Hagerstown officials are moving ahead with plans to annex the Clein Farm property after addressing concerns brought up at a recent public hearing.
At the Aug. 11 Mayor and City Council work session, staff reviewed the annexation and asked the council if they wanted to keep going. The council decided to move forward, and a resolution is expected to come up for a vote on Aug. 25.
City officials said the Clein family came to Hagerstown for annexation after spending a long time trying to work with Washington County on development issues for the property.
Staff said the family could not make enough progress with the county to move development forward, so they decided to start the annexation process with the city.
One of the issues discussed was how the property is classified in Washington County’s water and sewer master plan. A service-area designation would apply to the property, and the process would be required to change it.
Staff explained that the Washington County planning office manages the classification. Once a property goes through the city’s development process, the county usually handles moving it to a higher service tier.
Eastern Boulevard was also discussed as part of the annexation.
Staff addressed earlier concerns about whether the county would have planned the widening of Eastern Boulevard differently if they had known the property might be annexed into Hagerstown.
City officials said Eastern Boulevard is a regional road that serves both city and county residents, with about 22,000 vehicles using it each day. They said transportation needs in the area extend beyond the city limits.
School capacity was another big concern.
Staff pointed out that Hagerstown does not have a public facilities rule for schools. This means Washington County’s school capacity rules would not apply the same way once the property is annexed and goes through the city’s review process.
However, city officials stressed that development would not start right away.
Since the zoning requested through annexation does not match the property’s current county zoning, the property cannot be developed for five years after annexation unless Washington County gives special approval.
Staff estimated that the property would not add more students until at least 2032, or possibly later depending on the market.
Officials said this timeline would give the school system several years to plan for any increase in students from future development.
The discussion also covered current high school capacity across Washington County.
Council members shared data showing there are about 1,496 open high school seats in the county, not counting Barbara Ingram School for the Arts and Washington County Technical High School.
At the same time, South Hagerstown High School had 178 students over capacity, and North Hagerstown High School had 56 students over capacity. Meanwhile, Smithsburg, Clear Spring, Boonsboro and Williamsport high schools were under capacity.
Council members wondered if future redistricting could help spread out students before more school space is added.
City staff also responded to earlier claims that Hagerstown had not communicated with Washington County about the annexation.
Officials said the city had made several attempts to speak with county staff and that Hagerstown remains open to discussing the project.
Staff also noted that the Clein family initiated the annexation request.
Officials said the city is not forcing the property into Hagerstown and that the owners knew about the five-year development delay when they came to the city.
With the council telling staff to move forward, the proposed annexation is expected to come back for a formal vote on Aug. 25.
