(2/3) Emmitsburg Commissioner Joe Ritz submitted the Planning Commission's 2019 report to the Board of Commissioners at their February 3 meeting, including the status of Dunkin' Donuts and Rutter's stores.

According to the report, the planners approved the site plan for the future doughnut shop, to be located at 103 Silo Hill Parkway.

The project consists of converting the Silo Hill Car Wash into a 1,860 square-foot fast food restaurant with drive-through service. The conversion will entail eliminating two of the eastern self-service washing bays and renovating the remaining automatic and two self-service washing bays.

Town Planner Zach Gulden subsequently told the News-Journal Dunkin' picked up their zoning permit February 4, and that, "They're going to be getting the (county) building permit as soon as possible, then submit bids for construction. As soon as that happens, they could start (building). They have all our approvals."

The Planning Commission also approved a forest conservation plan, a site plan, and an improvement plan for a proposed Rutter's convenience store to be located at 10201 Taneytown Road.

The proposal entails the construction of an 8,380 square-foot store which will include seven gasoline fuel islands and five diesel fuel bays, as well as a truck scale. Additionally, there will be 28 short-term, tractor-trailer parking spaces and 59 passenger vehicle spaces.

The developers will also construct a sewer pump station intended to serve up to 500 single-family homes, and the project will include 50 acres of commercial development (retail and restaurants), in addition to the convenience store.

Gulden subsequently stated, "We are waiting for their zoning permit application. They are still going through the county review process. We have not heard back (at this point)."

While the Dunkin' and Rutter’s proposals appear to be moving forward, a proposal to construct an 80-room hotel near the existing Sleep Inn may be a different matter. Gulden said he has not heard from the hotel’s developer, Pradeep Saini, since December 16.

The town planner stated the unnamed hotel would be sited on a two-acre tract of land on Silo Hill Parkway and would be a higher-end hotel (according to Saini) than the Sleep Inn. He said he doubted the two hotels would mutually suffer as a result of their relative locations because they would be marketing to two differing economic brackets. However, others question that logic.

To entice commercial development, the town recently approved the offering of discounted tap fees as an incentive. According to these incentives, a project entailing the use of more than 30 taps can be entitled to a five-year payment plan for the amount they would owe and receive a ten-percent discount on what would have been their total taps bill.