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Commissioners approve rezoning for 20698 Goddard Road in Great Mills despite two no votes
Summary
The board approved changing the land-use and zoning designations for a Great Mills property from rural preservation to mixed-use medium intensity and adding it to the Lexington Park Development District; two commissioners voted against moving ahead before the comprehensive plan update.
St. Mary’s County commissioners voted May 13 to reclassify the property at 20698 Goddard Road in Great Mills from Rural Preservation to Mixed Use Medium Intensity and to include the parcel within the Lexington Park Development District master plan maps.
Courtney Jenkins, deputy director of the Department of Land Use and Growth Management, summarized the application: amend the 2010 comprehensive plan land-use map, change the official zoning map from Rural Preservation to MXM (Medium Intensity Mixed Use), and add the whole parcel to the Lexington Park Development District. Jenkins said the planning commission recommended approval on Feb. 24 by a 5–2 vote, the county held a public hearing April 29 that lasted about 24 minutes, and the file includes one speaker opposed and one applicant representative in favor.
Commissioners asked whether the request needed to wait for the pending comprehensive-plan update; Jenkins said the property owner elected to proceed now rather than wait. Two commissioners stated they would vote against the request: one said the change could wait for the comp-plan update and expressed concern that Lexington Park Development District was already large; another cited stormwater-management concerns related to substantial contour changes on the property’s east corner and the potential for flooding. Other commissioners supported the rezoning, noting future site-specific plans would still require planning commission review.
A motion to approve the comprehensive-plan amendment, the Lexington Park Development District map change, and the zoning map amendment carried after a roll-call vote: Ostro (No), Alderson (Yes), Hewitt (No), Guy (Yes). The motion directed staff to prepare findings of fact and final ordinances consistent with the decision.
The decision gives the property owner the zoning and land-use designation that enables future development consistent with MXM zoning; any development proposals will still be subject to subsequent site-plan and stormwater review processes.
