Developers give Wildwood PUD progress report; commission presses for emergency access road work

Developers for the Wildwood Plan Unit Development gave the St. Mary's County Planning Commission an annual update on Jan. 28, reporting that 2,395 units have certificates of occupancy and that the PUD remains in compliance with approved open-space and land-use requirements. During the update, commissioners pressed developers to provide immediate emergency access through a blocked secondary entrance; the developers agreed to arrange gated access for first responders.

The update covered site-plan approvals, current building permits and certificates of occupancy, and the land-use program. Sean Day, development manager with Duval LLC, and Tom Thomas, vice president for Stanley Martin/Wildwood Residential, reported that since the July 2012 update the county approved the Maryland Route 235 phase 1 site plan and a 31,047-square-foot assisted-living facility (the retirement village). They reported 30 new building permits since the last update and 37 new certificates of occupancy, with a remaining unit balance in the PUD of 1,397 units allowed under the approved PUD density.

Developers also summarized the PUD—'s open-space accounting: the approved development envelope contains roughly 444.92 acres of open space, with developed open space tracking on pace with approvals (the report listed an excess of open space provided). The land-use program figures and the sectional-approval table showing recorded lots, building permits in process and certificates of occupancy were included in the handout provided to commissioners.

During questions, a commissioner raised safety concerns about the Primavera Road extension and concrete jersey barriers recently placed at a secondary entrance; several commissioners said the access should be usable by emergency services. Developers said the roadway paving and required speed-hump installations are nearly complete but that the barriers were placed to limit unauthorized traffic until traffic-calming features are finished. The developers agreed to implement a gate or other means to provide controlled access to first responders and to work with county emergency-service providers to ensure responders can open the barrier in emergencies.

Commissioners asked for additional detail on how many of the remaining 1,397 allowable units already have permits or are expected to be built; staff said they did not have an exact number for permits pulled against that remaining balance at the update but showed a sectional-approval table in the handout. Commissioners asked staff and developers to return with that permit-status detail at a future update.

Ending: Developers said they would pursue the emergency-access solution immediately and expected to have the Primavera Road extension opened permanently after the remaining paving and traffic-calming measures are installed. The commission accepted the update and said it would expect another status report in the next scheduled Wildwood update.