City Council grants PUD to developer

May 29, 2002|by SCOTT BUTKI

scottb@herald-mail.com

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday narrowly agreed to grant a special zoning designation to a company that wants to build a 706-unit residential development on property behind the Centre at Hagerstown.

The council voted 3-2 to grant a Planned Unit Development, or PUD, for the proposed Hager's Crossing development. A PUD typically allows higher-density development on a property than would be allowed under existing zoning.

The PUD would allow The Rachuba Group, which is based in Eldersburg, Md., to build single-family homes, townhouses and quadplexes in the development, city Economic Development Coordinator Deborah Everhart said.

Council members Lewis C. Metzner, N. Linn Hendershot and Carol N. Moller voted to approve the PUD. Council members Kristin B. Aleshire and Penny May Nigh voted against it.

The proposed development would include 203 single-family homes, 261 townhouses and 242 units in four-unit apartment buildings called quadplexes, city documents said.

The development would be built on about 164 acres behind the shopping center, which is near the point where U.S. 40 crosses over Interstate 81.

A final council vote on the proposal is scheduled for June 18, Mayor William Breichner said.

The council has authority over the project because The Rachuba Group needed the PUD to develop the property as proposed.

After the meeting, Aleshire and Nigh said they voted against the project because it includes too many apartments.

Aleshire said about 60 percent of the total housing units in the city of Hagerstown are rental units. The city needs more single-family homes, not more apartments, he said. This project does not move the city in the right direction on taking care of that problem, he said.

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