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comprehensive plan summary

Other January 18, 2023 · 6 page(s)

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In Brief
: The Draft Update to the Centreville
Comprehensive Plan
A comprehensive (comp) plan is a guide to a town’s development. Maryland law requires towns to have comp plans and
to update them every 10 years. It’s the local Planning Commission’s job to prepare a comp plan and this a summary of
the Centreville Planning Commission’s Public Hearing Draft. Once adopted by the Centreville Town Council, the updated
plan would replace the Town’s current Plan which was adopted in 2009. The Planning Commission will hold a Public
Hearing on Jan. 18th at 7:00 PM in the Liberty Building, 2nd Floor, at 107 N. Liberty Street. The Commission invites you to
attend and to share your thoughts with us. The full plan and related information is available on the Town’s website at:
https://www.townofcentreville.org/planning/project/centreville-comprehensive-plan
Just because comp plans are required by law doesn’t mean they need to be boring. This update is an
energetic statement of Centreville’s goals and recommendations for a vibrant future through the year
2040! Please read it and attend the Public Hearing.
New Households
Over the last 20 years, new residents and families moved to Centreville creating the neighborhoods of Symphony Village,
Northbrook, Providence Farm, and the Willows. The updated Comp Plan foresees a slowing down in the pace of growth
over the next 20 years, but still recommends preparing for about 714 new families by 2040. This would bring the number
of households in Centreville to about 2,560 and our resident population to about 6,670 in about 20 years’ time. Any
development would be contingent on there being sufficient public water and sewer capacity.
Household Projections: 2020 - 2040
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
-
2000 2010 2020 2030 2040
Page 1 of 6

Future Neighborhoods
Within the Current Town Limits
The map here shows where future neighborhoods would be. Each parcel of land highlighted in yellow has long been
planned for housing. However, the draft Plan recommends that these future neighborhoods be developed with a variety
of housing types to foster inter-generational communities and that they be arranged with parks, open spaces, and
institutions that benefit the overall Town. To help bring this about, the Plan recommends that Centreville’s standards and
procedures for approving new residential developments be improved. The Plan also recommends growth management
tools to ensure that infrastructure, streets, and community services are adequate before approvals are granted.
3
1
Future Neighborhoods within 2
D
M
the Current Town Boundaries
North Brook
Courthouse
Green MD
305
3 M
1 D
M D
2 P
Fa
ro
rm
vidence 3
0 4
Symphony
Village
U.S.
301
Page 2 of 6

Futute Neighborhoods within the Planned Growth Area
The new Plan would keep Centreville’s planned Growth Area, the area into which the Town could expand. However, as
shown on the map below, it would reduce the amount of land available for housing (yellow) in favor of land preservation
(green). Also, as a pre-condition of annexation into Centreville, future housing developments would comply with the
Plan’s sustainability, energy efficiency, open space, and reforestation recommendations.
The green areas on the map would be preserved as forests and community open spaces. In this way, a network of forests
and parks would grow over time as the Growth Area developed.
Beyond the future edges of Centreville, a greenbelt of farms and forests would always be preserved.
Page 3 of 6

