Re-imagining urban sprawl

Originally posted in the Gazette
August 19, 2010
http://www.gazette.net/stories/08192010/frednew154010_32533.php

Frederick County wants big changes in southeast corridor.

by Katherine Heerbrandt

Frederick County’s southeast corridor, bordered by two major highways and a national battlefield, may be a shopper’s Mecca, but it can also be a motorist’s nightmare. And its acres of parking lot and shopping centers are distinctive in their lack of distinctiveness, according to Commissioner Kai J. Hagen (D).

"It could be Anywhere, U.S.A.," Hagen said. He and his colleagues believe that the corridor can be re-imagined, reconfigured and redeveloped into a place not only where people want to shop and eat, but where they want to live and work.

Though the vision is not fully fleshed out in the county’s recently adopted Comprehensive Plan (a land-use plan for the future), the framework is in place for big changes.

The county defines the southeast corridor as 1 mile from the Monocacy MARC station, bounded by Grove Road to the north and Md. Route 85 to the west. The land-use designation was changed to "mixed use" in the April 2010 comprehensive plan.

"The successful redevelopment, over time, of the 355/85 corridor is an ultimate win-win, in land-use planning," Hagen said. He is one of two commissioners who approved the Comprehensive Plan who is running for re-election this year.

David P. Gray (R) is the other. Gray told The Gazette in previous interviews that one primary reason he is running for re-election is to ensure that the Comprehensive Plan he helped approve gets carried out.

He and Hagen hope the next Board of County Commissioners will take steps to implement the revised vision of one of Frederick’s busiest areas.

Increasing the density in what appears to be an already over-developed area makes more sense, Hagen said, than allowing growth to happen on "virgin territory" that requires massive investments in infrastructure and services. Focusing on vertical development and more compact design, realigning streets into a grid pattern, expanding the road network for easier access and creating a central square are all possibilities for a more dynamic and vibrant mixed-use corridor between Routes 355 and 85.

"Overall, it makes county services a lot more efficient and makes it easier to support public transportation and bicycle connections," Hagen said.

According to the county’s land-use plan, the 355/85 corridor represents the county’s "most significant opportunity for redevelopment."

"Future corridor and community plan efforts should focus on the unique opportunities this corridor has to integrate mixed-use development, particularly residential, maximize public transit options around the Monocacy MARC and compliment the southern gateway into the city," the plan states. Currently there are few residential areas along the 355/85 corridor. The county’s land-use plan shows 36 acres of undeveloped residential space, with no housing units in the pipeline.

To ease congestion and make it easier to navigate the area, the plan calls for connections, primarily the extension of Spectrum Drive over Interstate 270 to Shockley Drive. The plan also shows possibilities for connections between Crestwood Boulevard over I-270 to Grove Road and Industry Lane.

Hagen is adamant that business owners would not be forced into changes and suffer no penalties or consequences for not participating, but would be offered incentives to get on board with the plan. He points to plans for Frederick’s East Street corridor, with its history and diverse mix, that will help create a new identity for that side of town. He talks about the character of downtown, a successful model for mixed land uses.

Redeveloping the corridor successfully, Hagen said, would reduce sprawl and increase tax revenue much more effectively than building on green, open space.

"We don’t need 14-story buildings, but can give mixed-use and density bonuses," he said. "Two [thousand] to 5,000 people could live in that area over time because they want to, because it will be a desirable place to live."