St. Mary’s County holds public hearing on Stewart’s Grant PUD amendment; proposal would cut homes, shrink Bay Ridge Road and reserve school seats

St. Mary’s County commissioners on Thursday held a public hearing on an ordinance that would amend the Stewart’s Grant planned unit development (PUD), reduce the maximum number of authorized dwelling units, revise a planned road from four lanes to two, set a binding phasing schedule for build‑out and reserve school seats for the project.

Deputy County Attorney John Sterling Hauser told the commissioners the ordinance as drafted would "update the planned unit development plans," reduce the maximum authorized units on the roughly 400‑acre PUD from 1,122 to 1,084, increase planned open space to account for fewer homes and "revise a portion of the to‑be‑extended Bay Ridge Road from the current multi‑lane design called for in the development plan to [a] revised 2 lane design." Hauser said the Department of Public Works and Transportation supports the narrower configuration, adding it "believes that the smaller... 2‑lane design... will be safer and ultimately a slower traveling road."

Why it matters: the ordinance would also make a finding that countywide school capacity exists to absorb the project’s projected student yield and would reserve those required seats during the project’s build‑out. Hauser said the draft includes a binding phasing schedule that anticipates an average of about 108 dwelling units per year over 10 years after detailed site plans and permitting are under way.

Applicant counsel Paige Wyra and members of the developer team described the timing and financial constraints they say underlie the request. Wyra said the project has been pursued for about 15 years and “this is the first time... they actually have a buyer who’s willing to come in and build houses.” She said the builder (identified in meeting materials as a contract purchaser) expects an annual take‑down schedule that requires infrastructure to be completed up front so lots can be delivered on an annual basis. Wyra told commissioners the up‑front infrastructure — including a force main in Great Mills Road, an upgraded pump station and a water tower sized for the entire project — will require bonding and an initial period when "it's going to be nothing but cash going out" for roughly 18 to 24 months. Wyra and the development team estimated the water and pump station work at roughly $12 million to $17 million.

On school seats, Hauser said the draft asks the county to reserve an initial package of seats the applicant needs to commence planned takedowns. Hauser gave the numbers in the draft as 167 high school seats, 116 middle school seats and 233 elementary seats, and said current countywide capacity figures would still leave substantial residual capacity after that allocation (he cited roughly 372 high school seats, 692 middle school seats and 552 elementary seats remaining under the county’s most recent figures). He said staff will include updated counts for any developments approved between Jan. 1 and July 1 in the staff report for the July 15 decision meeting.

Public commenters raised traffic, safety and notice concerns. William E. Sanner III, who identified himself as the owner of Sanders Lake Sportsman’s Club, said the club has been at its site for roughly 75 years and asked for clarity on buffers and on how school population is calculated. Clifton Whitford, secretary of the Sanders Lake Sportsman’s Club, asked whether a fence, berm or other barrier would be sufficient and warned, "the last thing we want is a stray bullet." Asher Marut, vice president of the club, reiterated that the range is active and noisy and said the club takes safety seriously. A Bay Ridge Estates resident, Michael Brown, said many neighbors were unaware the project is moving forward and asked whether the county could improve neighborhood notice; he said the planned road extension will bisect his neighborhood and asked about roundabouts and other traffic treatments.

Other public comments asked the county to consider: whether the draft creates precedent for other developers seeking seats in advance; earlier letters in the record from the sheriff’s office raising traffic congestion concerns; the county’s ability to staff public safety and emergency services as the area grows; the unspecified placement and phasing of apartment units in the PUD; and whether planned commercial acreage along Great Mills Road was covered in the traffic study.

Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the 10‑year phasing, how "averages" would be applied if fewer units are delivered in a given year, the number and location of entrances (the development team described two main entrances, including an extension from Carver Boulevard and an extension of Bay Ridge Road to Route 5), and whether other jurisdictions use more granular student‑yield factors. Hauser told the board the county currently uses a single student‑yield factor per dwelling unit and that some neighboring counties break yields down by housing type; he said the county’s yield factors are more conservative than some neighbors.

The county staff record will include written comments received to date and any submitted before the written comment deadline. Hauser said staff has received two written comments before the hearing (one from a member of the public and one from the community planning liaison officer at Naval Air Station Patuxent River) and that the written comment period remains open through the close of business on July 1, 2025. Staff will prepare a report summarizing public comment and technical input, and the commission is scheduled to receive that report and hear applicant responses at its regular meeting on July 15, 2025; at that meeting the commission may approve the ordinance, amend it, or give other instructions to staff.

The public hearing record closed in the meeting after the chair noted the seven‑day written comment period; commissioners declined immediate final action and directed staff to compile the record for the July 15 meeting.