[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6061360,"mediaKeyId","3283934-b744960961cc40ff0c625cbaf2388372","parentId",3283934,"title","Planning commission approves Dunkin' Donuts concept site plan for Laurel Glen; road improvements required before occupancy","audioSeconds",454,"startMs",3977000,"endMs",4431000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3283934-b744960961cc40ff0c625cbaf2388372&start=3977&end=4431","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3283934-b744960961cc40ff0c625cbaf2388372/thumbnail_3977000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6061360/St-Marys-County/Maryland/Planning-commission-approves-Dunkin-Donuts-concept-site-plan-for-Laurel-Glen-road-improvements-required-before-occupancy","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6061360-885f628d8dcadef4e7b6267e4fac366d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771160826&Signature=m-ipJXup8aoxe8jomgDq3BZ8iWZJFfLORAMS0NW6hjHTz4Qlt7H9Ca0g3ri~l22zmE-Eg9WWBxYho40ZdBrcgMx6VxDsPJ-vmNqpd0GnI0OLVu3XtUTuq65yq0UqNAxsEeoPpXSTAAph5g867vJHLQqdQNpN5rvUSW9Y~yHZUsDepnIkJ-wRpNvCYAizxg5bMRjPQV0TVp6w25FeAuD9RYl8vLZ1SiLSt8u0cg~e7fuKrgfxU4PQdVq~S4xz70YvXAv4iFGcubf06NXcoxKunOgGJ6c1tgKjD2f~DMbZWniIii2aJQBBx45tPSg~33GuqrNDR8NHN08Dsye1laj3rg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","St. Mary's County, MD","date","2025-05-13T19:05:43.29Z","article","The Saint Mary's County Planning Commission on May 12 approved concept site plan CSP 24-0428 to build a new 1,861-square-foot Dunkin' Donuts with 704 square feet of outdoor seating at the Laurel Glen Shopping Center in California (community of California within Saint Mary's County).

Staff recommended approval after finding the proposal meets applicable design standards and zoning requirements for the MXH and PUD-CP zones; the commission approved the concept with a condition that any required state or county road improvements be completed concurrently with issuance of the certificate of occupancy.

Planner Shawn Leigh Blasco presented the staff report and listed the standards used to evaluate the concept site plan, citing Section 51.3 (specific regulation and standards), Schedule 32.1 (development standards), Chapter 63 (landscaping and buffer yards), Chapter 64 (off-street parking and loading), and Chapter 71 (resource protection). Blasco entered the staff report into the hearing record as \"Exhibit 2.\"

The proposal calls for demolition of a portion of an underused parking area to create a standalone fast-food building with a drive-through. Applicant representative Anthony Olexon said the design is intended to improve circulation at the site and to revitalize underused pad space. \"It'll be a win-win situation,\" Olexon said.

Blasco told the commission that the site is in a primary growth area and that the proposal meets the minimum outdoor seating requirement (600 square feet) and other locational and design criteria under the comprehensive zoning ordinance. The staff report concluded that the concept plan is consistent with the comprehensive plan and applicable functional plans and that public facilities are adequate to serve the development as required by Section 70.2.2.

During the hearing the applicant said the landlord, identified in the record as Mr. Brown, has coordinated with the proposal and that tenants in the shopping center had been consulted. No members of the public offered testimony at the hearing.

A motion to approve the concept site plan carried unanimously. The commission recorded Ayes from Patty Robrecht, Lynn Delahaye, Judy Philias, Connor Loughran, Jay Cisenau and Joe Van Kirk. The approval included the condition that any required roadway improvements by the state or county must be concurrent with issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the Dunkin' Donuts building.

The commission's approval is for the concept site plan only; the applicant will need to return for additional site-plan reviews, permitting and any state access approvals before construction. Road or access work that involves State Highway Administration permits will require coordination with that agency and any required right-of-way or utility work to be completed before occupancy.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","5/12/25 Planning Commission for St. Mary's County","oneSentenceSummary","The Saint Mary's County Planning Commission on May 12 approved concept site plan CSP 24-0428 to build a new 1,861-square-foot Dunkin' Donuts with 704 square feet of outdoor seating at the Laurel Glen Shopping Center in California.","taxTitle","St. Mary's County, Maryland","taxId",51086,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6061366,"Planning commission approves updated Saint Mary's County transportation plan, sends it to county commissioners",3646,105000,3751000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3283934-b744960961cc40ff0c625cbaf2388372&start=105&end=3751","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3283934-b744960961cc40ff0c625cbaf2388372/thumbnail_105000.jpg","/articles/6061366/St-Marys-County/Maryland/Planning-commission-approves-updated-Saint-Marys-County-transportation-plan-sends-it-to-county-commissioners","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6061366-a47285ce52bf670697019e6c4ea37514/orig.mp4?Expires=1771160826&Signature=N2-luXpix4zJhH3X4T5YDzj1jqyxxwM9JNP~nFG9MlGXOkXUpTBd6orLr8qumWmCsWSg-0~0Umc7vI8yNIRHkHj7y8~DO56nK24Q3OAoH00DfG3ON5j3j-7YXCQPOeaPiAcUCTY4cdruovb2MRJFnI9EGuDsOcdhsm9zmY~xwtqnStSO~0gfFiqzavcmXu17Mi8cIbsdJJJgqL19IJECd8QeZ5H2q11GDc403EMz9vv4maQARC3wBeg7DksE58w3g8GdOoW1qoSkA8GPEIxXpeY7LuGKZKxd2Qc7emQJ7Ulys~rif8P8AUmkuLnM4iPoNf64QywDZSV8E~dRsCNKDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Saint Mary's County Planning Commission on May 12 approved an updated county transportation plan and voted to present the plan to the county commissioners for consideration.

