Planners from Carroll County and Westminster met last night to discuss the county's proposed comprehensive plan for the area surrounding the city.

The plan will deal with issues such as traffic congestion and water availability.

"This is more or less an informational meeting," Steve Horn, the county's director of planning, told the city's planning and zoning commissioners at the meeting in City Hall. "The decisions the county makes affect the area beyond your boundaries, and you can't divorce the two in any meaningful way."

County and Westminster officials suggested issues that should be addressed in the plan, including traffic in the Route 97 north corridor and along Route 140; water and sewer capabilities; the extension of sidewalks and street lights into the county; railroad access to industrial parks, and the need for more commercially zoned land.

Brenda J. M. Dinne, comprehensive planning manager for the county, said public hearings will be held, likely beginning at the end of May, when residents will be able to voice their concerns.

The county commissioners have not adopted the countywide master plan -- it was tabled in September by the previous board to allow the new board to approve or reject it -- but Horn said that should not affect the Westminster area.

"It would be ideal to have the countywide plan adopted first," he said. "But the commissioners are bogged down in the budget process, and we have two new commissioners who need to absorb what the draft plan says and see if that's the direction they want to go in."

Pub Date: 3/12/99