Planning commission recommends eight Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation districts

The St. Mary's County Planning Commission on April 23 voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of County Commissioners forward eight petitions to the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) for establishment of Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Districts (ALPDs).

The planning commission adopted a resolution recommending that the county forward applications for MALPF districts for properties owned by Timothy and Jacqueline White; Luther Wolf (two parcels); Aloysius and Joan Raley; Malcolm E. Goode Jr.; Terry Lee Russell; Gary and Lisa O'Neil; and Leon Barubi. The commission authorized the chair to sign the resolution conveying the recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

The recommendation follows staff and advisory-board review. Donna Sasser, appearing as agent for multiple applicants, summarized each petition and the parcel information, saying the properties generally met state criteria for ALPDs because soils met minimum class 1'3 thresholds and many parcels are contiguous to existing easements. For example, she said the White property comprised 73 acres on Tax Map 46 Parcel 229; one Luther Wolf parcel was 20.44 acres on Old Chaptico Wharf Road with 100% class 1'3 soils; another Wolf parcel on Notley Hall Road was 52.4 acres and nearly all class 2'3 soils; Malcolm E. Goode Jr.'s parcel was 55.44 acres with roughly 92% qualifying soils; Terry Russell's property was 76.5 acres on Colton Point Road; the O'Neil parcel was 54.35 acres on Bushwood Road; and Leon Barubi proposed 60.8 acres of his 95-acre tract because of nonqualifying steep and erodible soils in the back of his property.

Commissioners and staff noted clarifications to legal descriptions and addresses during the meeting: one address for the Leon Barubi parcel was corrected to reference Route 5/Point Lookout Road and county tax map information, and the commission agreed that the motion and resolution would reference the legal descriptions on the tax maps.

The commission moved to adopt the staff reports attached to the resolution and to recommend that the listed properties be forwarded to MALPF for district establishment. The vote was recorded as unanimous. Commissioners present also discussed that recent state legislation (pending the governor's signature) would change future district procedures by eliminating five-year district establishment but would still require local governing-body approval for sale of easements; staff said the current petitions were being processed under existing rules because the legislation had not yet been signed.

The commission announced it would circulate a final, corrected resolution for signature and return the item for ministerial edits before forwarding to the county commissioners and MALPF.

Notes: The action was a recommendation only; state and local statute and MALPF rules control final easement review and purchase.