same checklist items and town-engineer corrections before improvements are signed. During public comment, resident Richard Demitt asked for clarification that the landscape easement is for street trees and noted additional easements shown on the plat, including areas for snow placement.

The commission then moved to approve the final subdivision plan for Parcels C, D and E with the same set of conditions tied to the RK&K memo and town-code fee calculations. The motion was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; formal roll-call tallies were not provided in the record.

What happens next: staff indicated they are working with the developer to resolve outstanding improvement-plan comments; permits and improvement-plan signings will proceed only after the listed conditions and town-engineer comments are satisfied.