EDC hears AeroPark runway gains, flight‑path outreach and housing symposium as county wrestles with development pressures
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Summary
Staff reported a ribbon‑cutting for AeroPark runway improvements, a flight‑path small‑business program, pending West End concept planning, and a June 4 workforce housing symposium; commissioners pressed staff about Navy noise contours (ACUS) and how rising contours could constrain housing and development.
Department of Economic Development staff briefed the commission on multiple initiatives intended to support business growth, workforce development and tourism in St. Mary's County.
Staff highlighted the AeroPark Innovation District ribbon cutting on March 24 attended by Governor Moore and Rep. Steny Hoyer, and said terminal upgrades extended the runway to 5,200 linear feet. The department described a West End concept plan that would add roughly 68,900 square feet of commercial hangar space with direct runway access and 20,640 square feet of adjacent flex space; that concept plan is not yet funded and remains under review by Land Use and Growth Management.
The Flight Path entrepreneurship program — which staff said has run two events to date and hosted TEDCO representatives in March — received positive mention as an example of small‑business outreach. Staff also described business retention work that resolved permitting delays and helped an agricultural roadside stand secure a $24,000 MDA grant.
A substantial portion of the meeting focused on housing and the Navy's updated AQ/noise contour maps. Staff and commissioners noted the county recently adopted the Navy's latest AQ study but not the most recent noise contour map. Commissioners pressed staff about when the new contours would be resolved and what that would mean for redevelopment in Lexington Park and other growth areas. Department staff and members urged attendees to participate in a workforce housing symposium hosted by St. Mary's College of Maryland on June 4, intended to address affordable and workforce housing and developer incentives.
The department also reported delays to a regional workforce study (now expected in June) and described early outreach on a potential ferry project and an AeroPark‑adjacent concept that would be reviewed by planning bodies before seeking funding.
Why it matters: County officials said the scale of housing needed to support economic growth is significant (staff cited a Maryland Department of Housing study estimating approximately 4,097 new homes needed by 2030) and that resolving noise contour, planning and incentive issues is critical to attract private investment.
