Commissioners defer vote on Prince Frederick and Dunkirk town‑center master plans to August 4

Calvert County planning staff presented proposed updates to the Master Plan chapters for town centers, including chapter 2 (Prince Frederick Town Center) and chapter 3 (Dunkirk Town Center), at the July 21 meeting. The presentation outlined goals, implementation measures, environmental highlights, transportation recommendations and housing characteristics.

Tay Harris, long‑range planner, and Jason Brinkley, director of planning and zoning, told commissioners the updates reflect previous planning commission actions and incorporate concerns raised in earlier public hearings. Staff noted that employment‑center districts are planned to be phased out following town center updates and that the draft labels certain fringe areas Edge Commercial to allow uses that minimize infrastructure and environmental impacts. Staff also reported prior planning commission findings of consistency with the comprehensive plan and cited March 18 as the planning commission recommendation date.

Commissioners pressed staff on the scale and impacts of proposed expansion areas. One commissioner characterized the expansion as roughly 150 acres with about 50 acres ‘‘usable’’ and expressed concern about traffic and housing density in a town already experiencing heavy traffic and substantial apartment construction. Brinkley and other staff said remaining vacant parcels are mostly county‑owned parks or small infill parcels; they emphasized that zoning follows the plan and that any specific development would require traffic studies, APFO (adequate public facilities) compliance, and later zoning text amendments.

On procedural timing, Brinkley explained adoption cannot occur until at least 10 days after the hearing and that the board’s next opportunity for a vote is tentatively scheduled for August 4. After discussion, a motion to direct staff to bring the matter back to the board no less than 10 days from July 21 (placing it on the August 4 agenda) and to keep the public record open was moved, seconded and passed 4–1.

During the hearing period, a small number of citizens spoke; one online commenter suggested county‑funded adult day‑care as an alternative use for some parcels. Staff said public comments received during the master‑plan process are compiled on the master plan webpage and will continue to be part of the record.

The county’s next steps are to keep the record open through the public comment window, return the item for the August 4 meeting and continue work on any zoning text amendments and APFO analysis should the board move forward with adoption.