St. Mary’s 2050: Final Public Hearing

The public’s final chance to weigh in on the St. Mary’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan is Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30pm in Leonardtown. The County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the draft plan and five memos of changes before making a final decision later this month. Commissioners requested changes to the draft plan at their work session on September 15. Read more about that coverage here.

Those changes have been collected into a forty-six page document called Memo #5. Combined with the other four memos, there are over 100 pages of material in addition to the 221 page draft document. A fully edited draft, incorporating all requested changes, won’t be available until the Commissioners are ready to vote on final approval at their October 20 meeting.

The Commissioners will also hear feedback on a number of land use change requests. Made by property owners, these requests are seeking to change the land use designation which, if approved, would permit a certain level of development. You can read more about those requests here.

Many are familiar with the proposal from Stanley Martin to change more than 270 acres from rural preservation to residential medium density. After significant public pushback across several hearings, the request has now been withdrawn. 

According to a letter from Stanley Martin’s attorney, Chris Longmore, the applicant feels “it is appropriate to step back and reevaluate the path forward for this property.” The letter signals that future plans for this property are being determined and mentions that “an alternative approach” to presenting those plans is being considered. 

Longmore also represents four of the remaining six land use change requests being considered by the county commissioners. 

All meeting documents are available here. Doors open at 5:30pm and sign up sheets will be in the lobby for anyone who wants to speak. The meeting is being held at the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street in Leonardtown.

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