Economic Development
One of the draft Plan’s main goals is to develop the local economy and the
commercial tax base, and thus ensure the strong and resilient fiscal health of the
Town. A strong commercial base reduces dependency on residential property
taxes and fees to fund essential services.
The new Plan recommends that the Town’s central business district (CBD)
zoning, which favors walkable retail and office uses, be extended outside of the
traditional Downtown eastward along Railroad Avenue to Little Hut Drive. The
Plan also proposes a new Town Business Park at the MD 304 / U.S. 301
interchange including the existing Tidewater Direct site. (This is shown on the
previous map in purple.) The Plan also holds open the possibility of commercial
development at the MD 213 / U.S. 301 interchange. (The location for this is
shown on the previous map as a purple circle.)
Community Facilities
Water and Sewerage
The new Plan recommends that the Town’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) be
modernized and expanded and that the municipal water system be continually
upgraded to maintain high water quality resources. Preliminary engineering for the
WWTP is well underway and the Town is actively seeking necessary grant funding.
Centreville cannot meet the needs of its in-town development potential without
expanding the WWTP and a modernized WWTP with enhanced technology, for
removing pollutants from discharged water, is required whether the Town grows or
not.
Public Schools, Libraries, and other Community Facilities
Based on planned growth, the local elementary schools and the middle school would remain under capacity in 2040 but
enrollment in Queen Anne’s County High School may be at capacity. The Queen Anne’s County Board of Education
tracks enrollment and programs upgrades based on population trends inside and outside of Centreville. The Library is
expected to remain adequately sized through 2040. The Centreville police force would need to gradually expand to keep
levels of service consistent over time. Regarding parks, the Plan recommends that any new development provide at least
1,000 square feet of new parkland per household.
Existing and Future Streets
The Plan maps new and upgraded collector and primary streets aimed at building long-term relief for congestion through
the center of Town. It recommends that developers conduct traffic studies, build collector streets, and improve traffic
conditions before development. It recommends that a traffic operational study be done and continually updated in
coordination with the State Highway Administration to address congestion.
Page 4 of 6

Downtown
Downtown Centreville, the central business
district, is the institutional center for the Town and
Queen Anne’s County. Its perseveration is central
to the identify and long-term development of
Centreville. The Plan recommends adopting
incentives to encourage real estate investments in
the use and preservation of historic buildings. It
recommends zoning changes to promote
downtown residences and it recommends
architectural and design standards to ensure that
new buildings are compatible with the historic
qualities of the Downtown.
Natural Resources
The Plan recommends not only preserving existing forests, stream buffers, and wetlands but also providing room for
these areas to expand over time. This is especially important considering sea level rise which is expanding areas subject
to flooding. The new Plan seeks to connect the Town together as it grows with open spaces and recommends a larger
greenway and trail plan.
The Plan recommends adopting a GeneralTown Greenway and Park Plan
wellhead protection ordinance to Nickerson Park
North Brook,
ensure the long term safety of Courthouse Green HOA Mini Park, Existing
drinking water. It recommends
Wharf Neighborhood Park
that new impervious surface areas Park
Existing
be minimized and that developers
Approx.
adhere to low impact Alignment, Mill Proposed
Stream Park Trail
development practices. The Plan
Natural Resource Area Park
recommends that a town forestry
Mill Stream
program be created to increase Park Existing
the tree canopy, maintain the Proposed
quality of trees on public
property. It recommends that the Public School
YMCA
Planning Commission’s standards
for street trees be adopted. Trails
Existing Trail
Approx. Alignment, Programmed for
Mill Stream ParkTrail, Phase II Construction
Symphony
Village, Planned
HOA
Greenways
Page 5 of 6

Conclusion
The goals and recommendations in the complete
draft Comprehensive Plan: 2040 are organized into
seven chapters, each focusing on a major functional
or policy area. These are: Municipal Growth, Natural
Environment, Water Resources, Land Use, Housing,
Transportation, and Community Facilities. The last
chapter of the new draft Plan is about
Implementation and includes recommendations on
land use regulations and interjurisdictional
coordination.
Town planning is a continuous process guided by an
adopted comprehensive plan, and the primary
responsibility for planning falls to the Planning
Commission. The Centreville Planning Commission
routinely reviews site development plans and new
subdivision plats, and it has the authority to lead more detailed studies and plans and advise the Town Council
and Town citizens on changes to zoning and other regulations, annexations, and capital improvements. As
part of its work, the Planning Commission intends to conduct yearly assessments of growth and development
and prepare a progress report about implementation of the new Comprehensive Plan.
The Planning Commission encourages residents and business owners to attend its meetings and participate in
the Town’s ongoing efforts to responsibly guide Centreville’s development toward the greatest good possible.
The Commission’s standing monthly meeting is the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Liberty
Building.
For now, we invite you to review the full Comp Plan report which is available on the
Town’s website at:
https://www.townofcentreville.org/planning/project/centreville-comprehensive-plan
…and attend the Planning Commission’s Public Hearing on January 18, 2023, 7:00 PM
in the Liberty Building at 107 N. Liberty Street.
Page 6 of 6