[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6488705,"mediaKeyId","5653814-7a90779c08811c235716f66940e5e359","parentId",5653814,"title","Planning commission hears water‑sewer amendments and warns of new state rules for battery storage","audioSeconds",505,"startMs",11669000,"endMs",12174000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5653814-7a90779c08811c235716f66940e5e359&start=11669&end=12174","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5653814-7a90779c08811c235716f66940e5e359/thumbnail_11669000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6488705/Westminster/Carroll-County/Maryland/Planning-commission-hears-watersewer-amendments-and-warns-of-new-state-rules-for-battery-storage","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6488705-cb86e4d8f20bca09e977b21591d5cf36/orig.mp4?Expires=1770612529&Signature=gXF4pOLAK4BDV5ur0Iah7v2KeEXdnVWIuwjfI2noqvF2lMIJhNtN2zMPJXAR37gNaykcyElaeTImamuaOg7o0dUpvZHF-Z-fL-854LDswEQYZF8CWLGlray7eH0ysWL8tJvizWU~5JKGAwlVkZlU9rd9F-mrUFj4-8yggeDJ3Pl0tcILuwpDu66XTjKlVJr3vIHgfiRxcccoLxD-YswrX655LyI3QwYy3HZi9tBBnFk3duv3mWcPK14OQfi~VrZEpqQpS4aStCt6ktdFgx-U~0TxZtzkjB~PmuSgjmv93qtevlYzb0v2ai2cgF0WqhI0~RmqPLZ9cA7XwVcVPjuMzw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Westminster, Maryland","date","2025-08-22T02:07:54.383Z","article","Staff briefed the Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission on several ongoing planning items at the Aug. 21 meeting, including spring 2025 amendments to the county water and sewer plan, status of master plan work groups, and proposed code changes related to solar and energy storage.

The county adopted the spring 2025 water and sewer amendment at its meeting earlier the same day; staff said the amendment will be forwarded to the Maryland Department of the Environment for final review. The amendment includes specific service area updates (staff listed communities in the record) and a fall 2025 amendment that will cover additional towns.

Planning staff reported progress on the county master‑plan work groups for housing, economy and agriculture. The agriculture group has completed meetings; housing and economy work groups were in their final sessions. Staff said work‑group findings will be reported to the planning commission in November and that commission members had representatives participating in each work group.

Staff also warned commissioners about a recent state law that requires certain renewable energy and storage facilities to be treated as principal permitted uses in many zoning districts. A staff presentation summarized battery energy storage systems (BESS) as containerized lithium‑ion battery arrays that store and release power to the grid. Planning staff said the state law went into effect July 1 and that some elements — setbacks, landscape buffering and design controls — remain the county’s focus while the state may preempt local rules in coming sessions.

Staff advised commissioners that the county has already received inquiries from property owners and companies seeking to site battery systems and that the department is drafting local code language to address setbacks, screening and other development conditions while monitoring state preemption activity.

Commissioners asked for continued updates. Staff said they intend to circulate the work‑group reports and follow up on solar‑code amendments and adequate‑public‑facilities revisions in coming months.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","August 21,2025 Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Staff updated the commission on spring 2025 water‑and‑sewer amendments and master‑plan work groups; staff also warned that a new state Renewable Energy Act and related guidance could require battery energy storage systems be permitted across zoning districts.","taxTitle","Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland","taxId",71632,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6488712,"Westminster planning panel conditionally approves Chick‑fil‑A site plan amid traffic, neighborhood concerns",4755,6312000,11067000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5653814-7a90779c08811c235716f66940e5e359&start=6312&end=11067","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5653814-7a90779c08811c235716f66940e5e359/thumbnail_6312000.jpg","/articles/6488712/Westminster/Carroll-County/Maryland/Westminster-planning-panel-conditionally-approves-ChickfilA-site-plan-amid-traffic-neighborhood-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6488712-86f6211f94571c64918c50eeec6c1551/orig.mp4?Expires=1770612529&Signature=cQ-NThy-7d5~GbqAOhA4CXP~K-StgYKh4pBE40CKBG~jTFfpKjhAg0WcyILdN41sUpniPZ8y-FChtiWlcCtbNwB~C8DFBWEkQibz0GdTG-PyRm~Jf6dotPDuhE7mSL6-xkWfzmuKLAZ7i6X82~bMjnzeLw5nIU0Q9CSka06o6I2zkik28Mauk5bKwjZ6XRBQxxnU6vHrMJI30bDyCVHgTQ78NpTvI9BSugoK6zV9ZIsFNRjJ-R~-pHLtQlBsrwsCFd2rsfphI2tkQYleGJVTfyTBP2zgQXVaZ~R0Q8SWa6H4X2dp4TvVukR57s09PfVfBFykWagtV5qyAjYLNJnWnA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission voted to conditionally approve site development plan S230001 for a Chick‑fil‑A on Aug. 21, on a motion that links final permits to completion of the Market Street extension and other conditions.

