Planning commission finds Howling Point Park master plan consistent and recommends adoption

The Calvert County Planning Commission on May 21 voted to close the public record and find the Howling Point Park master plan update consistent with the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan, forwarding the draft to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration.

Park planner Stephanie Sterling told commissioners the Howling Point Park (listed in materials as Halloween Point Park) at 4755 Halloween Point Road is an 81‑acre park with athletic fields, walking paths, courts and a rentable pavilion. She said the department contracted Murphy & Dittenhafer architects, solicited more than 2,000 resident survey responses and completed a draft in September 2024 that recommends improvements such as paved and natural walking trails, upgraded ballfields, signage, and a proposed in‑ground skate park.

The draft, Sterling said, was circulated to 13 adjacent jurisdictions and to county staff; the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Department of Planning, the Department of the Environment and the Maryland Historical Trust submitted comments. Sterling said staff intends to update the plan to incorporate those agency comments, including treatment recommendations for two surviving tobacco barns on the property and potential archaeological review of a promontory where walking trails are proposed. "We will amend the master plan to include the barns and the archaeological finds," Sterling said.

Commissioners questioned whether the barns might be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and what obligations the county would have. Sterling said there is no active application and that listing barns is uncommon; she recommended interpretive signage and treatment plans to document cultural significance. The Historic District Commission and the Maryland Historical Trust recommended adding descriptive and treatment language for the structures, and staff identified where earlier displays describing those structures have deteriorated and need updating.

Parks staff and commissioners also discussed athletic‑field surfacing. Amanda Stowagan, park and safety division chief, said the draft proposes converting several multiuse outfields and one baseball outfield to synthetic turf in some configurations. Staff emphasized the draft is advisory, not final, and said decisions would consider environmental effects, safety, cost and maintenance; Sterling noted roughly 1,000 of the survey respondents supported synthetic surfacing. "Nothing in this master plan is absolutely set in stone," Sterling said.

Residents at the meeting raised safety concerns about ingress and egress at the MD‑231 park entrance. Bob Brandon, director of Parks and Recreation, told commissioners the county has a meeting scheduled with State Highway to pursue options including signage, bollards and other controls and said staff will seek a more expedited answer because the current arrangement is hazardous.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to close the record, find the plan consistent with the comprehensive plan, and recommend adoption by the Board of County Commissioners. The motion was seconded and passed by voice vote with no opposed votes recorded in the transcript. The commission instructed staff to incorporate the agency and community comments before advancing the plan.