If somehow you woke up today and it was the year 2020 in St. Mary’s County, what would it look like? I’m sure you’d recognize a lot, but there would probably be a lot that was new and unfamiliar. If you were around a dozen years ago in Leonardtown for example and fast-forwarded to 2008 you’d have a similar experience, except that you’d have the benefit of hindsight. Foresight is always much harder.
I encourage you to review the many items included in this week’s e-Newsletter. One to note in particular is a series of 5 community meetings starting July 9 and scheduled throughout the County in July to present and gather input on the update of our Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), see www.stmarysmd.com/lugm/docs/CompPlanamendedMarch03.pdf.
This process occurs every six years and is critically important because what comes from it is guidance for changes in our zoning ordinance. Basic questions are addressed like what type of growth do we desire as a community and where should it be directed? Of course underpinning this growth are the new jobs created by the region’s largest employer, NAS Patuxent River. How do we continue to support the base, attract and retain new workers to keep it growing? At the same time, how do we preserve our quality of life, the vast acreage of farmland, the hundreds of miles of shoreline, the historic sites we treasure as the Mother County of Maryland? These questions bring additional questions about basic infrastructure such as water & sewerage, schools, roads, parks, libraries, public safety. The list goes on. In the end it’s about keeping our community sustainable and every six years we have an opportunity to have a say in the planning process.
We’re now a community of 100,000 residents. It’s taken about 375 years to achieve this milestone. In perspective, we’ve grown by about 15,000 since the year 2000 alone and current projections put us at a population of 130,000 by 2020, and conceivably 200,000 by 2050. Who knows if this will occur? But these dates are not that far away. What’s important is that we participate in the community discussion about getting there.
I ask you to get involved in this process. Start by looking around your neighborhood, on the drive to work or school, or as you shop or visit the park on the weekend, or in any other everyday setting. Think about the patterns that have developed along the 235 and Great Mills corridors, Leonardtown, in North County consisting of Charlotte Hall, New Market, and Mechanicsville, in South County from the south gate of the base down to Ridge and beyond. And everywhere in between. I further ask you to try to make one of the community meetings in July (see schedule below). If you can’t please stay posted, watch the discussion on Channel 95, and follow the coverage in the media. Send in your comments via e-mail, over the phone, or in any other fashion. The Board of County Commissioners and County Staff want to hear from you.
Thanks for thinking about the future of St. Mary’s County.