Planning commission hears Saint Mary's Crossing PUD; residents press traffic and safety concerns, hearing continued to Oct. 22

The Saint Mary's County Planning Commission on Aug. 27 heard a lengthy presentation and public comment on Saint Mary's Crossing, a proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) on roughly 249.48 acres west of Indian Bridge Road. The applicant seeks a floating PUD-R rezoning and a Development Rights and Responsibilities Agreement (DRARA) that together would allow a mix of housing types, a school site donation and related infrastructure.

Project in brief

Applicant materials and the project team presented a concept for up to 717 residential units in a mix of product types (two-bedroom townhomes, three-bedroom rear‑garage townhomes, villa-style duplexes and larger detached ‘‘manor’’ homes). The plan shows two development phases, a donated school parcel described in materials as approximately 26 acres (applicant materials also list an alternate 28‑acre figure that includes a utility easement area), an on-site well and water tower intended to reach the Patapsco/Tapasco aquifer, internal roundabout intersections, a community building and pool, and a proposed crossing of an existing dam/road at a large pond in the Saint Marys River watershed.

Staff, technical and agency points

Bob Boles of the county planning staff introduced the rezoning and DRARA hearings and set out required findings for a PUD under the zoning ordinance. Engineer John Norris (NG & O Engineering) described environmental constraints, a proposed development envelope that preserves roughly 44% of the site in open/buffer areas (or about 56% if the school parcel is included as open land), and a circulation hierarchy of public and private streets. He…