Leonardtown council adopts 2025 comprehensive land-use plan

The Leonardtown Town Council on April 14 adopted the town's 2025 Comprehensive Land Use Plan by approving Ordinance 227 following a public hearing and committee review.

Town staff told the council the update addressed state review comments and added specificity in several elements, notably housing, water and wastewater capacity, parking, downtown/waterfront strategies and transportation. The staff presentation referenced a series of edits to goals and action items and added a commitment to conduct a fair housing study to implement House Bill 90 guidance.

During the public hearing, resident Gordon Stellaway urged the council to address parking and pedestrian safety, citing a loss of on-street and town-owned parking spaces since the pandemic and the need for safe crosswalks along Maryland Route 5. Stellaway told the council, "I think that parking in Leonardtown is a problem," and asked the town to pursue parking structures and crosswalks in coordination with State Highway Administration.

Council members said the plan now includes parking and connectivity as updated action items and that staff is already exploring technical assistance and strategies for parking, including potential funding paths for a parking structure. Staff also noted the plan reworked the water and wastewater sections to clarify EDU calculations and reorganized the document for clarity.

Motion and vote: A council member moved to approve Ordinance 227 to adopt the 2025 comprehensive land-use plan; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The transcript records vocal "Aye" votes; no roll-call tally was included in the meeting record.

Council members thanked the comprehensive-plan committee and consultant Arnett Muldrow & Associates for work on the update. The plan's implementation table was updated to reflect revised goals and timelines, and staff will follow up on action items for parking, pedestrian connections and housing studies.