(12/28) Town Planner Najila Ahsan introduced Chapters Eight and Nine for the 2025 Comprehensive Plan, titled "Envision Emmitsburg," in December. The goal of the 10-Year Plan is to encapsulate the residents’ vision of what changes should be made to ensure a better Emmitsburg in the future. This has been a main project for the Planning Commission for months.

At previous meetings, the Commission discussed the first seven chapters, which include an introduction, a review of community input and vision, population and housing demographic trends, addressing affordable housing concerns, analyzing the local economy and fiscal health to generate ways to increase revenue in Town, focusing on the environment and natural resources to preserve waterways, vegetative buffers and unique landscapes, detailing land use and community design, and introduction of the growth boundary area (GBA) and the growth opportunity area (GOA).

Chapter Eight discusses community facilities by identifying the overall character of public and semipublic buildings, lands and facilities. More specifically, the chapter begins by addressing educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools, all the way to higher education institutions. It discusses the current conditions of the schools as well as the current and projected capacities.

Member Timothy O'Donnell commented on the need to improve the physical structure of all the Town’s schools, but primarily Emmitsburg Elementary and Catoctin High Schools. "Our kids come away from their experience at the high school feeling like they are second class because the structure is not conducive to its goal," he said. The main reason for this feeling is the lack of windows in the classrooms. Member Dan Garnitz agreed, commenting on how he is a long-time Emmitsburg resident and how the schools have always been "shortchanged."

Chapter Eight also addresses the current condition of the Town's parks (Community, Memorial, Silo Hill playground and North Gate) as well as the Trail at Rainbow Lake. It discusses the Town’s civic spaces, which include the Town Office, Community Center, library and the Seton Center. The Vigilant Hose Company, Police Station and emergency system communications are included under the public safety section of the chapter where healthcare options are also addressed.

Public assistance opportunities such as the food bank, the Catoctin Pregnancy Center and the Seton Center are also addressed in Chapter Eight. The last item discussed is the current and future state of the Town’s water and sewer infrastructure systems.

The end of the chapter outlines the goals that have been discussed at the Commission’s various public workshops. These include implementing enough public safety and emergency services for the future, protecting green spaces, supporting the Town’s vulnerable population by expanding community services and ensuring a sustainable and efficient water system to accommodate future growth.

Ahsan mentioned that the one goal that is still in discussion is strengthening the collaboration between the Town and the Mount for student employment and childcare opportunities.

Resident Diane Walbreaker, who has been active in the Comprehensive Plan’s creation, introduced to the Commission a simple summary of the Plan’s goals, objectives and strategies with the intention of simplifying the entire plan for the public. "These are the things that people can wrap their heads around," she said. The summary was well received by the Commission.

The Commission also discussed Chapter Nine of the Comprehensive Plan, which is the "Municipal Growth" chapter. It analyzes land use and the demands and potential effects on public facilities due to projected residential population growth. Ahsan said she used base data from the 2020 census to determine the projected population numbers. O'Donnell was concerned about using numbers that were gathered during COVID time. He questioned using a baseline that was impacted by COVID because "the students weren’t here and that is a chunk of the population that is not represented."

Nevertheless, Ahsan said the population was expected to grow at a rate of 8.43% through 2040. With these numbers in mind, she said the Town will need to increase its public facilities, primarily its water capacity. "The number of taps that the Town currently has isn’t enough for the projected residential developments."

Since Chapter Nine is still being worked on, there are no goals listed at this time.