Planning Commission directs staff to revise St. Mary's County water and sewer plan, flags map corrections and outstanding disputes

The St. Mary's County Planning Commission on Oct. 22, 2007 directed staff to repackage the July 2007 draft comprehensive water and sewer plan (CWSP) with the edits and map corrections discussed at the public hearing and to forward the revised draft to the Board of County Commissioners for its public hearing.

The decision follows a post‑hearing staff report summarizing testimony from the Aug. 27 public hearing, written comments received during the two‑week record period, and recommended refinements. Jeff (Department of Land Use and Growth Management), the staff presenter, told the commission that “the team is my department, the St. Mary's County Department of Land Use and Growth Management, plus the Metropolitan Commission, plus the Office on Environmental Health, plus the Town of Leonardtown.”

Why it matters: the CWSP assigns sewer and water service categories that affect where public infrastructure can be built and whether properties can connect to public systems. Changes can enable or limit development, correct health hazards, and determine who pays for extensions and off‑site infrastructure.

Staff report and major corrections

Staff presented a three‑part post‑hearing report: (1) a summary of oral testimony from the Aug. 27 hearing with recommended responses, (2) a summary of written comments received after the hearing, and (3) the team’s recommended edits to the draft maps and narrative before the county commissioners’ hearing. Commissioners worked through the report and asked staff to incorporate numerous map corrections and clarifications before transmission.

Key map and text corrections the commission accepted for staff to include in the repackaged draft…