Leonardtown, MD — St. Mary’s County Director of Land Use and Growth Management (LUGM) Phil Shire and County Attorney George Sparling meet regularly to talk about planning and zoning issues. One topic that occasionally comes up is private subdivision roads. The issue is an ongoing problem for the county and also residents who live on them.

County regulations allow private roads (in some cases unpaved) for subdivisions with seven lots or less, or an unlimited number of farmstead lots (15 acres of more). As Sparling told the Aug. 22 meeting of the St. Mary’s County Planning Commission, it’s fairly easy to draw up agreements for the maintenance of private roads, but relatively difficult to enforce them.

The process breaks down when one or more of the residents on a road refuse to pay their fair share of the costs. That usually leads to a call for help to the county commissioners’ office, Shire said. But the county has no say over maintenance of private roads. In such disputes it’ll have to be up to the courts to decide, leading to sometimes costly legal fees for all parties involved.

The planning commission vetted the issue again at that Aug. 22 meeting. The case that brought up the discussion was a proposal to develop 187 acres off Mt. Wolf Road in Charlotte Hall. The Underwood Farm Subdivision proposes five smaller lots on one private road and 11 farmstead lots on another private road. Both are legal under county regulations.

About half of the proposed road structure is already in place. Wayne Hunt of the Little Silences Rest engineering firm said the existing gravel road would be improved and the new section constructed to county gravel road standards. Hunt agreed to provide gravel shoulders for pedestrian traffic.

The planners, while recognizing that the developer was following the rules, also wanted to make sure that the future residents of the subdivision were protected. Concern was raised that at closing, all the homebuyer was interested in was concluding the process and may not be aware that they will be responsible for maintaining the road.

The solution, the planners agreed, was a road maintenance agreement signed by the developer and made known to the prospective land owner. How to make that fact known is tricky, the planners concluded. They want to make sure that there is a note on the property’s record plat that informs the land buyer of the road maintenance agreement.

After much discussion, Sparling agreed to work with Shire to come up with a road maintenance agreement for the proposed subdivision that could then serve as a template for future similar circumstances. Once that agreement is developed, Hunt will review it and sign it for the property owner, identified as John Chappelear of Great Falls, VA.

About those regular meetings with Shire and his assistant, Sparling said, “This may be the impetus to put this topic at the top of the agenda.”

The planners made such an agreement contingent in their preliminary plan approval of the subdivision. Another contingency is that the wording on the record plat putting the land owner on notice about the road maintenance agreement be in bold and easily recognizable font size.

Hunt said the construction of the roads, including a half mile in the farmstead section, would begin once the economy picked up and there was interest from prospective land purchasers. Several commission members suggested he complete the roads first to spur development.

More residential development in the northern part of St., Mary’s County has been a concern expressed by a number of existing residents fearful of the impact on already overcrowded roads. The small number of lots in the proposed subdivision, and the fact that it is using wells and septic systems, could alleviate some of the residents’ concerns.

Hunt said that there would be no change in the level of service to Mt. Wolf Road after the subdivision is complete, He said he didn’t know what the impact would be at the Route 5 intersection.

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com