St. Mary’s County leaders and residents met at a joint public hearing of the Board of County Commissioners and the Planning Commission on May 18, 2010, to review a staff draft of a comprehensive revision to the county's zoning ordinance and maps.

Derek Burrage, director of the Department of Land Use and Growth Management, described the draft as an implementation step for the county's recently adopted 2010 comprehensive land use plan and said the document is a working draft "subject to changes both by the planning commission and by the county commissioners." He outlined two principal tasks: rezoning map changes to match the new plan and revisions to zoning text to clarify allowable uses, approval criteria and processing.

The staff presentation highlighted several major proposals. The draft would create a new residential low-density transition (RLT) zone proposed for large areas of the Lexington Park Development District; set a maximum density in that new zone at three units per acre and, for land in the county's designated critical area, require lots of at least two acres (effectively limiting critical-area density to roughly one house per two acres). Staff also proposed reducing a current 50% open-space requirement in some growth-area zones in exchange for stronger design standards, active recreational space or affordable-housing commitments. Other significant changes described by staff include revised residential subdivision guidelines for the rural preservation district, clarified treatment of equestrian centers, allowance for campgrounds within the rural preservation district when covered by the rural conservation-area overlay, new lighting standards for new development, and technical clarifications (for example, minimum farmstead lot sizes and enforcement procedure clarifications).

Burrage also reviewed the implementation schedule: after the public hearings the Planning Commission will hold a series of public work sessions and aims for final action on the proposed amendments on June 21, 2010; the county commissioners would then hold work sessions and expect final action in July or August. The public comment record will remain open through June 15, 2010; written comments were directed to the Board of County Commissioners or the Planning Commission at P.O. Box 653, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Public commenters focused on how the draft would affect specific parcels, shorelines and existing uses. Joyce Chappell, a resident who identified a family parcel on Route 235 (tax parcel 353, and adjoining parcel 379), asked that those parcels "continue to be zoned as CMX." Several speakers who live or own property in or near the Lexington Park Development District urged retaining the proposed RLT option, particularly its two-acre minimum in the critical area. Raymond Duter (resident of 4565 Swanfall Way) said, "RLT doesn't make me happy but it makes me a lot happier than the status quo," and urged commissioners to preserve the RLT as proposed. Brooks Jackson (45336 Mill Cove Harbor Road) and others tied the RLT and reduced critical-area density to broader Chesapeake Bay water-quality concerns; Jackson said the RLT's two-acre critical-area lots would "help prevent the kind of problems that we've seen" from development and endorsed the proposed lighting standards for new development.

Other public speakers raised parcel-specific rezoning requests and implementation questions. Robin Guather (owner/representative for Tall Timbers Tavern property, tax map 51 parcel 131) described a property that was made nonconforming under prior maps and asked that the parcel be returned to a town-center or commercial category so current residential units allowed by sewer connections and earlier uses could be retained without buying transferable development rights (TDRs). Don Oker spoke for the Hendricksons about Buzz's Marina (tax map 71 parcel 246) and asked that the marina's commercial-marine use be restored; he noted the need to address the property's critical-area designations (LDA/RCA) if commercial-marine operations are to continue. Sue Lockhart, who said she owns nearly 12 acres on Rue Purchase Road in Lexington Park, requested staff re-evaluate proposed RLT mapping where sewer already runs adjacent to her property. Gary Barnes (Old Hermanville Road) asked that his developed parcels (map 51 grid 23 parcel 423, lot 12, about three acres) remain RL rather than be rezoned RLT.

Environmental and technical concerns also featured in public remarks. Bob Massey urged the county to update regulations to enable projects that maximize environmental site design under the 2007 Stormwater Management Act and its later amendments. Several residents said retaining two-acre lots in the critical area would support water-quality goals and local marine businesses. Tom Morgan, speaking on behalf of the Navy Alliance, requested consideration of graduated density buffers near the base's airport compatibility use (ACU) zones to reduce encroachment, and offered to submit comparative studies from other bases.

No formal votes were taken at the hearing; the Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners will consider written comments and conduct public work sessions before any final actions. Staff emphasized the public-work-session process is for observation and deliberation rather than testimony, and asked that speakers provide written follow-up if they need specific text clarifications.

The county scheduled two additional joint public hearings on the draft: May 19, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. at Margaret Brent Middle School on Point Lookout Road in Helen, and May 20, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the Chesapeake Building at the Governmental Center in Leonardtown. The record remains open for written comment through June 15, 2010.