Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission recommends draft plan to County Council after edits

Mary Thompson, chair of the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission, called the virtual meeting to order June 15 and the commission spent its substantive business reviewing edits to a Draft Historic Preservation Plan before voting to recommend the revised draft to the Frederick County Council.

Amanda Whitmore, Historic Preservation Planner, summarized staff-proposed text changes, timing and priority adjustments and public comments received since early May. Whitmore told commissioners staff intended to send a revised draft to Ms. Thompson for final review before forwarding it to the County Council.

Why it matters: The plan guides preservation priorities and actions across Frederick County and identifies partnerships, inventories and program changes that affect how historic resources are documented, conserved and studied.

Commission discussion focused on several specific edits and clarifications. Staff proposed including the county's 2007 Historic Preservation Plan in an appendix but noted that new ADA requirements may require that the 2007 document be linked online rather than attached. Whitmore also recommended adding Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP) data to Action 7.1D to strengthen the plan's inventory of eligible resources.

Jack Lynch, vice chair, urged keeping research resources locally accessible and recommended adding the Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory (MAC Lab) at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum as both a research source and a partner for Action 5.2F. "Resources should remain local where they are more accessible and use the MAC Lab for research," Lynch said; staff agreed to add the MAC Lab as a partner.

Commissioners discussed expanding databases of properties eligible for historic tax incentives to include residential properties; staff noted related language already exists in Actions 1.1a and 1.1b. One commissioner questioned whether a proposed land acknowledgment belonged in the Plan; Kathy Mitchell, Senior Assistant County Attorney, said the inclusion posed "no legal concern."

Members praised new or expanded proposals in the draft, including exploring a material salvage program, reviewing properties for potential acquisition as historic resources and improving the diversity of register designations. Grace Schofield said she was "excited to see the inclusion of the AARCH Society and the specific inclusion of the African American context studies." The commission also agreed the Process Chart on page 37 was confusing and will be removed; staff will add Rustic Roads Program language and an accompanying image on page 36.

Board member W. Peter Pearre asked about several photographs that lacked captions or were pixelated; Whitmore said staff will swap photos and add captions where needed. Whitmore then reiterated the list of agreed edits: include or link the 2007 plan (as ADA requires), add MIHP data to Action 7.1D, add the MAC Lab to Action 5.2F and as a partner, remove the flow chart and add Rustic Roads content and image, and fix photos/captions.

Jack Lynch moved to approve the recommended changes and to recommend the revised Draft Historic Preservation Plan to the Frederick County Council; W. Peter Pearre seconded. The motion passed with five ayes, zero nays, one abstention (Virginia Crum) and one absence (Kelley Berliner). The meeting record shows the vote as 5-0-1-1.

There was no public comment. The commission noted administrative items: members should complete Open Meetings Act training by July 1, 2026; Amanda Whitmore announced that all members have completed the training. Chair Thompson adjourned the meeting at 7:19 p.m.; upcoming meeting dates were listed as July 1, August 5 and September 2.