Commissioners and residents focused much of the hearing on traffic modeling and whether Market Street Extended will reduce cut‑through traffic on Old Baltimore Road, part of the neighborhood locally known as the Tree Streets. Residents described worries about increased congestion, driveway conflicts and safety from new restaurant traffic.

The commission's conditional approval requires the applicant to address all outstanding city and county comments before submitting signature‑set plans; to record a boundary line adjustment or subdivision in Carroll County land records before final signature‑set approval; and to start construction of Market Street beyond grading before the city issues building permits for the Chick‑fil‑A, with Market Street completed and accepted by the Carroll County Board of Commissioners before issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the restaurant.

Residents urged stronger mitigation. ‘‘Please don’t vote for this yet. Make them dead end Old Baltimore,’’ one resident told the commission, arguing the only way to preserve the neighborhood’s safety is to eliminate the new connection. Sandy Weber, who said she lives about 150 feet from the planned site, told the panel the proposed parking and drive‑through lanes will put headlights and activity ‘‘directly at me and all of my neighbors.’’

Traffic consultants and county staff told commissioners the traffic impact study was prepared to be conservative. Mark, the traffic consultant on the project, said the study used prior diversion work and that exhibit maps show the trips expected to shift onto Market Street. ‘‘We did diversion studies 15 years ago,’’ he said, and those older analyses were used as a basis for the current exhibits. Applicant representative David Haynie said the numbers are forecasts, not ‘‘concrete number[s],’’ and that the study examined peak‑hour movements during typical school days and weekend peaks.

Several residents pressed for numerical clarity. Emily Fox, who identified herself as a survivor of a near‑fatal crash, told the commission she reviewed the traffic study and said, ‘‘The study openly admits that the project will create a failing intersection,’’ citing delays the report attributes to certain turning movements at nearby intersections.

County public‑works director Doug Brown told the commission that any proposal to permanently close (dead‑end) Old Baltimore Road would require a separate county process, additional study of public safety and participation by a majority of affected property owners and final action by the Carroll County Board of Commissioners.

Commission discussion repeatedly returned to the role of the Market Street extension. Commissioners said the extension has long been planned to provide a higher‑capacity north–south connection that should reduce cut‑through trips in the Tree Streets. One commissioner summarized the practical effect: with Market Street extended and the existing roundabout in place, drivers seeking faster through movements are more likely to use Market Street than local residential streets.

After discussion, a commissioner made a motion to conditionally approve S230001 based on the staff report dated Aug. 21, 2025, with the three conditions described to the record. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.

The commission’s approval ties the city building approvals for the Chick‑fil‑A to construction milestones on the county‑led Market Street extension. County staff confirmed the county needs property from the site to complete the connection and said if the applicant were to abandon the project the county would need to renegotiate property acquisition to complete Market Street.

Next steps: the applicant must resolve outstanding city and county comments and complete the boundary‑adjustment requirement before final site plan signature; building‑permit issuance will be withheld until Market Street construction has at least begun beyond grading and the road ultimately is accepted by the Board of County Commissioners prior to occupancy.","The Westminster Planning and Zoning Commission voted to conditionally approve site development plan S230001 for a Chick‑fil‑A tied to construction of Market Street extension, after hours of questioning about traffic impacts on Old Baltimore Road and the Tree Streets neighborhood.","actionData","errors"]

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Planning commission hears water‑sewer amendments and warns of new state rules for battery storage

Westminster planning panel conditionally approves Chick‑fil‑A site plan amid traffic, neighborhood concerns