LA PLATA — A youth competitive cheerleading program wants to set up shop in an existing building on Prince Frederick Road in Hughesville, and Charles County residents will get their chance to weigh in at a virtual public hearing Nov. 10.
Southern Maryland Youth Organization (SMYO) Cheer Elite has petitioned the Charles County Board of Appeals for a special exception to operate an indoor recreation facility at 15230 Prince Frederick Road, according to a public notice for Docket No. 1492 posted Oct. 19.
The facility would offer competitive cheerleading instruction that is not open to the general public, inside an existing building of about 3,750 square feet. The property covers about 2.06 acres and sits entirely within the Hughesville Village Gateway (HVG) zone. It is listed as Tax Map 36, Grid 15, Parcel 295.
Why a hearing is required
A special exception is a use the zoning code allows in a district only after the Board of Appeals reviews it case by case and finds it meets the code’s standards. That is different from a use allowed by right, which needs only routine permits.
The petition cites Article XIII, Section 297-212, Use No. 4.02.110 of the Charles County Zoning Ordinance, which covers this category of indoor recreation, and Article XXV, Section 297-415, which sets the standards the board applies to special exception requests. The board can approve a request, deny it or approve it with conditions.
The notice describes the program and the property but does not say how many athletes would train there, what hours the gym would keep or whether any work on the building is planned. Those details are typically in the application file. The docket was filed Aug. 5, and the county said the associated documents would be available for inspection on or after Oct. 26 at the Department of Planning and Growth Management’s Planning Division in the Charles County Government Building in La Plata, or online at bit.ly/Docket1492.
How to take part
The hearing is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m. It will be held in a virtual format only, by video conference, and public testimony is encouraged, according to the notice.
- Register to speak or submit comments online at charlescountymd.info/BOAPublicComment.
- Each speaker gets three minutes. If a registered speaker is not present when called, the county may move on to the next speaker.
- Written comments submitted online go into the official record only if the person who submitted them also appears to testify, the notice says.
- Questions about participating go to the Clerk to the Board of Appeals at BoardofAppeals@CharlesCountyMD.gov.
That written-comment rule matters for anyone who supports or opposes the request but can’t make the meeting: a comment sent in alone will not count toward the record.
A full recording of the hearing will be posted the following business day on the county’s Cablecast channel. Residents with special needs may contact Lisa Cureton, clerk to the Board of Appeals, at 240-776-6686 or through Maryland Relay Service TDD at 1-800-735-2258.
A busy corridor
Prince Frederick Road is Maryland 231, the route between Hughesville and the Benedict Bridge into Calvert County. Under the special exception process, neighbors’ concerns about traffic, parking or noise can be raised at the hearing, and the board weighs them against the code’s standards.
The Board of Appeals will take testimony Nov. 10 and could rule that night or at a later meeting. The full agenda is posted on the county’s meeting agendas and minutes page.
