California, MD — The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission has approved 79 new homes in the Woods at Myrtle Point, which has a checkered history of soil erosion and sediment control problems under previous owners. Of the 79 homes, 57 with be townhouses, a change from previous approvals. Overall there are 26 fewer homes than the original plan. The project is located off Patuxent Boulevard which intersects with MD 4 between the Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge and MD 235.
The approvals at the Nov. 10 meeting came in two motions, one for the townhomes in one section and the other to reconfigure three sections, of which one will contain a clubhouse and swimming pool. Under the new plan the clubhouse will be closer to the homes in the project and a number of home entrances have been removed from narrow Myrtle Point Road.
But a half-dozen residents testified, largely bringing up the past issues. Neighbor Chip Dudderar said the “fine sandy loam” soil on the 283-acre property is “highly erodible.” Homeowner Robert Wiley presented pictures of the soils from the property ending up in Mill Creek, a persistent contention of neighbors.
But Frank Mazza of Curtis Development of Clinton, the current Woods at Myrtle Point owner, insisted, “We have had no violations,’ and that the residents were referring to the failures of previous owners.
Planning commission member Martin Siebert sided with the residents. “Something is not right here. Something needs additional attention.”
At one point Siebert and Shelby Guazzo, commission vice chair, got into a contentious dialogue about the situation. “They haven’t even broken ground yet,” Guazzo said about the proposal in front of them. She said Siebert was dredging up the past.
“I think we can’t afford not to ask questions,” Siebert responded.
Siebert asked his fellow commission members to hold off on a vote until they had an opportunity to ask the Maryland Department of Environment to send someone down to give them assurances that what happened in the past wouldn’t happen in the future. In the end Siebert’s idea didn’t take traction.
The motion to approve the new section with the townhouses was approved 5-2, with Siebert and Susan McNeill voting against. The motion to approve the revision to the three sections that included the townhouses, 22 single-family lots, and the clubhouse and pool also passed 5-2, with Siebert and Patricia Robrecht voting against.
The recreational amenities will have to come back to the commission for final approval, but not the townhouses and additional single-family homes.
The project will have 349 homes when fully built-out. It has central water and sewer service provided by the Metropolitan Commission and is in the current Lexington Park Development District, The commission, in discussion about the revised Lexington Park Master Plan, tentatively rejected a staff proposal to reduce the size of that district, including removing the Woods property.