The plan, prepared with consultant Brutus and Associates and reflecting data collected in 2022, lays out a 20-year program through 2045 of road, safety, bicycle, pedestrian and transit projects across the county and identifies state-owned corridors where capacity and safety problems are projected to worsen if no action is taken.

Why it matters: The planning commission and Public Works staff said projects in the plan are required for eligibility for certain state funding and that many of the county's most congested and dangerous links are state highways where county participation, coordination and funding commitments will be necessary.

Director of the Department of Public Works and Transportation Jim Gotch told the commission the report draws from the county's Transportation Advisory Committee, the Calvert–St. Mary’s Metropolitan Planning Organization and public comments. \"Much of this data we collected was 2022,\" Gotch said, adding that the county manages about 1,625 roads, roughly 1,300 lane miles, and has increased its pavement overlay budget from about $3 million to $6 million per year.

The plan ranks routes that are projected to fail under a no-build scenario; Gotch said most of those failing links are state highways, while a smaller number of county roads also appear on the list. He singled out Route 235, Route 5, Maryland Route 4, Great Mills Road (Route 246) and Chancellors Run Road (Route 237) as corridors with high crash counts and recurring congestion. \"The roads that are congested just so happen to be the same roads that are the most unsafe,\" Gotch said.

Staff and the consultant identified nearly 60 miles of roadway that the plan labels among the county's most dangerous; the presentation reported that those corridors account for the majority of killed-or-seriously-injured crashes countywide. The plan recommends measures including roundabouts, shoulder widening, traffic-calming features, upgraded signage and smart signal technology, and emphasizes creating parallel bicycle corridors and pedestrian linkages to steer non-motorized travel off high-crash routes.

Gotch highlighted local projects the county is advancing or studying: extending FDR Boulevard to provide relief to Route 235 and improve the intersection at FDR and Route 235 with a full signal; creating a fourth leg of Wildwood Parkway to connect to FDR Boulevard; and a series of roundabouts proposed for county intersections. He said the county expects to complete the FDR-to-Pegg Road extension next summer and that the first county-owned traffic signal will be installed as part of that work and maintained by the state under lease.

The plan also describes transit and airport items. The county's transportation system (STS) averaged close to 16,000 trips in winter months, staff said, and commissioners are considering a fare-free pilot starting July 1; Gotch said the county expects roughly a 30% increase in trips if fares are suspended, which could raise the county's state funding eligibility. At the airport, staff discussed runway paving, an airport master-plan update and exploratory efforts to join an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) network and add charging infrastructure.

Commission members asked about how the plan's priorities were set. Staff described a multi-step process: the consultant collected public comments and traffic data, the Transportation Advisory Committee prioritized projects, and Public Works and other county departments reviewed and refined the recommendations. Staff stressed that some projects require right-of-way acquisitions or utility relocations before construction can proceed.

Planning Commission member Patty Robrecht moved to accept the plan and forward it to the county commissioners; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously on roll call. The commission's recorded vote included Ayes from Patty Robrecht, Lynn Delahaye, Judy Philias, Connor Loughran, Jay Cisenau and Joe Van Kirk.

The planning commission's approval does not itself appropriate construction funding. The presentation and staff comments repeatedly noted that many of the needed improvements are on state highways and will require coordination with State Highway Administration and additional funding, and that projects will be placed on the county's annual state-priority letter for consideration.

The transportation plan and supporting documents will be submitted to the county commissioners for their review and any next steps on funding, permitting and coordination with state and regional partners.","The Saint Mary's County Planning Commission on May 12 approved an updated county transportation plan and voted to present the plan to the county commissioners for consideration.","actionData","errors"]

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Planning commission approves Dunkin' Donuts concept site plan for Laurel Glen; road improvements required before occupancy

Planning commission approves updated Saint Mary's County transportation plan, sends it to county commissioners