Saint Mary’s Planning Commission corrects mapping error for Lexington Park parcel after resident objections

The Saint Mary’s County Planning Commission voted Jan. 23 to correct a mapping error in the Lexington Park Development District Master Plan for Tax Map 51, Parcel 0669 and to recommend proposed zoning maps to the County Commissioners, after a prolonged public discussion in which residents asked for a clearer timeline and assurances about buffers and safety.

The correction applies to figure PC‑2, the 2015 concept land‑use plan, and related figures in the Lexington Park plan including the Great Mills Corridor development strategy and the proposed implementation zoning map (figure I‑2). Planning staff said the change fixes a color/land‑use error on the plan maps so the land-use designation and the intended proposed zoning align for the parcel near Great Mills Road.

“Land use has to match the zoning, which is why we’re here tonight to ask the planning commission to recommend that correction in the map,” said Bill Hunt, deputy director of the Department of Land Use and Growth Management.

Why it matters

The parcel in question sits along the Great Mills Corridor near existing homes in the Cecil’s Mill neighborhood and an elementary school. Residents said they were surprised to discover conflicting maps showing the parcel as low‑density residential (RL), corridor mixed use (CMX) or medium‑intensity mixed use (MXM) in various reports and online materials. Homeowners said the uncertainty affected their expectations when they bought into the neighborhood and asked for an explanation and a timeline of how the maps changed.

Keith Scroggins, treasurer of the Cecil’s Mill Homeowners Association, told the commission: “How can the zoning maps have passed through three approvals of the Planning Commission and the county commissioners… and be an error?” He requested a clear chronology and notification plan so neighbors can understand how the discrepancy occurred and what protections, if any, exist for adjacent homes.

What the commission did and did not decide

The commission approved three actions on Jan. 23: 1) a correction to the Lexington Park concept land‑use figure (PC‑2) for Tax Map 51, Parcel 0669; 2) a recommendation to the County Commissioners to adopt the proposed Lexington Park Development District zoning map (figure I‑2); and 3) a correction to the Great Mills Corridor Development Strategy map (page 2‑15) for the same parcel. The motions were seconded and put to voice votes; commissioners gave their approval and the recommendations will now go to the County Commissioners for final action.

Those votes do not rezone the parcel tonight. County Attorney George Sparling explained that adoption of a master plan and adoption of zoning are separate processes: “All that’s been adopted so far is the Lexington Park Development District master plan. … Zoning then becomes specific uses assigned to specific pieces of land.” The Planning Commission’s actions are corrections and recommendations; any actual rezoning or site‑level approvals would follow separate procedures and public hearings before the County Commissioners and, later, on any development applications.

Resident concerns and staff responses

Speakers from the neighborhood asked for more precise documentation of when maps or zoning designations changed, and for stronger notice procedures for future district‑level changes. Several speakers, including Christine Burdloff and David Burlock, said they bought homes with an expectation of a residential buffer and asked the county to protect existing tree lines and pedestrian safety at the Pleasant Mill Drive entrance.

Robin Fenicom, deputy director of the Department of Economic Development, noted a common source of confusion: the Lexington Park Development District master plan covers California, Lexington Park and Great Mills, and that broad district name can obscure which neighborhoods are directly affected. “It is the development district master plan, not just Lexington Park master plan,” she said, urging clearer outreach going forward.

Board members and staff agreed to prepare a clearer set of exhibits and a timeline showing how the parcel’s designation appeared on earlier comprehensive plan and development‑district maps, and to bring that material back to a future meeting so commissioners who were not on the board for the original work sessions can review it more slowly.

Details and clarifications from the record

- The parcel marked with the star on staff maps was described in testimony as about 11 acres; an adjacent residential parcel was described as roughly 13 acres. - Staff said the MXM (medium‑intensity mixed use) designation was created locally to provide a transition along principal corridors and to preserve buffers next to existing neighborhoods; CMX (corridor mixed use) is a different, generally more intensive corridor designation described in the county zoning code. - The planning record and prior materials referenced by speakers include the Lexington Park Development District Master Plan, the St. Mary’s County Comprehensive Plan (adopted in 2010) and the county’s comprehensive zoning ordinance; several witnesses requested staff provide a timeline and copies of the specific prior maps that showed the parcel under different labels.

What comes next

The Planning Commission’s vote sends the map corrections and the proposed zoning map recommendation to the County Commissioners, who must hold their own public hearing and take the final action to adopt any comprehensive rezoning for the Lexington Park Development District. If a developer later submits detailed site plans for parcels along Great Mills Road, those applications would trigger additional public notices and design‑level requirements such as buffers, sidewalks and landscape screening.

Commissioners and staff said they will prepare the requested timeline and clearer map exhibits and present them at a future meeting so residents and newer commission members can review the sequence of decisions that led to the current recommendation.