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County commissioner urges residents to participate in St. Mary's County comprehensive plan update
Summary
An unnamed county commissioner told a meeting that turnout at a recent Land Use and Growth Management outreach session in Charlotte Hall was about 12 people and urged residents to use planning processes — not social media — to influence zoning and development decisions.
An unnamed county commissioner urged St. Mary’s County residents at a meeting to take part in the county’s comprehensive plan update and attend public outreach events, saying turnout at a recent Charlotte Hall library session was about 12 people.
The commissioner said public input matters because the comprehensive plan guides how the county incorporates commercial and residential growth, taxes and housing costs. "All these factors have to be incorporated into our comprehensive plan, and now is the ideal time to input onto those," the commissioner said.
The speaker clarified what the county commission can and cannot do on individual projects, saying, "we don't commissioners don't approve projects. We sometimes approve, tax changes or different types of things that can happen. But for the most part, it's through our comprehensive plan, which is being updated by our land use and growth management department right now." The commissioner added that the Land Use and Growth Management department has posted surveys and held sessions to gather public opinion.
On recent outreach, the commissioner said, "I personally participated in the, the ones they had at the libraries. I I went to the 1 at Charlotte Hall and I was amazed there was about 12 people there." The speaker urged residents who oppose particular uses to attend the county forums, the planning commission or the board of appeals rather than relying only on social media: "Please show up. Please let us know. Because social media is easy to get on and just say, put my opinion on there and think that was really powerful. But I still believe the public out outreach, the public coming out and telling us what they want is the most important part."
The commissioner also noted that property owners have rights under current zoning and that neighbors have established avenues to challenge or comment on proposals, including the planning commission and the board of appeals. No formal motion or vote on the comprehensive plan was recorded during the remarks.
The comments close with an appeal for participation during the ongoing update process; the Land Use and Growth Management department is the stated point of contact for surveys and public meetings.
