Middletown comprehensive plan available for review
Oct. 9—For the first time in more than a decade, Middletown residents will have an opportunity to weigh in on the town's long-term strategy for growth.
The town's draft comprehensive plan is available for review and comment until Nov. 30.
The plan seeks to lay out a guide for how the town will grow and develop over the next 10 to 20 years.
The town's plan was last updated in March 2010, Cindy Unangst, the town's planner, wrote in an email Monday.
More information is available by contacting Unangst at cunangst@ci.middletown.md.us.
The approved plan will help Unangst and the town's Planning Commission evaluate proposals for land use. The town's Board of Appeals will use it in approving special exceptions to the town's zoning policies.
The town will also use the plan to coordinate planning activities with other levels of government, and with regional planning agencies, according to the draft plan's introduction.
Among the core values the section lays out is: "Middletown's traditional character is that of a small, historic rural town, so comprehensive planning will reflect its historic patterns of town-centered growth including connection of neighborhoods, preservation of our historic resources, conservation of rural areas, and provision of public spaces."
The plan's goals include:
— providing a quality living environment
— protecting natural resources and historic landmarks
— encouragement of a sound economic base
— the management and sustainability of the town's future growth
Over the past 35 years, Middletown "has become increasingly linked with the Washington Metropolitan area as growth from this area has spread into Frederick County," according to the draft plan's section on history and land use.
The town's population, listed as 4,943 people in 2020, is projected to grow to 6,116 residents by 2040, according to the plan.
While the town itself has grown, the plan notes that "substantial development" has occurred outside the town's limits to the east and west.
"The entire Middletown Valley has continued to be a desirable area for residential development, often conflicting with the existing agricultural activities," the plan says.
Most of the town's commercial activity is in the town commercial district along West Main Street stretching from Church to Elm streets, and along and near Middletown Parkway on the eastern side of town, according to the plan.
Of the town's 1,350 acres, 52% is residential, compared to 26% in 1969, when the town's first official zoning ordinance was adopted.
Public and semi-public land, such as churches and cemeteries, takes up 12% of the land in town. Commercial uses account for 4%.
Of the town's housing, 82% of homes are owner-occupied, and 18% by renters, with 78% of homes single-family detached units, 10% townhouses, 10% apartments, and 2% duplexes.
The median value of an owner-occupied unit was $416,900, and the median sale price was $378,900, according to the draft plan.
Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter:
@RMarshallFNP
