After the successful community survey in December, the Planning Commission discussed their definition of "small town feel" in February. The Commission was tasked with determining each member’s opinion; said members include Comprehensive Plan Planner Craig Kologie, Senior Planner of Arro Consulting and Assistant Project Designer Emily Yatron. The Commission has been working on the Comprehensive Plan, a 10-year document that discusses future goals and aspirations of the City, since last year.
Members of the Commission all agreed that a friendly atmosphere with an active community was key for promoting the "small town feel". "To me a small town is about atmosphere, like a vibe more than anything else," said City Council Liaison Chris Tillman. Member Dan Myers agreed, adding that the vibe comes from people living in Taneytown for a long period of time and being active in community activities. "There’s a lot of different things that you can do that will make you feel a part of the Town," he said.
The Carroll Vista subdivision, a large development at the edge of the City, is a good example of a community that keeps to themselves because they have most of the amenities they need. "They have a lot of activities out there on their own, but I think if we had more activities downtown here, I think they would come in," said Myers. Kologie pointed out that Taneytown has a lot of great activities but the City would benefit from finding ways to get a better turnout for the activities. One of his suggestions was that the City have a dedicated newspaper or newsletter to encourage community engagement.
One thing the Commission agreed on was the lack of events, like concerts and street festivals, that could bring people into the downtown area. One common conflict created by these events is the need to shut down main streets, which is not an option since there is no easy way to reroute traffic. Tillman also pointed out that the City doesn't have the open space available in the downtown area to hold events. The City’s parks, which do hold the majority of events, are not conveniently placed to the downtown area either. "To be able to have that kind of festival or something like that in our downtown, will have to wait until we make a bypass," said Tillman.
The problem is the future of a bypass depends on discussions with the Mountain Brook subdivision developer. One of the main reasons City staff has approved the 454-home development so far is because the Developer has agreed to fund the bypass project which is still in the design phase.
Another focal point for this version of the Plan is the connectivity and walkability of the City’s different developments. With so many developments constructed in the last 20 years across so much land, developments are not as accessible to each other as they used to be. The Commission showed a desire to bring back that physical connection as much as is logistically possible.
Other key points discussed included public transportation options, growth management, identifying and protecting groundwater resources, general environmental protection, stronger community investments, housing and community design standards and historic architectural preservation. Kologie and Yatron will take the discussion points from this workshop and morph them with background information into more concentrated concepts for the March workshop.
