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Commissioners ask Navy for clearer guidance after townhome proposal near Pax River flight zones
Summary
St. Mary's County commissioners asked Naval Air Station Pax River for clearer guidance for planners after a proposed townhome development near Lexington Park falls inside airport-related safety and noise zones; the Navy said it is providing information but not taking a position while a Department of Defense study is under way.
St. Mary's County commissioners met April 29, 2025, with Naval Air Station Pax River officials to seek clearer guidance for the county Planning Commission after a proposed townhome project near Lexington Park was flagged as falling partly inside aircraft overflight and noise areas.
The issue matters because the property is adjacent to the station’s Accident Potential Zones (APZs) and within established noise contours, information that county planners and developers said they need when deciding whether to approve new housing in the area. Commissioner President Wendy M. Guy said the county wants both a successful naval mission and community reinvestment, adding, “We want you to succeed, but we want our community to grow.”
Anna Pajewski, community planning liaison officer for NAS Patuxent River, told the commissioners the base was not opposing the townhome proposal outside Gate 2 but was providing technical information to help the planning commission make an informed decision. “The navy does not oppose the townhome project outside of Gate 2. We’re just giving you all the information for you all to make the decision whether to approve or disapprove,” Pajewski said.
Pajewski said a Department of Defense update to installations’ compatibility studies (referred to at the meeting as an ACUs/ACUB update) had been delayed earlier in the year by a continuing resolution but had been scheduled to start soon. She said the study should take about six to nine months and could change the APZs; she emphasized that the 2018 noise contour work would not be updated as part of that study.
County officials and a representative of the Planning Commission asked how long they should delay decisions when the base says it will ‘‘study’’ an area. Pajewski said the study timeline would give planners a clearer picture of potential APZ changes but that noise contours would not be revised as part of that update. She and base staff recommended including standard noise-attenuation measures in residential projects in the affected area.
This was a discussion to inform the Planning Commission; the transcript and meeting record show no formal motion or vote by the commissioners on the townhome project at the April 29 meeting. The planning commission will receive the Navy’s written statement and continue its review of the development application with that information in hand.
County and Navy officials said they will maintain the ongoing working relationship and provide technical material to guide local land-use decisions while the DOD study proceeds.
