Planning Commission approves concept plan for 162‑unit Meadows townhouses with conditions including remediation and a school‑bus pad

The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission voted Sept. 29 to approve the concept site plan (CSP25‑0109) for the Meadows, a proposed 162‑unit townhouse development on a 32.44‑acre site in the Lexington Park Development District, subject to four conditions addressing traffic, school‑bus pickup, a buffer fence and a required environmental remediation program.

The commission’s approval followed staff presentation of the project’s regulatory framework and findings, a multi‑member presentation by the applicant team, and extensive public testimony focused on traffic safety, stormwater, and an historical on‑site dump that has prompted soil testing.

Why it matters: the project would add 162 attached dwelling units in an area planned for development and would require purchase of 100 transfer‑of‑development‑rights (TDRs) per the county ordinance. The project team told commissioners it is providing more forest conservation than required and is proposing multiple stormwater facilities and walking connections. Traffic review concluded the site’s intersections operate at acceptable levels of service, but the developer agreed to contribute $142.67 per unit — a fund contribution established in 2006 — totaling $23,112.54 toward a potential future traffic signal at the nearby Route 5/Willows Road intersection.

Project and staff summary

Staff said the site is zoned Residential Low Density in the Lexington Park Development District and described zoning and design standards that apply to attached dwellings, buffers, open space, stormwater and environmental protections. Staff identified wetlands, a stream and floodplain on the property and noted required buffers (100‑ft wetland buffer, 100‑ft stream buffer, 25‑ft floodplain buffer) and forest conservation requirements.

Applicant presentation and technical team

The applicant’s team included Tony Oleksen of COA Barrett (engineer/surveyor), Jackie Plott (traffic engineer, Traffic Concepts, joining by Zoom), Denise Sullivan of Urban Green Environmental (environmental engineer), and Eric Turner and Sekou Mapp of Turner Development (owners/developers). Tony Oleksen said, “I will try to keep this brief,” and described a design approach that clusters units on the northern portion of the site to retain forest and meet open‑space and landscaping requirements. He said the design exceeds the site’s forest conservation requirement and uses a treatment train of stormwater facilities — lot‑level dry wells, micro‑bioretention, and submerged gravel wetlands — to stay outside regulated buffers.

Traffic, parking and school bus access

Traffic engineer Jackie Plott said, “The ADT for a 162 townhouse units is 949,” and explained that capacity analysis showed intersections operating at acceptable levels of service but that the nearby Route 5/Willows Road intersection has previously been identified as a candidate for signalization. Plott said the developer agreed to contribute to a county fund established in 2006 for a possible future signal; the 2006 per‑unit contribution of $142.67 yields $23,112.54 for this project.

Commissioners and residents pressed the applicant on where a school bus would safely stop. Oleksen and the team proposed using the project’s deceleration lane and agreed to work with staff to provide a small “pad” or pull‑off for pickup to keep buses off the main travel lanes; commissioners asked that specific pad details be added as a condition.

Environmental issues and cleanup plan

Denise Sullivan of Urban Green described a Phase I and follow‑up testing that identified a historic dumping area on site with construction debris and elevated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in shallow soils. She said the developer removed surface debris, performed confirmatory sampling and recommended additional targeted soil removal in an area she estimates is approximately an acre in size. Sullivan testified the concentrations were above residential risk screening levels but below hazardous‑waste thresholds and recommended removal and post‑removal confirmatory sampling. She said oversight would include documentation of soil removal, manifests for off‑site disposal and a completion report.

Public testimony and neighbors

More than a dozen residents spoke in public testimony, raising traffic safety concerns on Willows Road and Route 5, potential stormwater impacts to Pembroke Run, visibility and speeding at driveway approaches, and questions about the historic dump and possible impacts on wells and wetlands. Parkside Crossing LLC, a nearby landowner, requested the applicant extend a northern barrier fence to reduce off‑site dumping risks and asked the applicant to coordinate future sanitary force main layout with Metcom. Metcom confirmed the project will use a pressurized force main and that taps, capacity and future connections would be coordinated with the utility.

Final conditions and vote

After deliberation the commission approved the concept site plan with four conditions the commission read into the record: (1) any road improvements required by the state or county shall be provided per standard review and concurrency rules; (2) the applicant shall revise the site plan to show a school‑bus pickup pad on the Willows Road frontage (to be coordinated with staff); (3) the applicant shall revise the plan to extend the northern barrier fence as discussed at the hearing to help deter off‑site dumping onto the adjacent property; and (4) the applicant shall complete a Phase II environmental site assessment, comply with its remediation recommendations, provide final environmental management plans and disposal documentation to the Department of Land Use and Growth Management and the Health Department, and provide professional certification of compliance with remediation recommendations prior to issuance of any certificate of occupancy; the condition also required compliance with any applicable Maryland Department of the Environment requirements.

A motion reflecting those conditions passed on roll call: Judy Filius — aye; Connor Loughran — aye; Jay Cousineau — aye; Joe St. Clair — aye; Patty Robrecht — aye; Lynn De LaHaye — aye.

What’s next

Staff entered the project report into the record as Exhibit 2. The approval is for the concept site plan; final engineering, detailed stormwater management design, any necessary state approvals for signalization, and the required environmental remediation and certification must be completed before building permits and use‑and‑occupancy certificates can be issued.

The developer told the commission the build‑out timeline could be about three years from start of construction. The developer also said unit plans will mainly be three‑bedroom townhomes, about 1,700 to 2,200 sq ft, and estimated sale prices in the presentation at roughly $379,000 to $409,000, subject to market change.