(9/25) The Planning and Zoning Commission discussed their primary goals for implementing the Town’s Master Plan at the August meeting. The Town is required annually to submit a report that includes how it intends to implement the many parts of the Master Plan. A master plan, AKA Comprehensive Plan, gives long term guidance on the future growth and development for the Town. It was last updated in 2020 and is reviewed and updated, if necessary, every ten years.
The first goal for the Commission will be to reduce regulatory barriers, such as reducing lot sizes and restrictions to building codes, in order to encourage more affordable housing. The second is the continued review of the Plan, as it is an ever-changing document.
For a third goal, Vice Chair Greg Goodhart suggested that traffic studies be performed, something that hasn’t been done in a few years. Intersections already outlined in the Master Plan for review include Main Street and Water Street/North Church Street because it doesn’t have dedicated turning lanes, causing traffic to back up during peak times. Frederick Road, Water Street, and Park Lane are also on the list because of residential and commercial traffic. Emmitsburg Road made the list due to the number of complaints from single-family homes impacted by speeding vehicles. Emmitsburg Road and Eyler Road will also be studied because of the developments currently in the planning process.
Town Planner Kelly Duty suggested the Town begin budgeting the money for the traffic study on Emmitsburg Road now and begin the study after a few houses are completed to see the true impact that a few homes will make on traffic. As for how much to put aside, Duty said it all depends on the goals of the study, how big the study area needs to be, and how many days it is expected to take. "It depends on the scope of the study," she said.
Goal four, suggested by Chair Meredith Wivell, is the revitalization of the downtown area. She would like to involve the community by "going back to basics and identifying our partners and engaging with them." One of the ways to reconnect will be to do a "community needs assessment" that will identify the needs and the resources available to meet those needs for the Town.
Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick pointed out that Vicki Grinder, Economic Development Manager, would be updating the community needs assessment this fall.
Wivell also read a quote directly from the Plan regarding downtown zoning. "In critically evaluating the performance of the Town’s zoning, the most significant finding to note is the mismatch between the goals of the downtown of Thurmont and the zoning rules in effect there." Specifically, the quote refers to the goal of revitalizing downtown and how certain properties are not zoned to allow the effort to happen. She pointed out that there is no reference on what to do about vacant or blighted properties in the Plan, yet these properties do exist in Thurmont. Town Attorney Leslie Powell pointed out that dealing with vacant and blighted property ordinances are tricky because they would be dealing with the owner's constitutional rights.
Last of the Commission’s goals included hosting two public workshops to gather input about the revitalization of the downtown area and ways to reduce the regulatory barriers. Through these workshops, the Commission hopes the public will vocalize their opinions on what's truly important to them in their town and how to implement the goals.
