A St. Mary’s County commissioner’s warning that Leonardtown is growing faster than the county can plan for holds up in direction, Census figures show, though not at the pace the commissioner described.
During the county’s review of its draft St. Mary’s 2050 comprehensive plan, one commissioner said the town had grown 16% to 18% a year over the past six years, compared with 1% to 1.5% countywide, and expects another 1,200 to 1,500 homes over a decade, as the Chronicle reported Oct. 9. The commissioner said the county has no say over what the town approves, and asked staff for options to coordinate with Leonardtown, especially when it annexes land the county has zoned for rural preservation.
Commissioners are set to vote on the plan Oct. 20, after public comment closed Oct. 13. Whether that coordination makes it into the plan is one of the open questions.
What the numbers show
The town’s population grew from 2,930 in the 2010 Census to 4,563 in 2020, about 56%. St. Mary’s County grew about 8% over the same decade, from 105,151 to 113,777.
Since then, the Census Bureau estimates the town grew from 4,514 in April 2020 to 5,033 by July 2025, up 11.5%. The county grew 2.6% over the same stretch, to 116,692.
That puts Leonardtown’s growth at roughly four times the county’s rate since 2020, and about seven times in the 2010s. It does not reach 16% to 18% a year, which would have more than doubled the town’s population in six years. If the commissioner meant growth over the six years combined, the Census estimates come closer.
The county’s check on annexation
The commissioner’s larger point was about control. When Leonardtown annexes land, it takes over zoning, and the commissioner described a rural preservation parcel with seven development rights becoming one with hundreds.
State law does give counties a temporary check. For five years after an annexation, a town may not allow development for uses “substantially different” from the county zoning in place at the time, or at a density more than 50% higher, without the “express approval” of the county commissioners, under Section 4-416 of the Local Government Article. After five years, the town’s zoning controls.
The commissioner also said the town is not bound by the county’s adequate public facilities rules or its construction excise tax, which helps pay for school construction. The Chronicle has not verified those points against town and county codes. County staff said at the session that there is no formal coordination between the county’s land use office and Leonardtown’s planning department on annexations.
Why schools are in the middle of it
The county’s own trends report notes that some schools in Leonardtown are over capacity, as are some in California and Lexington Park. A commissioner argued during the review that the county’s school space problem is about location, with open seats elsewhere but development concentrated near Leonardtown.
The plan the commissioners will vote on Oct. 20 is meant to guide county land-use decisions through 2050. It rests on state population projections that have since been lowered.
