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St. Mary—s commissioners OK public hearing to consider allowing daycare use in resource conservation overlay
Summary
The Commissioners authorized a public hearing and agreed to submit a proposed zoning-text change to the Maryland Critical Area Commission that would allow nonmedical day care (use type 28) in the county—s Resource Conservation Area (RCA) overlay, limited to reuse of existing structures and subject to state review.
The Commissioners of St. Mary—s County on July 29 authorized a public hearing and the county—s submission of a proposed zoning-text change that would allow nonmedical day care (use type 28) in the Resource Conservation Area (RCA) critical-area overlay.
The text amendment, staff said, is a limited refinement intended to permit day care uses inside existing structures where appropriate. "We were approached a few months ago by Chris Longmore on behalf of his client, the vestry of All Saints Church," Jessica Andritz, director of the Department of Land Use and Growth Management, told commissioners. "We are seeking approval to send the application up that would allow this particular use type ... to be a permitted use in the RCA or the Resource Conservation Area overlay district."
Andritz and deputy county attorney John Sterling Hauser said the change would not allow new standalone day-care buildings across the RCA, but would instead enable reuse or accessory uses inside already-legal structures. "It is a limited text amendment," Andritz said, adding the county would present the change to the state as a "refinement" rather than an open-ended amendment. She described the specific project that prompted the request as a Head Start program proposed by All Saints Episcopal Church in Avenue and noted the draft ordinance would apply countywide if approved.
Commissioners asked about precedent and effect. Andritz said this appeared to be the county—s first request of this exact nature and that other jurisdictions had considered similar refinements to allow adaptive reuse of existing buildings for child care. She noted the church property in question is a "legal nonconforming use as a church, and this particular use type would be permitted should the text amendment get approved."
Two motions followed. Commissioner Mike Alderson moved to authorize a public hearing on Aug. 26, 2025, on text 250112; the motion passed. Alderson then moved to authorize staff to submit the proposed ordinance to the Maryland Critical Area Commission (CAC) for review and approval; that motion also passed. Andritz told the board the CAC would likely provide staff comments in mid-September with a full commission action possible by Oct. 1.
The county will now schedule the public hearing and forward the draft ordinance to the state commission for technical review. If the CAC or county later requires adjustments, those would be handled in subsequent review processes.
