Leonardtown, MD — Development activity in St. Mary’s County slowed in 2015. Only 323 building permits were issued during the year, the second lowest number since 2007, when 1,080 permits were issued just before the building bubble burst. The 2015 number is 16 percent less than the previous year.
In 2015 six new major subdivisions were created along with 22 minor subdivisions. Included in all of those subdivisions were 223 dwelling units. But in 2015 no new building permits were issued for multi-family dwellings.
The statistics were imbedded in the draft 2015 Annual Report of the St. Mary’s County Planning Commission, a document required by state law. The report concludes that the development pattern, including how much growth is taking place in designated growth areas versus non-growth or rural areas, is “in accordance with the 2010 comprehensive plan.”
Of the new subdivisions created in 2015, 80 percent were located in growth areas. But the state has also created a category called Priority Funding Areas (*PFA) in which state funding is targeted because of the existence of infrastructure, such as water and sewer The state does not recognize all areas that the county considers to be growth areas as also Priority Funding Areas. Only 76.4 percent of growth was in those Priority Funding Areas.
According to the report, the local goal is “to direct at least 70 percent of growth in the PFA and growth areas and that not more than 30 percent be permitted outside of the PFA and rural preservation district.”
In 2015, 209,000 square feet of non-residential floor area was permitted, which is below the 326,000 the year before, but still more robust that most of the years since the recession recovery. The highest total since 2007 occurred in 2010 when 451,000 square feet was permitted.
The annual report still shows projections of robust population growth in the county. The July 1, 2014 population of 110,531 is predicted to swell to 125,.150 by 2020 and then 148.750 by 2030 and 163,350 by 2040.
The county has an annual growth cap of 1.9 percent which has not been nearly reached in recent years. The cap has to be reaffirmed by the county commissioners every year.
The planning commission report shows not much activity with Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) in 2015, with 147.45 acres added to the 3.205.4 acres previously preserved under the program.
The county also has an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) requiring enough school spaces to accommodate new development. According to the report. “There were no restrictions resulting from APFO in the PFAs during the 2015 reporting period. For each proposed development, the Department of Land Use and Growth Management verifies the adequacy of public facilities as required by Chapter 20 of the zoning ordinance.”
In spite of the slowing development activity, the report shows a very busy year for the planning commission as they wound up work on the Lexington Park Development District Master Plan, which required a number of work sessions. They also had several contentious cases, including the Hollywood Commercial Center. They gathered for 33 meetings that lasted a total of 65.66 hours.
The 54-page draft report was presented to the planning commission at its April 25 meeting and will be formalized and sent on to the state for approval.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com
