centreville planning commission work session minutes

Centreville Planning Commission Work Session June 1, 2022 7:00 p.m.

MINUTES

The June 1, 2022 Centreville Planning Commission work session was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Kara Voight, Chair;

in the Liberty Building, second floor meeting room. The following members and staff were present: Kara Voight, Chair;

Tim Zuella, Vice Chair; Mitchell Delaney, Secretary; Pat Fox and Nancy Emerick, Members; Steven K. Kline, Town Council President; Chris Jakubiak, Town Planner; Paige Tilghman, Economic Development Manager; and Betty Jean Hall, Administrative Assistant.

Citizen Comment No citizens provided comments.

Discussion a. Comprehensive Plan Discussion – Chris Jakubiak

• Mr. Jakubiak provided Draft Chapter VI. Land Use that was distributed in member packets.

• Mr. Jakubiak stated the Land Use chapter is in many respects one of the most important parts of any town

plan. How the land is used is how things are affected, like water and sewer, community facilities, traffic, school enrollment and environmental degradation.

• The draft Municipal Growth chapter was printed and distributed during the work session. Because of

time constraints it was not reviewed during the work session but will be on the next meeting agenda.

• Mr. Jakubiak offered to field questions about the Land Use chapter instead of reviewing the entire

document paragraph by paragraph.

• Ms. Fox questioned the wording of the second bullet point under Objectives on page 4 of the draft. This

bullet will be changed to read: To guide future neighborhoods into patterns that encourage an intergenerational Centreville community that features a variety of housing types.

• The first bullet point at the top of page 3 should be changed to reflect the neighborhood of Providence

Farms to the east.

• Ms. Voight requested the PUD designation on the Future Land Use Map be removed from the property

located at 408 Chesterfield Avenue, otherwise known as the Carter Farm. This property is currently zoned TND by the Town of Centreville Zoning Map and will continue to be TND unless a proposed PUD overlay is approved by the Planning Commission.

• Mr. Jakubiak encouraged the Planning Commission to support residential development in and around

downtown and to deal with a specific issue which he believes is a potential land use conflict that is just under the surface. This issue is having the C-3 designation along Water Street, Railroad Avenue and coming in to the east side of Pennsylvania Avenue. If there is a C-3 intense commercial use right in the center of traditional neighborhoods, the continual investment and maintenance of quality of life could

affect the town negatively. Changing Water Street and Railroad Avenue to C-2 and the east side of Pennsylvania Avenue to CBD would be the preferred use.

• Ms. Tilghman stated it seems there is an opportunity to help redirect commercial growth in town as it is

shown in the draft land use chapter. The possible future annexation of the land from Queen Anne’s County High and Middle Schools to the Rt 301 corridor is an area that could support commercial activity.

The small downtown cannot handle more traffic and development as it stands.

• Mr. Jakubiak stated the current Comprehensive plan depicts that corridor as mixed-use and a town

business park.

• Ms. Voight commented the other advantage to suggesting the conversion of the property on east

Pennsylvania Avenue to CBD is that it allows for Main Street funding.

• Discussion continued in reference to the pros and cons of the Water Street and Railroad Avenue C-3 area

being changed to CBD. Mr. Jakubiak will look into this further.

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• Mr. Jakubiak called the Commissioners’ attention to the paragraph title Promote the Economic and

Cultural Vitality of Downtown. This paragraph suggests the Town consider incentives to promote converting the upstairs of the buildings to housing units or to simply invest in these older buildings. A long-term investment by the Town would mean not benefitting from the tax instantly but it adds employment and residents to the area.

• Mr. Jakubiak questioned if the Commissioners would agree to condominiums being constructed on Banjo

Lane in the future. If there is no demand for ground floor commercial space why should the Town prevent the benefits that could come about from creating a walkable community where people could walk to and support downtown restaurants and businesses.

• Chapter III. Municipal Growth will be discussed at the next meeting on June 15. The draft of Chapter III

was distributed during the work session this evening.

Citizen Comment No citizens provided comments.

Council Member Report Mr. Kline reported the Town Council will hold a public hearing for Ordinance 07-2022 – Zoning Text Amendment – Convenience Stores on Thursday, June 23. During the June 2 meeting, the Council will specify what they are seeking more clarity on before moving forward with Growth Allocation conditions.

Adjournment The June 1, 2022 Planning Commission work session adjourned at 8:47 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Betty Jean Hall Administrative Assistant Page 2 of 2