Residents at Walkersville hearing call for keeping small-town character

Sep. 27—Walkersville residents voiced opposition Wednesday night to the idea of rezoning a large parcel as part of a comprehensive plan update.

The Staley property, a 115-acre parcel south of Devilbiss Bridge Road, is zoned limited industrial, but the draft comprehensive plan proposes that it be low- and high-density residential development.

Some residents said this new zoning wouldn't be in the best interest of the town and would ruin its small-town agricultural feel.

The Staley property is the only property considered for a rezoning for future growth in the draft comprehensive plan.

A zoning designation in the comprehensive plan does not mean the land becomes zoned for that use. It only indicates that the town has an interest in using that land for another purpose than what it's being used for now.

Tiffany Staley shared fond memories of the Staley property, which she said used to be her grandmother's farm. She wanted the land to be preserved and zoned as agricultural buffer.

"That farmland is some of the best farmland in Frederick County. I'm asking you from my heart, keep this land agricultural. Let it do what it's always done best — grow crops for us and feed the animals that feed us," she said.

There were also more practical reasons as to why she didn't want to see the land zoned for residential developments. She voiced concerns about runoff and how paving the property would create flooding elsewhere.

More homes would mean more traffic on Devilbiss Bridge Road, which already has too much, she said.

Another resident, Linda Grossnickle, agreed with Staley's points. Developing on the Staley property wouldn't enhance quality of life, she said.

She reiterated flooding and traffic concerns, and said bringing new homes would overwhelm the schools already at capacity.

Walkersville Commissioner Mike McNiesh spoke during the hearing, saying he was speaking for himself and on behalf of his constituents.

He said the proposed Staley property zoning did not fit into the town's vision statement of maintaining its small-town character and agricultural buffer, and limiting growth.

He said that up to 340 new units in the town on the Staley property could mean a nearly 14% increase in the town's population based on Maryland's average household size of 2.6 people.

He believed the increase would actually be higher, since a lot of people find Walkersville an attractive place to live.

"Ten percent increase in homes is not limiting growth, nor does that mean 14% of the population and 650 vehicles to our roads. Building on farmland is not maintaining the agricultural buffer and none of it maintains our small-town character that most of us love," he said.

Commissioner Mary Ann Brodie-Ennis defended the Staley property proposed rezoning for residential development.

The Planning Commission was proposing minimal development with this plan, she said. The comprehensive plan did not propose changing any other zones to residential.

She said that for the town to make progress and move forward, it must grow. People want amenities, she said, but the town cannot provide them without people living there.

Additionally, she said, the population growth McNiesh referenced wouldn't happen overnight — it would take years.

"A town that doesn't grow is a town that dies," she said.

Bruce Dean, an attorney representing owners of another property called the Stone property, urged the Planning Commission to pursue more residential designations on the draft plan.

The owners of the Stone property asked the town to change their zoning designation from agricultural to medium-density residential, but the property is still zoned agricultural on the draft plan.

While Dean said he understood that Walkersville wanted to pursue limited growth, having only the Staley property zoned for future growth would make it too expensive to live in the town.

Like Brodie-Ennis, he emphasized the long process needed for something to actually be built on the property.

"If no additional development is contemplated ... the town, in my opinion, is effectively boxing itself into a corner where housing unaffordability will continue to skyrocket, where older folks and young families will have limited abilities to stay here ....," he said.

The Planning Commission will review all of the comments on the draft, then approve a plan for the town's burgess and commissioners to review.

The burgess and commissioners will go through their own round of review and public comment before officially approving the comprehensive plan.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel