FREDERICK, MD – The Frederick Board of County Commissioners has completed the Growth Management Initiative launched in January 2008 to re-write the Countywide Comprehensive Plan, strengthen and modernize the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) and update the Zoning Ordinance.

The County Comprehensive Plan establishes a blueprint for future residential, commercial and business development by focusing growth in traditional community growth centers while preserving viable farmland open spaces and protecting natural resources as well as historic and cultural places.

Board President Jan Gardner said, “The Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning Maps, the Water and Sewer Maps, and the updates to the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance are now all completed.  It has been a huge task for our Division of Planning and Frederick County Planning Commission, and they have done a superb job to keep this plan on track.  The plan is a complete re-write that is beautifully organized, easy to understand, and will be much easier to update as we focus on corridor or area plans in the future.  Most importantly, this plan protects and promotes a high quality of life for Frederick County that will leave a lasting, positive legacy for the future.  It is the most substantive work product and accomplishment of any Board of County Commissioners.”        

The County Comprehensive Plan fully accommodates projected population growth over the next 20 years by providing an adequate housing pipeline, new land for residential development and a plan for additional infill and re-development.  The plan also anticipates and adequately plans for new commercial, industrial and business development with over 3,000 acres of vacant land designated for business development. 

The plan supports growth in and around the municipalities and the traditional growth areas because land designated for growth is staged for future annexation and public water and sewer.  The plan provides municipalities with a greater opportunity to collaborate with the county on planning for future growth.

New additions to the County Comprehensive Plan include designation of 100,000 acres as Priority Preservation Areas to ensure a legacy of agriculture for future generations and a means of honoring the county’s agricultural heritage.  These areas will be targeted for permanent preservation through county and state agricultural land preservation programs.  

Also new to the plan is the Water Resources Element which links the availability of water and sewer with planned growth areas to make sure water and sewer capacity is adequate and is properly planned to avoid over-allocation. 

Another first is the Green Infrastructure Plan to ensure protection of the county’s natural resources and habitat and improved mapping of green infrastructure.  This section is important to make sure the county has clean waterways, clean air and a sustainable environment.  The Stream Buffer Ordinance supports the plan and protects county water bodies from negative impacts by establishing variable setbacks for new development.

The plan also addresses workforce housing, adds an institutional designation and establishes a growth management staging strategy and integrated design elements. 

The Division of Planning found through community outreach that residents saw an opportunity to accomplish a progressive and thoughtful growth plan through the Comprehensive Plan update.  Residents also told the Commissioners that the county needed to do a better job of linking infrastructure to the pace of development, which the update and revisions to the school and transportation provisions in the APFO accomplish.  Residents also expressed a desire to retain a viable agricultural community, protect open space and natural resources and place value on protecting historic and cultural places and amenities.  

Extensive public outreach during work on the plan included an on-line survey that generated over 1,100 responses; 21 meetings with boards, commissions and community groups;  12 open houses which drew over 500 people, and mailings to over 16,000 property owners about proposed changes in plan designation and also informed over 3,000 owners of proposed zoning changes.  The Planning Commission held two hearings and 34 workshops, while the Commissioners held two hearings and over 20 workshops. 

For more information and to view the plan and maps on-line visit www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/planning.