Planning commission members James Howard Thompson, left, Joe St. Clair, Steve Reeves and A. Merl Evans.    –The Bay Net photos by Sean Rice 

In a move that will seem controversial to some, the St. Mary’s County Planning Commission voted to add properties to the Lexington Park Development District (LPDD) map.

The LPDD master plan map outlines the area surrounding Lexington Park that is slated for development and eligible to connect to public water and sewer systems.

A total of six properties were up for reconsideration in the LPDD map. One in particular, called the Beavan property, has raised the ire of citizen environmentalists because it is already planned to be a new housing subdivision off Indian Bridge Road.

The property owner has claimed the Beavan property was included in the original LPDD map, but without his knowledge it was removed several years ago and added to the restricted Rural Preservation District. No county planners have disputed his claim, or offered reasoning why it was removed.

Last November the St. Mary’s Board of Commissioners snubbed Beavan, when the board abruptly voted to freeze the LPDD boundaries, without completing discussions.

On Monday the Planning Commission in a 4-3 vote put the issue back before the Board for approval again. Commission vice chair Steve Reeves voted against restoring the property in the LPDD, along with new members A. Merl Evans Jr. and Susan McNeill.

The other five properties considered Monday, and their outcomes include: Adding the 55-acre Wildewood elementary school site, approved; Removing the 192 acre Myrtle Point Park land, denied; Adding 80-plus acres called “Johnson property”, approved; Adding 15 acres of non-developable land in the First Colony development, approved; And adding 40 acres adjacent to Chancellors Run Regional Park, approved.

The Board of County Commissioners asked that the Myrtle Point property be considered for removal from the LPDD as a gesture to protect the park from future development, even though a master plan has already been approved that lays plans for the entire site, including a visitor’s center and an amphitheater facing the Patuxent River.

In discussing why the land should remain in the LPDD, Planning Commission Chair Joe St. Clair said he is concerned that a septic system is in the plans to accommodate the amphitheater and visitor’s center.

 
Land Use Director Denis Canavan

With the property already deemed to be environmentally precarious, St. Clair said the land should be served by public sewer. Other members must have agreed with his concern as it was voted 4-3 to keep the land in the LPDD. St. Clair, Reeves, Evans and new member Brandon Hayden voted to deny the change.

As for the “Johnson property”, which is in the vicinity if the Beavan land, Land Use Director Denis Canavan said this land was removed from the LPDD because it was believed to be owned by t