Public hearing on Saint Mary's Crossing PUD and proposed developer agreement continued after debate over school site credit, traffic fees and access

The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission opened and then continued a public hearing Jan. 14 on a proposed developer’s rights and responsibilities agreement (DRRA) and a corresponding planned unit development (PUD) for the Saint Mary’s Crossing project. The commission set a continuation date for Feb. 25 and directed staff and the applicant to supply additional documentation and legal review before taking a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners.

The applicant, represented by John Norris, proposed the DRRA as a mechanism to mitigate school capacity by donating a 26‑acre, “ready-to-build” school site to the St. Mary’s County Board of Education. County staff (Bob Boles) said the DRRA would also establish a traffic mitigation fee and phasing plan tied to access points. Staff calculated a traffic mitigation credit and fee that resulted in a proposed net fee of $2,008.28 per dwelling unit after credit for the school site; the staff report also noted a higher county cost estimate was under consideration (roughly $5,900 per unit was discussed by public works analysis).

Board of Education representative Kim Howe said the school system “does have a continued interest in this future school site” and that, while compact, the site could accommodate an elementary school given the developer’s agreement to provide utilities and stormwater infrastructure. Howe said comparable RL‑zoned property has recently sold for $30,000–$40,000 per acre in the area, and she described the county’s pressing need for additional elementary school sites as enrollments and full‑day kindergarten expanded demand.

Traffic engineers and county public‑works staff outlined conflicting calculations about fair‑share mitigation. John Grover (Dept. of Public Works) explained that warranting and installing a traffic signal at the Hunt Club Road/MD‑4 intersection is controlled by the State Highway Administration and depends on national warrant criteria; Grover said the state “rarely departs” from those criteria. Consultant Mike Nalata (traffic consultant) and NGNO Engineering’s Dan Ignowski offered differing estimates of per‑unit mitigation costs, reflecting different assumptions about project scope, miles of road improvements counted and the share of federal funding that could be applied. Ignowski presented a per‑unit calculation of $1,395 based on a segment approach used in the zoning ordinance; Grover and other staff cited calculations near $5,900 per unit if wider mileages or lower federal participation rates were assumed. Commissioners repeatedly emphasized public‑safety concerns on MD‑4 (St. Andrews Church Road) and asked for more precise cost evidence.

Members of the public raised site‑specific concerns: owners of a private access road (Johnson Pond/Old St. Andrews Church Road) said they had received an earlier purchase offer from the applicant they considered inadequate and asked for mitigation measures including berms, buffers and assurance of safety. Residents of adjacent Saint Andrews Estates urged the commission to include Bellwood Lane in the traffic study and asked that a traffic signal and other safety measures be accelerated. Environmental concerns were also raised: the Maryland Department of Natural Resources had earlier identified the site as within a habitat area for the state‑listed eastern narrowmouth toad and recommended protection guidelines; the applicant reported ongoing coordination with DNR and Wildlife and Heritage Service representatives.

County staff circulated a supplemental report with 17 proposed conditions that, if adopted and modified by the planning commission, would form the basis of a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. Proposed conditions included: use of a DRRA per Section 29 (Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance) for school and traffic mitigation; staged phasing tied to access; installation of a signal at Hunt Club Road/MD‑4 to be paid by the applicant when warranted; deed dedication of 75‑foot frontage to State Highway Administration; improvement or acquisition of Johnson Pond Lane as a second access prior to a specified phase; installation of sewer and water infrastructure along Hunt Club Road; and a minimum of 150 workforce‑housing units within the project. The staff report also noted a corrected arithmetic figure showing the $2,008.28 per‑unit net fee after credits (a typographical reference to $59.09 in the report was identified as an error).

Commissioners asked for a legal review of whether mitigation of school seats via a DRRA is allowable and whether a PUD can carry a fixed expiration or phasing schedule; staff and the county attorney were asked to provide clarifying legal citations. The applicant agreed to provide deeds and easement documentation for the private access reservation (Johnson family easement) and to supply additional traffic and cost calculations. The planning commission kept the public hearing record open and continued the hearing to Feb. 25 to allow staff, the applicant and legal counsel to respond to those requests.

No formal recommendation or vote on the DRRA/PUD was taken at the Jan. 14 meeting.