Charles County Director of Planning and Growth Management Steve Kaii-Ziegler answers questions as the Charles County Planning Commission considers revisions to the proposed Watershed Conservation District Monday night.
La Plata, MD – The Charles County Planning Commission has a long way to go in considering possible changes to the proposed Watershed Conservation District (WCD) in the western part of the county. Their first opportunity to discuss tweaks to the controversial plan came Monday, March 27, and it quickly became evident that shaping and considering changes won’t be easy and will likely take a while.
“We have 60 days to make revisions,” Planning Commission Chairperson Angela Sherard said. “You are not under any pressure to get this done by this evening.”
Commission Member Wayne Magoon told the newest members of the planning commission, Vicki Merckel and Richard Viohl, upon showing a slide of the original Tier Map, that what they were looking at is much different than what they are considering now.
“That is what we sent forward,” Magoon said, looking at the map previously approved by the planning commission. “It looks nothing like that now. I don’t remember or don’t know how those other things got in there. We specifically asked about density and Mr. [Charles] Rice, [county planner] said, ‘You don’t have to worry about that. The heavy lifting has already been done. It’s one in 10 [zoned one housing unit per 10 acres].’ I don’t know how it got to one and 20.”
“This comprehensive plan process was a little different than the previous one,” Sherard said. “The General Assembly gave the county commissioners the authority to change anything about the comprehensive plan they wanted to. This is how the changes you were saying were made, the commissioners had the authority to do that. The Maryland Department of Planning did make suggestions. There were a number of those we did include. But when I looked at the timeline, the one in 20 concept was originally introduced in 1998. So it may seem like a new thing, but it has been around for a while. The one in 10 was what we voted on, but finally, the commissioners did make those changes and they’re our bosses.”
“They’re in charge of the county and they get to do those things, but I just want people in the public to understand and our new members to understand, this is what we sent forward and now it looks nothing like that now,” Magoon stated. “What we’re dealing with right now is very different than what we sent. Take it for what it is. There were 27 items discussed and we had votes on, and 27 of those were overturned at one meeting.”
The biggest challenge for the group came when discussion turned to allowing residents who wanted to give their sons, daughters or grandchildren a piece of land to build on. That restriction caused the most hue and cry among citizens during the public hearings. Such a proposal brings its own set of challenges, according to Charles County Director of Planning and Growth Management Steve Kaii-Ziegler.
“The question is, do you want to take into account what the existing zoning is?” Kaii-Ziegler asked, noting the property is currently zoned one unit per 10 acres. “If we are to contemplate subdivisions up to a number of children, you would be in effect, creating minor subdivisions. In that, we would be allowing a significant increase in density.”
Planning Director Steve Ball said the response from citizens during and following the public hearing overwhelmed the county’s inbox. A significant number of the thousands of responses received were forms filled out. Many were duplicates, he said. He noted that the county will be altering the process in the future in an effort to streamline comments and avoid duplication.
Throughout the marathon session, Sherard had to shush citizens in the audience bent on adding their remarks to the discussion.
“The public has had three public hearings, opportunities to speak on this matter,” Sherard admonished. “This is our time to discuss and propose changes. We cannot have you interfering with county business,” she added. “If you need to talk, we ask you to please go out in the hallway.”
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com