Here are the top take-a-ways from the county planning and zoning meeting:

Transportation Projects in Manchester/Hampstead

The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission were given an update on projects in the Manchester and Hampstead area for the county’s Transportation Master Plan.

County staff recommends 6 road projects in this area to be added to the master plan.  They include four neighborhood connections and two state highway projects.

The state highway projects are:

1. Just south of Hampstead growth boundary from Baltimore County Line to Wolf Hill Dr.

      2.  Just North of Manchester at Ebb Val Rd to PA line

-Neither project has been identified as a priority for the county at this time.

 The four planned neighborhood connections

1. Boxwood Dr. Extended South/Roberts Field to Trenton Mill Rd.
2. Boxwood Dr. Extended North/Lower Beckleysville Rd to Upper Beckleysville Rd

–Both projects are intended to provide an alternative north/south route to Main Street and give improved access and connectivity.

3. Doss Garland Dr. Extended which will extend Doss Garland Dr. to Houkesville Rd.
4. Southwestern Ave Extended.  This project will extend Southwestern Ave to Rt. 30. It will improve access for existing and future residents. 

-The last two projects are a part of planned residential subdivisions and the Southwestern Extension is one of the most promising improvements of the Hampstead/Manchester area.

Staff also recommended 6 roads to be eliminated from the transportation master plan in the Hampstead/Manchester area.

1. Manchester Bypass- The zoning commission pushed back on this and it was agreed to be left in the plan.  It is worth noting that according to staff, the town of Manchester also wanted it to remain in the master plan.
2. Hampstead Streetscape – This is being removed because it is completed
3. Locust Street Extension – No longer viable
4. Panther Dr Extension – No longer viable
5. Swiper Rd Extension – No longer viable
6. Upper Ford Ln – The town of Hampstead would rather it be a pedestrian trail instead of a street.

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Economic Land Use Study Findings to date

Presentations from County Director of Planning Lynda Eisenberg and WGI’s Courtney Powell included some initial results from the public open house as to what draws people to Carroll County.  The findings were: 

-Local businesses 

-Outdoor recreation, such as wineries, farmers markets, u pick farms

-Libraries

-Farms

-Schools and College

-Forested and Preserved Areas

They also reported on what the public saw as Constraints and Gaps.  The findings were:

-Plans for the younger generation

-Affordable/workforce housing

-Cultural and Environmental impacts

-Keep up with evolving technology

-Lack of infrastructure

-Consider transit systems and networks

-Tedious Development process

The next steps for the project are: 

-Developing draft documents analyzing current zoning and land use patterns

-Assessing trends/ projections of demographic and economic data

-Mapping of strategic areas

-Rating of priority greenfield and redevelopment areas

-Peer benchmarking assessment

-Conduct interviews with key leadership members

-Present project update to the BOCC

-Host second public open house