Evergreen Disposal Facility
Planned in Charlotte Hall
Charlotte Hall might be the spot for a new Evergreen Disposal transfer station and maintenance building if the Planning Commission (PC) approves the concept site plan at their upcoming meeting. The waste hauling company currently provides service to the Southern Maryland area as well as Montgomery County and Northern Virginia. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday, June 23 at 6:30PM in Leonardtown.
Planned for the 8 acre site, addressed at 37315 Carpenter Lane, is a 17,400 square foot transfer station and a 12,008 square foot maintenance building. Along with fifty-seven parking spaces for company equipment and employee vehicles, the facility plans to connect to public water but will have its own septic. LODYMAWA LLC, based in Sterling, VA is listed as the owner. Lorenzi, Dodd & Gunnill, Inc out of Waldorf is the engineering firm behind the project.
Concept Site Plan
Approximately 200 acres along and beyond Carpenter Lane in Charlotte Hall are zoned for Industrial use. The land, owned by various LLCs, stretches behind Cord’s Cabinetry and Charlotte Hall Commons (where Sheetz is under construction) down to the back edge of Fifth District Park. Killpeck Creek stretches across north county, from historic Charlotte Hall (Ye Coole Springs) through the subject property and surrounding land, eventually flowing into Trent Hall Creek and the Patuxent River.
The last major revision to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) was in 2019. Prior to that, a significant portion of the 200 acres was zoned I-OS, or Industrial Open Space. The change is particularly noticeable around Killpeck Creek.
Industrial zones permit mining, manufacturing, slaughterhouses, wreckage and salvage, airports, communication towners, freight terminals, small scale wind-powered electric systems, power plants and substations, stormwater management and waste facilities. Evergreen must overcome several hurdles before the project is fully approved according to a staff report prepared by the department of Land Use & Growth Management (LUGM).
Current Land Use
Use types may be further limited depending on the nature of a particular proposal. The CZO requires solid waste facilities “be horizontally located 1,500 feet from the nearest home.” According to LUGM’s staff report, the distance between Evergreen and the closest home is 1,000 feet.
Previous Land Use
“It is the applicant’s burden to prove that a demonstrated need within St. Mary’s County exists,” reads the report, which notes an engineer statement with justification is expected. The applicant will also need the County Commissioner’s permission to access their property from Carpenter Lane, a county owned right-of-way. The CZO mandates the location of waste facilities along major collector roads, so a “variance is required for access on a road with a lower classification.”
Planning documents show the project would add 524 additional daily trips to the area, approximately 52 per hour. The developer proposes using Carpenter Lane as a right-in/right-out only for Evergreen’s vehicles. To enforce the use, a triangular median barrier at the entrance of Carpenter Lane must be installed. Otherwise, garbage trucks could use the median crossover on 235 to turn left. A letter from the county’s Department of Public Works & Transportation says the “developer will be responsible for access and road improvements.” But it’s unclear if that includes alterations to the end of Carpenter Lane at 235.
The Planning Commission will meet on June 23 at 6:30PM at the Chesapeake Building located at 41770 Baldridge Street in Leonardtown. It’s best to attend in person to offer comments. However, comments can also be emailed to megan.higgs-carter@stmaryscountymd.gov.
