St. Mary’s County hearing draws opposition to proposed exemptions from TDR requirement

LEONARDTOWN, Md. — The St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners on March 12 heard public opposition to a proposed zoning text amendment that would alter methods for achieving increases in floor area ratio (FAR), potentially exempting some civic and institutional uses from the county’s transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) requirements.

Land Use staff presented a draft that would replace the term “public and semi‑public” with “civic and institutional” in the zoning ordinance, move six use types (including certain daycare and medical uses) into the commercial classification, and add a footnote (footnote 6 to Schedule 32.2) that could exempt qualifying civic and institutional developments from having to purchase TDRs or obtain LEED certification to exceed base FAR limits. The board opened a public hearing and said it would accept written comments for 10 more days.

The proposal and the planning commission’s recommended language prompted sharp objections from agricultural and preservation stakeholders. Joseph Wood, a Mechanicsville resident and participant in the county’s prior rezoning work, told commissioners, “we are opposed to an exemption…