La Plata, MD – In the first of three work sessions by the Charles County Planning Commission to discuss the proposed Comprehensive Plan, members entered into a debate over aspects of the plan and where the county goes from here. The session was held Monday, Aug. 10.
The newest board member, Angela Sherard, said it is imperative the community know where they are coming from as a government body.
“Identifying who we are before we go onward is important, because it will reflect our values,” Sherard warned. “Are we going toward tourism? Because if we are, we need to make those environmental concerns really strong. It helps me know we’re were going and how we’re going to get there.
“I hear we’re a bedroom community,” she added. “Are we or are we not? We need to be careful, considerate and know what we’re doing. Twenty-five years is a long way out, but we need to get it right.”
“From a planner’s point of view, those are all important questions and they came up again and again in the process of putting this plan together,” Planning Director Steve Ball said. “A lot of those questions we believe, were translated into the plan and into the tier map.
“Answering some of those questions as to who we are, we have a strong conservation plan and I think the plan is coordinated,” he added. “We also have a strong interest in economic development and transit-oriented development. If those questions aren’t answered, then we need to explore them further as a board.
“You can’t get good answers to those questions without engaging the public,” Ball said. “The public will definitely be a key factor.”
“It is very difficult to have a community that is uniformly one land type or the other,” Planning and Growth Management Director Peter Aluotto said. “The way the county is laid out geographically, the county is laid out along the transportation corridor. We are restrained by the fact that we have environmentally sensitive areas. Parts of the county are not suitable for septic. If you start layering on all those restrictions, there’s not a lot of room for development to take place.
“Everything is related,” Aluotto said. “We have very expensive housing here. On one hand, we want affordable housing and on the other, we want to preserve the environment. It’s a complex puzzle. It’s a trade-off, but you kind of have to climb that mountain.”
“With 60 percent of our residents working outside of the county, it’s a real challenge we have here,” Commission Member Nancy Sherzler said. “We are a bedroom community.”
“If you’re asking if we have areas that would allow economic growth, the answer is yes,” Ball said. “We’re allowing for the opportunity to occur. I think you also have to invest in it. We are starting to invest in it.”
“We do want to make it so more people can work inside the county and compete with some of the other counties,” said member Joan Jones. “Indian Head is a town that has just not grown even though it is an incorporated town. The question is, what can we do to support growth in Indian Head or is it left to the town? If we continue on an economic development route, can we sustain what we have achieved?”
“We need to give teeth to what we have to make sure we are absolutely protecting our resources,” Sherard said. “While we’re growing, we want to make sure we’re growing in the right direction.
“This is an exciting time for Charles County,” she added. “We have so many amenities here. We can be a great county.”
“For Charles County, what is our center of gravity?” Robin Barnes asked. “For St. Mary’s County, it’s Pax River and NavAir. What do we have here that is going to start generating that economic development?”
“From my perspective, a large part of that has to do with our natural environment,” Ball responded. “It is an asset unique to Charles County when you look at what people are attracted to. Just this past weekend we had people from Washington, DC who just come out for a bike ride.
“Those historic and natural resources, those are economic opportunities,” he added. “Things related to outdoor recreation: fishing and boating. In lieu of having a single economic business or a big corporation, those are some opportunities.”
The planning commission will meet twice more this month and are planning a public hearing for the community’s input later in August.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com