Building on the Community’s 2018 Vision

Carroll County is undertaking a planning effort to refine how the MD 26 (Liberty Road) and MD 32 (Sykesville Road) commercial corridor in the Eldersburg area grows and functions to meet the needs of the community. The goal is not to create a new plan, but to build upon the community’s established vision from the 2018 Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan and ensure that changes along the corridor continue to support that vision.  

This effort asks important questions: 
• Is development along MD 26 matching what the 2018 Plan envisioned? 
• Are land use designations and zoning still supporting the corridor’s long-term goals? 
• What adjustments, if any, are needed to stay aligned with the community’s established direction? 

To answer these questions, this effort includes two major components: 
1. Small Area Plan Amendment 
2. Creation of an Overlay Zoning District 

Together, these will help shape the future of the Freedom commercial area. 

Why This Project Matters

This project will ensure that the plan and the zoning work together to implement the 2018 vision. 

Community members and property owners have raised questions about whether the land use categories and zoning along MD 26 still meet the needs of the community. With real-world development pressures, safety concerns, and evolving economic trends, this is the right time to revisit the plan. 

Additionally, residents and businesses have expressed interest in creating a stronger identity and sense of place for the Freedom commercial core—one that looks better, works better, and moves people more safely. 

This project will help the County evaluate those concerns and stay on course with the community’s longstanding goals. 

Getting Involved and Project Updates

Updates to the planning process and opportunities to get involved will be posted here. Please check back regularly for updates. If you have any questions, please feel free to email the consultant team at office@dtredevelopment.com.

Introducing the Planning Team

Carroll County has hired a consultant team to lead this planning effort:

Downtown Redevelopment Services (DRS)
KCI Technologies

Working closely with county staff, the consultant team will study the area’s existing conditions, gather input from the public and stakeholders, prepare and compare development scenarios, and develop recommendations for both the plan amendment and the Overlay Zoning District.

The Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of Carroll County Commissioners will provide guidance and oversee the formal public review and consideration process. Freedom area residents, property owners, businesses, and other stakeholders will have multiple opportunities to review the team’s work and help shape the recommendations throughout the project.

About the Plan Amendment

The 2018 Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan established a long-term framework for land use, growth, transportation, infrastructure, economic development, and community character in the Freedom area. Since then, the area and the economic trends that shape it have continued to evolve.

This planning process will revisit the plan’s research and recommendations related to the commercial core of Freedom to determine whether they remain accurate and achievable. Within the project study area, the consultant team hired by the county will review current land-use patterns, market demand, development activity, transportation conditions, infrastructure capacity, redevelopment opportunities, and the public’s priorities. 

The goal is to keep the core vision in place, so it continues to serve the Freedom area, while making focused updates within the study area, as needed. The resulting small area amendment will provide an updated, realistic framework to guide the future here.

Connecting the Vision to Zoning

The Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan and this amendment process lay out the vision, but zoning regulations help determine how that vision is implemented when property is developed or redeveloped. Concurrent with any amendment to the Freedom Community Comprehensive Plan, the consultant team will develop recommendations for an Overlay Zoning District. An overlay district refines the zoning requirements to a defined geographic area while working alongside the existing zoning.

The proposed overlay district will help put the updated vision for the Freedom area into practice. It may establish guidelines for:

- The types and scale of development

- The design and placement of buildings, parking, and entrances

- Landscaping, signs, sidewalks, and connections between properties

- Public spaces and the overall look and feel of the area

The overlay’s boundaries and regulations have not yet been decided. The boundaries will be shaped by the consultant’s analysis, public input, conversations with property and business owners, and review by county officials and staff. The boundaries of the overlay will likely expand beyond the study area map shown above to ensure that commercial development is appropriately buffered from adjacent residential neighborhoods.

Together, the plan amendment and Overlay Zoning District will link the Freedom area’s long-term vision to practical standards for future development.