MINUTES OF PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING

January 11, 2007

A meeting of the Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission was held at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall on the evening of January 11, 2007.  Chairperson Bair; Members Albert, Graham, and Palmer; City Attorney Walsh; Manager of Planning and Development Davis; City Planner Fisher; County Planner Graf; and members of the public were present.

The minutes of the December 14, 2006 meeting were approved on motion of Ms. Graham.

Mr. Davis presented a revised Development Plan for Local Map Amendment No. 06 – 1 at the Village of Meadow Creek.  Mr. Davis recalled that an earlier development plan had been given a favorable recommendation by the Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission.  Subsequent to the public hearing before The Mayor and Common Council, the applicant made revisions to the plan that collectively require a new recommendation by the Commission.  Mr. Davis summarized that the new plan reduces the number of entrances on Meadow Creek Drive from three to two.  He noted that a small increase in total square footage is also proposed.  He stated that staff supports a favorable recommendation on the revised plan.  The Commission then incorporated the entire record and all previous discussions on LMA No. 06 – 1 into the present deliberation.  Mr. Clark Shaffer, the applicant’s attorney, confirmed the reduction in entrances and the increase in square footage of the buildings.  In response to a question from Ms. Graham, Mr. Jonathan Mayers (a representative of the applicant) claimed that his traffic consultant is satisfied with the adequacy of the new entrance scheme for emergency services.  The applicant’s architect then described the façade treatments and screening walls that would be used.  Mr. Shaffer discussed the challenge associated with arranging the western pad sites due to the fixed location of the first entrance.  He stated that the final configuration of the pad site just east of the first entrance was particularly uncertain, with possibilities ranging from an 8,000 square foot day care facility to a 2,500 square foot drive-through bank.  After a brief discussion, the Commission forwarded Local Map Amendment No. 06 – 1 and the revised Development Plan to The Mayor and Common Council with a favorable recommendation.

Mr. Davis updated the Commission on the Maryland Department of the Environment’s review of the City’s Water Supply Capacity Management Plan.  Mr. Graf stated that the County’s latest Concurrency Management Report is available on the internet.  Mr. Walsh noted that The Mayor and Common Council had adopted a decision denying the 3rd Amended Development Plan for Wakefield Valley.

Mr. Ray Perkins of 649 Spring Meadow Drive expressed concern that MD 140 and Meadow Creek Drive do not have sufficient capacity to handle the traffic generated by the shopping center.  He requested that an agreement to expand the capacity of the roadways be put in place before the Development Plan is approved.  Mr. Davis responded that the Site Plan would not be approved without the condition that necessary roadway capacity improvements be completed.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:33 p.m. on motion of Ms. Graham.

Respectfully submitted,

ERIK N. FISHER
SECRETARY