Editorial: Planning commission taking Freedom plan feedback seriously – Carroll County Times

Carroll County's planning commission legally could have decided to vote to accept the Freedom Area Comprehensive Plan as-is on Tuesday, following a second public hearing and the end of the 60-day public comment period, putting the fate of the plan in the hands of Board of County Commissioners.

That the planning commission decided to hold off until July to determine the next steps for the controversial plan and possibly even longer, according to Chairman Matt Helminiak is a sign that it is carefully considering the large amount of public feedback it has received.

"However [long] it takes to get through all of the comments and for the planning commission to get comfortable with the accepted plan, plus any modifications that they choose to make," Phil Hager, the county's planning director, told us regarding how long the next steps might take.

At this point, it's hard to argue that residents' voices aren't being heard. However, the planning commission and, ultimately, the county commissioners will have to weigh community outcry and criticisms with what they believe are the right steps for the county and the Freedom area, which has long been targeted for future growth.

Jon Kelvey

Public process will continue with Board of Commissioners

Public process will continue with Board of Commissioners (Jon Kelvey)

Many of the arguments we've heard against the Freedom plan during the public review process make sense. Some of the proposed land-use changes seem out of character with surrounding properties. In a few of those situations, we've already seen the planning commission make changes. Pushback regarding the Beatty property off Bennett Road being zoned for commercial while neighboring a residential area, for example, led to a compromise that creates a buffer between where any future commercial development might take place and the existing neighborhood.

We also agree with those who have argued the infrastructure is not in place, especially in regard to roads and traffic, for the future growth the Freedom plan calls for. It is worth noting, though, that the Freedom land-use plan is just that a plan and not a guarantee of those zoning changes or growth.

Separate processes also exist, such as traffic impact studies, when development becomes closer to reality, to address those concerns. In some cases, it's possible developers would be asked to pay for some necessary road improvements to make their plans more viable, although the elephant in the room remains Liberty Road, which would require state funding.

But, in other cases, there does seem to be a bit of NIMBY-ism at play among the Freedom plan's detractors; particularly those who have decried any potential development on land that is currently used for agriculture or is undeveloped. Folks who moved to Eldersburg and surrounding areas during periods of rapid growth in Carroll just a few decades ago surely didn't expect the door to close behind them, did they?

No plan is going to satisfy everyone, but it is clear the members of the planning commission are taking their duty seriously and considering the loads of feedback received. That will hopefully result in a better Freedom plan by the time it eventually reaches the Board of County Commissioners, whenever that may be, and at which point the public should once again have an opportunity to weigh in.

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Editorial: Planning commission taking Freedom plan feedback seriously - Carroll County Times