(1/8) The Thurmont commissioners accepted an annexation petition at their January 4 meeting, and voted to forward the request to the Planning & Zoning Commission for further study and to render a recommendation to the board regarding the proposal.
Daniel Cross, of Cross & Company, LLC, told the commissioners that the annexation would be intended to facilitate the construction of a 24.5-acre development site on land that presently spans the Town of Thurmont and Frederick County. As matters presently stand, 7.79 acres are already in the town, with the balance located in the county.
The property is bound by a condominium development (spanning Easy Street, Luther Drive and Cody Drive) to the south side … Apples Church Road on the west and north sides … and Graceham Road on the east side.
Cross said that the portion of the proposed development within Frederick County does lie within Thurmont’s designated growth-boundary, further stating, "This is where you have already said this is where you want the town to grow."
The land developer further stated that the current "vision" for the development consists of a combination of affordable, mixed-use, intergenerational-community residential units, including townhouses and 2-over-2 style, four-story, condominium townhouses. Plans also would provide for senior independent living, a child daycare center, as well as open spaces, "victory gardens," pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, tot lots, a dog park, and food-truck parking site. The proposed numbers of each type of housing proposed was not discussed with the commissioners.
Regarding the concept, Cross stated, "I’m a strong advocate of Mayberry. I don’t quite understand why we … as a society … have developed exclusive-age 55-plus communities and we’ve segregated-out our old population and have said, ‘You go live by yourself and we’ll do regular neighborhoods for other people here.’"
There will also be one 15,000-square foot, single-family lot which would remain being the home of the seller, as part of the agreement-of-sale.
Town Planner Chris Jakubiak stated that the proposed annexation was the first annexation that the town has seen since having adopted a new zoning ordinance in October 2019, which contains new procedures for reviewing annexations.
The planner further noted that the portion of the development-site located in the town is zoned for agriculture, as is the land in Frederick County, and both would have to be re-zoned for high-density residential. The town Master Plan, he said, recommended that the last be re-zoned residential.
