Don’t Tamper with Development District
To the Editor:
There is a scheduled Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Public Hearing being held on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 14 of the St. Mary’s Governmental Center in Leonardtown, MD on the proposed changes to the Lexington Park Development District (LPDD) boundary lines. Your help and support is needed. We are once again opposing the changes of the LPDD boundary lines for several reasons.
What is being proposed is to remove acres in one area of the LPDD and add acres to another. Specifically what is being proposed is to remove the 192 acre Myrtle Point Park and add the 55 acre Wildewood school site to the LPDD. We believe when acres are reduced in one area to increase acres in another, a precedent is being set.
We feel the approved school text amendment which “would allow the extension of sewer and water only to lands which adjoin and are accessible by a street through a development district for the exclusive purpose of serving an elementary or secondary school would work fine for the school site and that Myrtle Point Park would be far better to stay in the LPDD which would allow water and sewer to be used within the park for restrooms and other planned facilities. Removal from the LPDD will change the water and sewer category to “No Planned Service.”
There is a second Public Hearing scheduled on the same evening of June 13. The BOCC will be looking at the RL (Residential Low Density) zoning designation of four (4) RL zoned properties outside of the LPDD, one of which is the Beavan property (parcel 119, approximately 80 acres located on the west side of Indian Bridge Road). What is being proposed is to allow these four RL zoned properties into the LPDD or to down zone them to Rural Preservation District (RPD) and change the water and sewer category to no planned service. What you should know is that there is a problem with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the Comprehensive Water and Sewerage Plan (CWSP). They do not match. The Planning Commission conducted a Public Hearing on May 27, 2003 on the 2003 draft of the CWSP and forwarded a recommendation to the BOCC on July 14, 2003. The BOCC held a public hearing on September 30, 2003. There is no record of the BOCC adopting the 2003 CWSP. We do not understand why consideration is being given to changing these properties when all that needs to be changed is for the BOCC to adopt a current CWSP and stop using text amendments to the “1993 CWSP”. They have already held their public hearing which would correct the discrepancies between the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and the CWSP. If the BOCC had adopted the 2003 CWSP, the maps would then accurately reflect that all property on the west side of Indian Bridge Road to be outside of the LPDD, zoned RPD, and the water and sewer category changed to “No Planned Service.” Because the BOCC has not adopted the 2003 CWSP, 250+ properties on the west side of Indian Bridge Road that were down zoned to RPD at the same time the Beavan property received RL zoning, which he had requested. All of the property on the west side of Indian Bridge Road are still carrying the same water and sewer category (S6 and W6) as the Beavan property. All we have asked for is fair and equal treatment. If you really want to see what is proposed by Empire Homes for the Beavan’s property, you should visit their website at www.empiregroup.us.
If you are concerned about this and agree with us, please attend the Public Hearings of the BOCC (Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. Room 14 of the Governmental Center), speak your views, support another speaker, or provide written testimony to the BOCC immediately following the public hearing. Further information regarding this Public Hearing is available on the county website at www.co.saint-marys.md.us.
Linda Vallandingham
California

Robert T. Jarboe
Leonardtown