(12/16) Just when everyone thought it was safe to come out following the successful petition drive by the leaders of Evasion Thurmont, to bring the proposed annex 16.7 acres of farmland into town limits and rezone it high-density residential development, at their December 15 meeting, the Thurmont Planning and Zoning Commissions was presented a concept plan by Mountain gate Park LLC for a new a new townhouse community to be located off Moser Road.
The presentation of the concept plan was to get preliminary feedback on the feasibly of the development from the Commission, no action was taken for or against the proposed development.
The community, to be called Oak Forest, will be comprised of 36 single family attached units, i.e., townhouses, and will built upon 5 acres immediately north of the Thurmont Library and adjacent to the 47 townhouses in Fair Oaks community off of Moser Road.
The land upon which the development is proposed is currently zoned R-5 Residential.
R-5 Residential zoning is intended to provide for high density attached single family dwelling on small lots, multi-family dwelling structures, and generally, a variety of residential building types and open spaces to create attractive planned communities.
According to the developer, the minimum width of each townhouse will be 20 feet and each unit will occupy 1,800 square feet. There shall be no less then 3 units, nor more then 6 units per row, with 30 feet separating each set of townhouses. As the development will be adjacent to wetland, basements will be prohibited in the townhomes.
As in other developments within town limits, all maintenance of common areas, including landscaping, mowing, snow removal, road and sidewalk repairs, and storm water management will be the responsibility of the development’s homeowners’
Association.
The town will be responsible for providing electrical, water and sewer services as well as trash removal and police coverage.
The developer proposed setting aside slightly under 2 acres of the development as common open space, with 50% dedicated to usable recreational purposes. Per the concept plan, the townhouses will surround a common area, which will serve as the community’s common park.
According to town staff, a traffic impact study will not be required for the development, however a storm water management plan will have to be permitted.
Public comment on the proposed development can in decidedly against the project. Louise Shafer objected to the project because it would be placed on a wetland and she feared it would only exacerbate the water drainage issues residents along Moser Road are dealing with. Building on a wetland, Shafer said, goes counter to the town’s Master Plan and the land should be protected.
Protecting the wetlands that the development would be built upon was also foremost on the mind of Ruth Haney, as well as the ‘Town housing’ of Thurmont.
Jennifer Speak, who recently bought a home on Moser Road, expressed frustration that the woods behind her house would be replaced by townhouses, and with the addition of more townhouses, the small town feeling of Thurmont that drew her here would end.
Jennifer’s husband echoed his wife’s comments, bud added that the land around his house, and on the land the development will be placed is always spongy, and the sump pump in his basement is constantly running. The uprooting of the trees and their replacement with roads and impervious surfaces will only make his property a swamp, he said.
Kenneth Floor expressed concerns over traffic – he said the volume of traffic was bad right now and with many speeders. He pointed out that the intersection of Moser Road and Frederick Road already is frequently backed up, and the development will only make it worse.
In the end , the Commission made a few recommendation to the developer and now awaits a formal plan to formally starts it s review.
