APPROVE THE SUGARLOAF PLAN

We, the undersigned call on the Frederick County Council to adopt the Planning Commission’s recommended Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan as a long-term land use management document. 

·       We support the Plan's long-term purpose of preserving the character of Sugarloaf Mountain, its surrounding area, and the precious natural resources of the region.

·       We support the Plan’s boundary as recommended to the Frederick County Council by the Frederick County Planning Commission in July 2022, which includes all the area to the west of I-270 from the Monocacy National Battlefield to the Montgomery County line. This boundary continues the County’s commitment to its long-held delineation: intensive residential, commercial and industrial development should continue to be limited to the east of I-270, and the bucolic character of agricultural and conservation lands should continue to be preserved to the west of I-270. 

·       We support the application of the Overlay District within the entire boundary area in order to meet the county’s long-range vision for the preservation and protection of the natural resources and rural landscape of the Sugarloaf Area and the vicinity of the nearby Monocacy National Battlefield.

·      We oppose the language on page 54 of the draft Plan suggesting that amendments to the Plan boundary or Overlay may be made in the short-term. We support the Livable Frederick vision that County Council-approved Area Plans should guide Frederick County’s long-term land use planning.