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Commissioners set public hearings on Cusick and Goddard rezoning requests after public comment and planning commission review
Summary
Two rezoning requests — from Cusick Properties in Hollywood and the Belden/Goddard property in Great Mills — moved forward: the Cusick item heard and public comment period left open; the Goddard item scheduled for a public hearing April 29 after a 5–2 planning commission vote.
The St. Mary’s County commissioners on Tuesday heard a public hearing record for a rezoning request near Hollywood and scheduled a second rezoning hearing for a Great Mills property.
Cusick Properties (257413 Notch Road) asked to consolidate split land-use and zoning designations from a mix of Rural Preservation and Rural Commerce into a single Rural Commercial Limited designation. County staff said the request reflects a change in lot lines that was not before the commission when the 2010 comprehensive plan and corresponding zoning map were adopted.
Neighbors who spoke opposed the Cusick request on traffic and neighborhood character grounds. Cheryl Hagan, who said she has lived across the street “probably 50 years,” told commissioners the intersection near Maryland Route 235, Clover Hill Road and South Sandgates Road is already dangerous and that more commercial development would increase traffic, noise and crime. Joseph Louis Alvey, another nearby resident, said crashes have thrown cars into buildings at the site in the past and urged denial.
Christopher Longmore, attorney for Cusick Properties, told the board the request is meant to correct a mapping discrepancy: “When the comprehensive plan was adopted, the configuration of the lot lines was 1 way. The lines were then changed. And when the zoning map was adopted effectuating the comprehensive plan, the Board of County Commissioners did not have the new map showing this as 1 lot.” Longmore said the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended the change and that no immediate development is proposed; any future use would require a public concept site plan review.
The public hearing record for the Cusick request remains open through close of business on April 1, 2025; residents may submit written comment by email or mail as announced at the meeting.
Separately, the board accepted staff’s recommendation to schedule a public hearing on a rezoning request for the Belden (Goddard Road) property at 20698 Goddard Road in Great Mills. The applicant seeks to change land use from Rural Preservation to Mixed Use Medium Intensity and to rezone the 8.27-acre site from Rural Preservation District to Medium Intensity Mixed Use (MXM), and add it to the Lexington Park Development District.
Staff noted the Planning Commission held its public hearing on the Goddard application on Feb. 10 and recommended the matter for the commissioners with a 5–2 vote. Commissioners asked about the neighborhood boundaries used in the application and whether the property would become part of the Lexington Park development district; staff said the board will decide whether a development-district boundary change is warranted. Commissioners also raised questions about the density range noted for the MXM designation (presentations listed a density range up to 25 units per acre) and requested more detail at the public hearing.
The board authorized staff to schedule the Goddard public hearing for April 29, 2025, with the exact time to be determined by staff.
