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St. Mary's commissioners nominate two census tracts for Opportunity Zone 2.0
Summary
Deputy director Kelly Henkel recommended—and the board approved—nominating two census tracts (8760.04 in Lexington Park and 8759.03 around Great Mills Road) for Maryland's Opportunity Zone 2.0 process; commissioners discussed zoning, infrastructure, ACUZ/noise contour, and public input before voting to send the two tracts to DHCD.
The Board of County Commissioners voted to submit two census tracts—8760.04 (part of Lexington Park) and 8759.03 (Great Mills Road corridor)—for consideration under Opportunity Zone 2.0 to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
Kelly Henkel, deputy director of economic development, explained the federal Opportunity Zone 2.0 framework and said St. Mary's County has four rural census tracts eligible for nomination. Henkel recommended forwarding two tracts that have zoning and infrastructure capacity and public‑private partnership potential. "When I submit the application to DHCD, I need to show that infrastructure is in place and zoning is in place for the types of projects that are in the pipeline," Henkel said. Commissioners debated priorities: some favored placing priority on areas that need redevelopment (including portions of Lexington Park within the APZ noise contour), while others argued the county could submit all four tracts and let the governor and US Treasury make the final selection. Henkel said DHCD recommended limiting nominations to two to increase the chance the county's top priorities are selected. The motion to approve submission of Census Tract 8760.04 and 8759.03 passed with one recorded nay.
Henkel said staff held two public input sessions and collected maps and feedback from the public, business community, and developers to inform the recommendation. The board asked staff to include tract identifiers in the motion and then approved the submission.
