CALIFORNIA, Md. — A new Home Depot may soon be coming to St. Mary’s County. At the July 28 meeting of the St. Mary’s County Planning Commission, members reviewed and approved a concept site plan for a 136,750-square-foot Home Depot proposed at 44766 Oak Crest Road, near the RC Lexington Exchange Movie Theatre and ALDI off Route 235 in California, Md.
The proposed store would be a full-scale Home Depot with a garden center and lumber canopy. It would be built within the Oak Crest planned unit development (PUD), in a designated industrial and growth area. According to Sianli Blasco, a planner in the county’s Development Services Division, the project meets all relevant zoning, landscaping, parking and environmental standards.
Jeff Smith, an engineer with Kimley-Horn representing the applicant, explained that the site would have three access points connecting to Oak Crest Road and Route 235, as well as stormwater management systems and public utility connections.
Chris Longmore, an attorney representing the applicant, noted that the proposed store replaces a previously approved plan for flex-use commercial buildings on the same site. He emphasized that required traffic mitigation — specifically, the addition of a third lane on Route 235 — has already been completed. “[The applicant] is simply proposing a different use on a property than the original use that was approved by a 7-0 vote by this planning commission,” Longmore said. “All the physical mitigation has been done.”
While the store would require fewer parking spaces than the code typically mandates, the applicant has submitted a formal request for a waiver. A total of 492 spaces would be provided, including about 41 spaces designated for mulch and seasonal outdoor displays.
According to Jackie Plott, a lead transportation planner with Traffic Concepts Inc., although the Home Depot is expected to generate more traffic on 235, the road has already been improved to mitigate traffic issues with the above-mentioned third lane, which should be enough to accommodate the estimated 65 additional car trips during peak hours compared with the business park that Home Depot would replace.
Several commissioners expressed concern about how traffic from the Home Depot might affect nearby businesses and neighborhoods, particularly with only one entrance on Oak Crest Road and a median restricting left turns onto Route 235. In response, the applicant’s engineer noted that a southbound U-turn at the nearby intersection would allow drivers to easily re-enter traffic heading in the opposite direction.
Having received the approval of the Planning Commission, the applicants will now look to finalize design plans and complete the permitting process. The final decision will rest with the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County. If approved, it would be the second Home Depot in the three counties of Southern Maryland, and it would be the southernmost in the state.
This is not the first plan to construct a Home Depot at this particular site. According to public records, two separate planners applied to do so in 2002 and 2004, with the first ending in a withdrawn application and the second expiring after planning stalled. This effort, however, is the first time a comprehensive plan has been drawn up and presented to the St. Mary’s County Planning Commission, and the unanimous approval puts it in a favorable position to be the third and final effort.
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