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That's when the board unanimously approved the annexation of 73 acres at the intersection of Willow Road and U.S. Route 15, allowing the community, Homewood at Crumland Farms, to expand by 345 units.

The board also unanimously approved the annexation of 43 acres at the intersection of Md. Route 26 and Wormans Mill Road that would allow the construction of a Wegmans grocery and Lowe's hardware stores.

They are the first annexations since Mayor W. Jeff Holtzinger (R) lifted on July 10 a nearly seven-year-long moratorium on extending city boundaries.

The Homewood project has been in the works for three years, and more than 75 people — mostly senior citizens — came to show their support for the increased capacity, as the wait list has ballooned to more than 400 people in recent years.

"My mom's been on the waiting list for a little over a year," Ken Coffey, 53, of Walkersville, said of his 76-year-old mother who lives in North Carolina. "…That's the main reason I'm here. If there were units right now up at Homewood, we'd have her up here. … Having a facility like this for seniors, and for the city and Homewood to have the vision to move it forward, is part of what makes Frederick a great place to live."

Andrew DiPasquale, an attorney for the developer, said the project will bring many benefits, including $180,000 a year to the city's coffers.

Michael Powell, an attorney at Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, asked the board to ensure that water and sewer is awarded to project in the order they were approved.

"An annexation does create rights and obligations to the owner of a property," he said. "…The issue here is if you grant those rights you have little — not zero — but little capacity to take away those rights."

Alderman Donna Kuzemchak (D) said the board will address Powell's concern.

The board then moved on to the annexation to allow the construction of Wegmans and Lowe's.

Bruce Dean, an attorney representing FCD, the project's developer, told the aldermen that FCD had increased its monetary contribution to build a Monocacy Boulevard-U.S. Route 15 interchange to $140,000, and that the development will bring in about $400,000 in annual tax revenue.

"We are very, very eager to be in the City of Frederick," Dean said. "… And it's going to be a great benefit, I think, for Frederick."

No residents spoke on the project.

The developers are asking for changes in zoning, so they must go before the Frederick Board of County Commissioners no sooner than February to determine if construction must wait up to five years.