Planning commission backs rezoning, concept plan for Pax River Village Center; townhomes approval contingent on county sign-off

The St. Mary's County Planning Commission on May 5 recommended that county commissioners rezone portions of the Pax River Village Center outside the Air Installations Compatible Use Zones (AICUZ/APZ) from Limited Commercial/Industrial (LCI) and Mixed‑Use Medium (MXM) to Mixed‑Use High (MXH), and conditionally approved a concept site plan for a 91‑unit townhouse development pending that rezoning.

The recommendation on the map amendment passed on a 4‑3 roll call; the concept site plan vote was 6‑1 in favor with the conditions that required any state or county road improvements be concurrent with issuance of certificates of occupancy and that the commissioners adopt the requested map amendments before final site-plan approval.

The change affects four parcels, which developer Atlantic Realty says total about 25 acres and sit along MD‑235 (3 Notch Road), FDR Boulevard and North Shangri La in Lexington Park, near Gate 2 of NAS Patuxent River. Atlantic Realty president David Ross told the commission the company demolished roughly 90,000 square feet of dated buildings and has invested about $45 million in phase 1 of the redevelopment, including a new ALDI and facade/site upgrades. Attorney Chris Longmore, representing the applicant, said the rezoning request applies only to the portions of the properties outside the AICUZ/APZ line.

Why it matters: The applicant seeks the MXH designation to allow the housing density and mix of uses shown on the concept plan and to match adjacent parcels already zoned MXH. Under the MXM and MXH rules cited in the hearing, base densities and the ability to add units with transfer‑of‑development‑rights (TDRs) differ: participants noted MXM typically allows up to 5 dwelling units per acre (to 25 with TDRs) while MXH starts at 7 dwelling units per acre (to 30 with TDRs). For the…