St. Mary’s County commissioners spent the bulk of their Aug. 18 business meeting on the county’s proposed long-range growth blueprint, receiving a briefing on the draft St. Mary’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan as their main agenda item.
The plan, formally titled “St. Mary’s 2050: Charting Our Tomorrow,” would replace the county’s 2010 Comprehensive Plan and guide land use, growth and preservation decisions through 2050. Maryland law requires local jurisdictions to adopt and periodically update a comprehensive plan to guide housing, transportation, economic development and natural resource decisions.
The update has been in the works since fall 2024, when the county’s Department of Land Use and Growth Management began a multi-stage public engagement process that has included open houses, work sessions and online surveys. The department released the first public draft in February 2026 and opened a 45-day comment period, followed by open houses in communities including Lexington Park, Leonardtown, Charlotte Hall and Great Mills.
Among the plan’s most consequential changes is a proposed simplification of the county’s land use classification system, cutting the number of categories from 23 to nine, according to county materials on the project. The plan also includes an updated Land Use Map identifying where the county anticipates future growth, redevelopment and preservation, and it allows property owners to request changes to their land’s designation as part of the review process.
The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission held public hearings on the draft plan in late June and early July, taking comment on both the plan itself and a batch of applicant-driven requests to change specific parcels’ land use designations. The plan is being developed with the assistance of Clarion Associates, a planning consulting firm the county has also used on other active planning projects.
Commissioners have continued to weigh in on the process throughout the summer. At their July 14 meeting, Commissioner Eric Colvin said he was surprised by some of the Planning Commission’s recent votes on land use changes and pushed for the board to hold its own work session on the plan before scheduling a final public hearing, according to prior county meeting coverage.
The Aug. 18 briefing continued that review, with commissioners receiving an update on the draft plan roughly two years after the process began. The county has not yet set a final public hearing date on the plan.
Tuesday’s meeting opened with an invocation and the pledge of allegiance, followed by approval of the consent agenda. Commissioners also presented proclamations recognizing Child Support Awareness Month, National Black Business Month and National Aviation Day.
During County Administrator Time, commissioners approved a budget amendment granting funds to the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation, a lease agreement for the Ready 9 Aviation Academy at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport, a wildlife management agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for the Myrtle Point Cooperative Wildlife Management Area, and several state grant agreements covering homeland security, emergency management and aging services programs. The board also authorized the county administrator to accept a bond award bid and approved an employment contract for the county government’s veterinarian.
Commissioners reconvened in the afternoon for a memorial ceremony honoring Ralph Butler.
The next CSMC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Meeting Room on the first floor of the Chesapeake Building, 41770 Baldridge Street in Leonardtown. Meetings are open to the public and broadcast live on SMCG TV Channel 95 and the county’s YouTube channel.
