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County planner outlines Lexington Park master-plan goals: town center, design standards, trails and traffic solutions
Summary
Derek Delaj, the county’s director of Land Use and Growth Management, presented a vision for the Lexington Park development district that calls for concentrating future growth into a compact center, raising design standards, adding pocket parks and improving pedestrian and trail connections.
Derek Delaj, director of Land Use and Growth Management for St. Mary's County, told the Recreation and Parks Board on Dec. 2 that the Lexington Park development-district master plan will steer most future growth into designated growth areas while protecting rural land elsewhere.
"A land use master plan is a document adopted eventually by the Board of County Commissioners that becomes the policy of the county," Delaj said, adding that the plan aims to guide private and public development, including parks and recreation facilities. He told the board the countywide comprehensive plan projects population growth from about 100,000 to 150,000 over 20 years — a roughly 50 percent increase — and said concentrating development in growth districts is the county’s strategy to avoid sprawl.
Delaj outlined three subareas in the development district with distinct challenges: the economically active 3 Notch Road corridor, where he warned of traffic congestion, large expanses of surface parking and design problems; Great Mills Road, which he described as economically distressed and in need of revitalization; and the Patuxent naval base, which Delaj said is the district’s economic engine and a key stakeholder in planning.
Among the plan’s possible components, Delaj listed zoning changes to concentrate density in a compact center; higher design standards to reduce acres of surface parking and improve pedestrian connections; creation of pocket parks and public amenities; and a phased approach to development so density is concentrated in targeted locations. He said the Board of County Commissioners has asked the county to prepare the plan and that a task force — led by chamber-appointed co-chairs Joe Densford and Frank Taylor — will address design standards starting in January.
Delaj described infrastructure and traffic considerations, including a long-term role for a parallel route, the planned FDR Boulevard, to carry local traffic and support an internal grid that reduces reliance on Route 235. He also said the department is coordinating with Navy leadership, including contacts with Captain Schweizer’s office, to ensure the base has a role in the plan.
Delaj noted the 3 Notch Trail and other pedestrian connections will be important to a more walkable and attractive center and invited the board to contribute ideas for pocket parks, public performance space and mixed-use development. He outlined a schedule that includes a consultant-led charrette in spring, a staff draft next summer, a planning commission hearing in the fall and Board of County Commissioners review and adoption in early 2012.
Ending: Delaj asked board members to stay engaged, and the board discussed how parks, pocket greens and performance spaces could fit in the development district to support both community amenities and the county’s growth-management goals.
