Leonardtown, MD — The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission has given preliminary site plan approved to a 24-lot subdivision near the intersection of Newtowne Neck Road and Bull Road in Leonardtown. But the decision was not without controversy.

The approval was on a 5-1 vote, with commission member Susan McNeill opposing it. McNeill, who lives close to the proposed Breton Knolls subdivision, said, “It’s a very bad intersection. I can’t vote for this project.” It was also opposed by a half-dozen residents who live in the neighborhood.

Bull Road is the only way in and out of the massive Society Hill development and the Breton Bay Golf and Country Club. It is also one of the entrances into Avemar subdivision. As Bull Road intersects with Newtowne Neck Road, a right turn requires the driver to bear slightly right when approaching the intersection. That then requires the driver to swivel to the left to see traffic on Newtowne Neck Road coming from the proposed entrance to the new subdivision.

The residents who testified at the June 8 public hearing complained at that sight distance at the intersection, along with concerns about impact on their wells, destruction of wildlife habitat, especially for deer, and the change in the character of their rural neighborhood.

The project proposes 24 individual wells and septic systems. Director of Land Use and Growth Management Phil Shire told the planners this was the last of its size that they would see in rural areas because of the Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Preservation Act of 2012 (the septic bill), which limits the number of septic systems to a maximum of seven lots. Shire said that Breton Knolls is grandfathered under the new law.

Commission member Martin Siebert minimized the residents’ concerns for their wells. He said the county is blessed with three rivers flowing under it that provide a plentiful water supply. He noted that while some shallow, hand-dug wells have failed in the past, he said he has no knowledge of any development forcing its neighbors to dig deeper wells.

Regarding protecting their existing view, commission member Merle Evans told the residents that that the commission has always been protective of property rights, not only for the neighbors of a project but also for the developers following zoning regulations.

“My least favorite part of the job is to have to be the bad guys,” Siebert told the residents who were about to hear what they didn’t want to hear. He noted in response to the neighbors’ concerns that the State Highway Administration had approved the entrance for the subdivision which is 600 feet from the Bulls Road/Newtowne Road intersection.

Seibert also noted that the health department had approved the perc test for the 24 lots in the subdivision.

At the request of Planning Commisison Chairman Howard Thompson, Kenneth Wentworth, one of the owners of the property, said he would work with the residents to see if some of their concerns about looking at the backs of new homes could be mitigated by redesign. But he said they were limited because of the location of the approved perc tests and the required drain fields.

With the 5-1 preliminary plan approved, the Department of Land Use and Growth Management can now administratively approve the subdivision’s final plan.

In other business at the June 8 meeting, the commission:

• Delayed the continuance of the public hearing on the Leonardtown Dollar General Store to the June 22nd meeting so that the county roads engineer could attend
• Postponed a hearing on the proposed Cypress Park seven-lot minor subdivision in Wildewood at the request of the developer because all seven commission members weren’t present
• Approved a 7,197-square-foot addition to Kings Christian Academy in Callaway.

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com