Leonardtown, MD — The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission is about to embark on the long-anticipated update of the North County Master Plan. The first step–-investigation of a parallel bypass road of Route 5 through Charlotte Hall.
The first community meeting in the master plan process will be Wednesday, May 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Charlotte Hall Library. Grace Mary Brady of the department of Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) said the department hoped to secure use of Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School for future monthly planning meetings since the library meeting room is small and the facility closes at 7:45 p.m.
LUGM Deputy Director Bill Hunt said the county had hired a consultant to look at the feasibility of a Route 5 bypass east of the existing road. Hunt predicted the bypass road wouldn’t be controversial. “We think they (the residents) will be in favor of it,” he said, noting that the terminus of the new road would be Route 6.
Sure to be more controversial is the second phase of the plan development—a look at the need for water and sewer service. Previously, residents have spoken against providing additional sewer service for residential development, although they haven’t opposed it for commercial development.
The North County Town Center Plan will look at Charlotte Hall, New Market, Golden Beach and Mechanicsville. The beginning of the process was made possible by the conclusion of the commission‘s several years of work on the Lexington Park Development District Master Plan and its adoption by the county commissioners earlier this year.
The planning commission is also about to embark on developing zoning regulations to implement the development district plan. The commission has held one work session and has another set for Monday, May 2 at 3 p.m. at the LUGM office. Several more will follow in May. LUGM staff, according to Senior Planner Jeff Jackman, hopes to complete the work by early June looking towards a public hearing by the commission on June 27. Jackman said however that if the commission needs more time that timetable can slip.
According to LUGM Director Phil Shire, the zoning changes include the elimination of several zoning categories and the addition of others. The plan consists of the same boundaries as the previous one. It also includes incorporation of the Navy’s chart for recommended allowable land uses within the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ), which is intended to protect the community in areas of high noise and accident potential.
At the commission’s April 25 meeting, Vice Chairman Shelby Guazzo wanted to know whether the county had agreed to the Navy’s chart. Shire said the county had agreed to it and staff had been using it as a guideline for quite some time. He agreed to provide more information on how the chart came about at the upcoming workshop session.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com