La Plata, MD – It’s been a long process for the Charles County Comprehensive Plan to be formulated and compiled, but the good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The Charles County Commissioners took the first step in the final process for approving the road map for the county’s future Tuesday, May 10, when Planning Director Steve Ball outlined the new plan before county leaders.

The public hearing on the Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for Tuesday, May 17 at 6 p.m. in the commissioner meeting room in La Plata.

The new plan meets the requirements for the planning code of the state, outlining 25 significant items within the framework’s structure.

Among those are the new transportation data that supports light rail, economic development strategies which also support the Maryland Airport, a segment on energy, the tier map outlining areas slated for development and conservation and designates a new receiving area for transfer development rights.

“The new plan removes the Cross County Connector from the transportation plan and includes protections for Mattawoman Creek,” Ball said.

Historical and archaeological resources are protected and more pedestrian and bicycle improvements are included.

“The plan is based on growth of the population for a 25-year period,” he added. “It’s a 10-year implementation process.”

The county is projected to experience a 1.3 percent growth increase during that decade, he noted.

One area still being discussed is Bryans Road, Ball said.

“It’s not planned as a village,” he added. “The town center has a core of businesses around it.”

“Why encourage the growth in Bryans Road over the past decade?” Charles County Commissioner Ken Robinson [D – District 1] asked. “Was it an active subarea plan?”

“Yes, it’s been adopted,” Ball responded.

“It seems that since that growth has moved toward Bryans Road it has had a negative impact on Indian Head,” Robinson asserted.

Ball said the biggest change to the plan was land transferred from preferred development district to watershed conservation district, which includes the headwaters of Port Tobacco River.

“The Planning Commission decided to include it,” Ball noted. “Being designated WCD removes the possibility of development. The Planning Commission also included 1,600 acres not originally intended to go in there. Being that there is a change to this map, we would need to forward it to the Maryland Department of Planning. They will provide us written comments. You need to have a finding defined by the Maryland Agriculture and Forestry to justify the changes.”

“I think we all appreciate the work that went into this,” Robinson said.

“There’s a lot more work to be done,” Ball said. “We look forward to the work session. Hopefully when we’re done we’ll have a plan everybody can be proud of.”

“I think it’s important that the citizens understand that throughout the process all decisions will be made in public,” Charles County Commissioner Vice President Debra Davis [D – District 2] said.

Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com