The April 1 meeting of the Charles County Planning Commission drew ire from residents of some St. Charles communities about a proposed change of location of a middle school and a waiver for the “85% rule.”
The rule in the St. Charles communities holds that residential construction of any kind shall begin in the Village of Piney Reach until 85% of all residential construction has been completed in the Village of Wooded Glen, according to a presentation given to the planning commission.
Charles County staff recommended that the planning commission adopt waiving that rule and forward it to the county commissioners for their approval.
Stephen Scott of Scott Law Group represented St. Charles Community LLC and brought forward that this was not a new amendment proposal but something proposed in late 2022.
Scott questioned Richard Barnas of Barnas Engineering on the facts of the amendment, and had him identify how the St. Charles communities operate.
The community uses a master plan that guides land uses and development, Barnas explained. Barnas said that it is a living, breathing document that can change as needs change and projects evolve.
The planning commission initially supported the change, but the amendment was not viewed as favorable by the commissioners upon its initial presentation as there was strong public testimony against waiving the 85% rule, Barnas said.
He explained the commissioners had not decided on whether or not to support the plan, so the plan was pulled by St. Charles Community LLC when they realized the commissioners would likely not vote for it.
“We had no interest in resubmitting the plan until we received a letter from Charles County Public Schools,” Barnas said.
The school system, which sent in written testimony in support of the master plan amendment, thought that the current proposed site of the middle school was not adequate in space, as it would currently be sharing a site with an elementary school.
Mary Miller, a La Plata resident, called the idea of waiving the 85% buildout “counter-intuitive” as she thought it would be odd to build a new school before building the neighborhood.
Eileen Lynch-Britt, a Waldorf resident who serves as the HOA president of the Fieldside community, voiced her concerns about the amendment and how the 85% rule should be upheld.
Lynch-Britt said that in a recent meeting with Lennar, the company overseeing construction in the St. Charles developments, approximately 100 residents voiced their concerns with substandard construction and issues with land development.
She cited a waiver to the 85% rule granted to the Village of Wooded Glen that she claims led to swift construction, creating sinkholes, incomplete stormwater systems and substandard project execution.
Five neighborhoods fall under the Wooden Glen Village Association: Fieldside, Stonehaven, Highlands, Parklands and Horizon.
Lynch-Britt said that many homeowners have made purchases based on school locations and amenities and switching the locations of the planned schools feels like a “bait and switch tactic”.
“My community, we feel have been mistreated, we’ve been misguided, we’ve been mislead, we’ve been hoodwinked, we’ve been bamboozled, we’ve been lead astray,” Nicole Hall, HOA president of the Stonehaven neighborhood, said. “Our homes have been falling apart from the day of signing.”
Denard Earl, a planning commission member, said to those representing the amendment change, “We know that this is not the committee to hear grievances about housing and buildings, so the fact that they are here saying that in a committee that has no power to do so lets me know how concerned and frustrated they are about it.”
The planning commission voted to keep the record open on the issue to allow for more public comment to come in for a future work session.
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