Members present were Joseph St. Clair, Vice Chair; Lawrence Chase; Julia King; Steve Reeves; and Howard Thompson. Larry Greenwell and Bryan Barthelme were excused. Department of Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) staff present was Denis Canavan, Director; Jeff Jackman, Senior Planner IV; Bob Bowles, Planner II; Dave Berry, Planner I; and Sharon Sharrer, Recording Secretary. Deputy County Attorney Heidi E. Dudderar was also present.
The Vice Chair called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES – The minutes of September 12, 2005 were approved as recorded.
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
CCSP #05-132-021 – BOLINGS OLD VILLAGE CENTER, Phase 1
The applicant is requesting review and approval of a concept site plan for an 8,000 square foot commercial center. The property contains 1.178 acres; is zoned Rural Commercial Limited (RCL); and is located on Old MD Route 5, approximately 300 feet north of its intersection with Baptist Church Road in Mechanicsville, Maryland; Tax Map 9, Grid 21, Parcel 54.
Owner: Joseph Boling
Agent: Glenn Gass
Mr. Gass explained that, even though the adjoining property shares the same zoning, the applicant has agreed to a request to maintain a 30-foot green space bufferyard between the properties. He said that all parking will be below the hill and hidden behind the building because the sewer system will be in front of the building. Mr. Gass explained that the Ordinance does provide relief with the use of bio-retention facilities, and asked that the Planning Commission consider allowing a reduction of the landscape standards since the site is not visible from the road and the applicant will be using bio-retention methods. Mr. Bowles explained that staff will work with the applicant on the required landscaping during the final site plan stage.
Mr. Thompson moved that having accepted the staff report, dated September 16, 2005; and having made a finding that the objectives of Section 60.5.3 of the St. Mary’s County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance have been met; and noting that the referenced project has met all requirements for concept approval; the Planning Commission grant the concept site plan approval, as requested. The motion was seconded by Mr. Reeves and passed by a 5-0 vote.
DISCUSSION
WATER POLICY TASK FORCE REPORT ON THE PATAPSCO AQUIFER STUDY
Present: Barne Wheeler, Water Policy Task Force
Steve King, Director, Metropolitan Commission (MetCom)
Mr. Wheeler & Mr. King presented a brief overview of the Water Policy Task Force (WPTF) report on the Patapsco Aquifer Study, explaining that the WPTF mission is to inform the County Commissioners and County residents on the status of the County’s water supplies. Mr. Wheeler explained that their thrust is to make certain that supplies of water are adequate, not just for now but for generations to come.
In their 2002 report, the Water Policy Task Force made three basic findings. First, the models need to be modified to find the sustainable supply from each aquifer. Next, hard data on private well usage is badly needed, but is c