The Frederick County Council voted Tuesday night against zoning laws that would further restrict development on and around Sugarloaf Mountain.
Supporters of more restrictions offered several amendments that also failed.
Some worry development could encroach on land around the mountain that should be preserved. The Sugarloaf Alliance supported the proposal to create what’s called an “overlay district” on the mountain and surrounding area to restrict development.
“The prohibitions that are in this overlay are for things like sludge pits, private airports, RV storage facilities, industrial waste handling facilities,” Sugarloaf Alliance President Steve Black said.
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Opponents of the overlay say there are already enough restrictions in place through current zoning, and they see it as government overreach and an infringement on personal property rights. They opposed architectural restrictions like those in subdivisions that an overlay could bring.
“Where you have to get approval, architectural approvals, for what the building is going to look like, the size of the building, and those kind of things,” Rocky Mackintosh said. “It’s just not necessary.”
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Stronghold Properties, which owns Sugarloaf Mountain, also opposed the overlay and threatened to shut down the mountain for recreational use if the plan went through. Stronghold issued a statement on its website, reading in part, “Frederick County should remove Stronghold’s property from the Sugarloaf overlay so that Stronghold can continue to care for Sugarloaf Mountain and make this treasured property accessible to the public for decades to come.”
Sugarloaf Alliance also pushed for an amendment banning data centers from being built in the district. A petition gathered more than 1,200 signatures.
“We think that’s exactly the wrong place to put data centers,” Black said.
“Even if somebody wanted to try to do it — and it was tried, it was turned down — the zoning is strong enough right now to be able to handle all of that,” Mackintosh said.
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