Pembrooke Townhomes Variance
Appeals Board Holds Public Hearing
Pembrooke Townhomes will bring 140 residential units to Lexington Park if the Board of Appeals grants a variance allowing the project to disturb stream and wetland buffers on the property. The project is the final buildout phase of the Pembrooke neighborhood off Willows Road. The Planning Commission reviewed and conditionally approved the concept site plan on February 10, 2025, requiring the applicant to obtain variances. The Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Thursday, June 26th at 6:30PM in Leonardtown prior to making their decision.
Rendering of Pembrooke Townhomes
A total of 332 parking spaces are provided, 52 more than required. Each unit will have two parking spaces, one driveway and one garage. Many use their garage for storage rather than parking, pointed out by a PC member Conor Loughran, but the applicant said on-street parking would provide overflow. Street parking is enforced if the parking box lines are painted, said Jim Gotsch, former director of the Department of Public Works & Transportation, but otherwise nothing can be done. Gregory Holzendorf, project engineer, said reducing on-street parking would affect the project’s ability to meet their open space requirements. In other words, they weren’t inclined to make changes.
Rendering of Pembrooke Townhomes
The project also meets workforce housing requirements, defined by the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) as being affordable for families making 45-110% of the county’s median household income. The Department of Commerce lists median income at $114,580 in St. Mary’s, which means families earning between $51,561 and $126,038 would qualify. Steve Scott, attorney for the project, said the units are expected to sell “in the high 300s,” possibly more depending on the market at project completion. All units qualify for workforce housing, but Scott said at least 5 of the 140 units would be set aside. He also acknowledged it was unlikely a single-wage household could afford the projected $3200/month mortgage plus any HOA fees.
Rendering of complete neighborhood - Pembrooke Townhomes
Meeting the workforce housing requirements was important for the project to meet an open space reduction threshold, decreasing total required open space from 50 to 30% and maximizing the property’s potential. Otherwise, 140 units would not be possible on the property.
Mr. Scott, who also serves as the attorney for the Board of Appeals, has seemingly been replaced by land use attorney Christopher Longmore who submitted a letter of justification for the variances to Land Use & Growth Management (LUGM) in March 2025. There are streams present on the property, but Longmore argues that “due to the exceptionally narrow shape of the property [it] creates a hardship to the applicant in attempting to reasonably design the layout as depicted in the concept site plan.” He also writes that suggested temporary and permanent impacts “are minor when compared to the overall size of the property.”
Those impacts include disturbing stream and/or wetland buffers at the Field Way and Creek View Lane cul-de-sacs, and along the neighborhood’s main road Meadow Creek Drive.
A variance cannot be requested solely because of convenience or to make additional profit from development. Longmore’s letter says the variance is needed to avoid extreme grading and to “realize the use of the property as envisioned by the CZO and Comprehensive Plan,” and without it the project “would provide less housing for the community.”
The development would add 820 daily trips to the area, but all nearby intersections would remain at an “A” level of service according to the traffic study. The neighborhood is projected to add 30 elementary, 15 middle, and 22 high school students to the school system.
Neighboring property owners have already expressed concern about potential environmental impacts and flooding that could affect homes already built.
Attend the public hearing on Thursday, June 26th at 6:30PM at the Chesapeake Building located at 41770 Baldridge St in Leonardtown. It’s always best to show up in person, but comments can be emailed to Sherrie.Young@stmaryscountymd.gov in lieu of attending.
