Advisory group flags Priority Preservation Area, housing pipeline and need to grow commercial tax base

Denis Superczynski of the Division of Planning & Permitting presented population forecasts, demographic trends and maps of housing development, and he reviewed the residential development pipeline for Frederick County at the Advisory Group meeting on May 21.

Superczynski reviewed prior meeting-identified strengths and weaknesses, which included regulatory hurdles, long-range planning policy considerations, infrastructure constraints and regional geography. He reminded the group that one of the core purposes of the planning effort is to increase the commercial tax base to reduce the tax burden on county residents.

Advisory members and county staff discussed time-to-market concerns: regional job growth has increased by 2.2%, below the national average of 3.9%, and presenters tied delays in bringing sites to market to a constrained land inventory and readiness of sites for development.

Katie Stevens of the Office of Agriculture raised the Priority Preservation Area (PPA), warning that removal of land from the PPA could result in Frederick County losing state certification for its Agricultural Land Preservation Program and therefore receiving reduced state funding for that program. No alternative funding source or counter-proposal was adopted during the meeting; Stevens's warning stood without substantive challenge in the session.

Beth Woodring noted continuing interest from the life sciences industry and said Economic Opportunity staff and the Maryland Department of Commerce have fielded international inquiries from prospects seeking land to purchase rather than lease. Kimberly Gaines said the June 11 meeting will begin consideration of geography and mapping for employment growth and that Tony Checchia will present ORI/LI/GI analysis.

The advisory group did not vote on land-use or preservation changes at the session. Members signaled that further analysis of development constraints, tax-base strategies and preservation trade-offs will be considered in future meetings.