(6/20) Once again, the Comprehensive Plan sits on the shoulders of the Planning Commission for revision. The Town Council decided to honor what Walkersville residents desired by requesting the 115-acre Staley property be removed from future development and kept as it is currently zoned, industrial agriculture.
Staff Liaison Susan Hauver presented the Commission with a series of maps depicting the options they could approve for the Staley property. They included an all-agriculture zoning, a high-density residential/agricultural zoning and a low-density residential/agricultural zoning.
According to Hauver, if the Staley property is zoned all-agriculture (removed from the Plan), the Town would have approximately 20 to 25 units available for future development. These units are limited to larger lots dotted throughout the Town that could possibly be subdivided into smaller lots. If the property is changed to a high-density residential/agricultural zoning, there would be approximately 90 to 110 units. However, Hauver believes that number is optimistic as the land is oddly shaped and is partially on a flood plain. The low-density residential/agricultural zoning could see 75 to 100 units.
Considering the neighboring Longley Green subdivision is a five-acre parcel with 20 homes, meaning there are four units per acre, those numbers sounded high to Commission members. They asked Hauver to attempt to provide them with more accurate estimates as to how many units could be put on the smaller east portion of the Staley property.
In support of "no growth," Member Russell Winch asked why the Commission was dragging its heels. "We have a crystal-clear direction here from Town staff to take this property out of the plan and have no growth," he said. He argued that the Planning Commission has done nothing but argue back and forth hoping that someone would change their vote for the last two years. He was adamant that the Commission take heed of what the Council asked for so the Commission could move onto other important issues.
As before, Vice-Chair Mike Kuster voiced concern over leaving the east portion of the Staley property under industrial zoning. "This property should be agricultural or residential. Leaving it industrial opens it up to uses not compatible to that neighborhood." With the Longley Green townhome community next to it, an industrial zoning would likely have an industrial development such as warehouses and solar panel fields in their back yards.
Chair David Ennis favored the option to change the industrial zoning to high-density residential. He mentioned the parcel already having residential zoning on two sides of it.
The Commission went through three different motions. The first failed and was to turn the industrial portion of the zoning to agricultural, making the entire 115 acres all agricultural. The second was to keep the larger portion west of Glade creek agricultural and it passed. The final vote was to change the industrial zoning to high-density residential and it passed.
The Commission will now send the Comprehensive Plan to a public hearing.
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