Next Tuesday April 30th at 7pm could be the end of the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan process.  The Board of Count Commissioners (BOCC) gave themselves the authority to make ANY changes they wish to the Plan, accept the plan as is, or send it back to the PC for more work. This could happen at the Comp Plan public hearing set for 7pm on Tuesday April 30th at the Calvert Pines Senior Center in Prince Frederick. That is why you need to be there; to speak directly to the 5 BOCC members on how you feel Huntingtown should or should not be developed.

Why does this matter to us in Huntingtown you ask?

Huntingtown Town Center, currently only on the west side of Rt 4, is supposed to be a walkable, friendly town area. But it is set to expand to the east side of Rt 4 to include Huntingtown High school in the current Plan. Is this a slippery slope?  Will the BOCC revert back to previous proposals, NOT made by Huntingtown residents, to also include properties south of the High school along Rt 4 and Cox Rd. Would the member who owns property in this strip and likely to benefit financially from that move recuse himself from the voting?

Why is this a big deal you ask?  Property in a Town Center can be developed greater and with more residential density than property outside a Town Center. So the private houses, old nursery and small businesses could instantly become way bigger commercial retail spaces, gas stations, etc. How would that affect your commute through Rt 4 at the Cox Rd intersection? Can your high school kids navigate through that safely?

Hundreds of people have submitted comments on this Plan, but have those letters been read and listened to?  Our last count had over 700 comments on this current Plan draft with about 15% coming from Huntingtown citizens. Have you been heard? The majority of writers, with the exception of a handful, want to keep Huntingtown that way it is, a small friendly community of people who recognize each other when they stop in for ice cream or see each other at the ball fields.

(Send your comments in here by 4/29 to be in the record, but let’s face it. You had better come in person on 4/30 and speak your comments out load to be sure they are heard by the BOCC.)

And this does not even touch the iceberg of things in the Comp Plan that might affect you:

Do you drive across the bridge toward PAX for work?  What would happen to your commute if Lusby and Solomons Town Centers were both expanded to touch each other, making the land along Rt 4 Town Center property?  More businesses, retail and commercial uses and more housing means more cars on the road.

Do you commute to DC?  What happens when the areas surrounding Dunkirk Town Center are expanded to include higher density residential and more commercial/retails uses? Will that affect your commute to DC and the time you can spend with your loved ones?

Are you a senior citizen? There is a paltry two sentences in Chapter 10 Government & Community Facilities and a few paragraphs on page 91 about your demographic. By the year 2040, those over age 65 are to make up 25% of our county’s projected population.  Does this plan address this adequately?

Individuals may submit written comments, which must be received by 4:30 p.m., Monday, April 29, and may be submitted by emailing COMMISS@calvertcountymd.gov or through the U.S. mail to the BOCC at 175 Main Street, Prince Frederick, MD 20678.

Written comments will be accepted at the BOCC’s public hearing up until the BOCC closes the record; people delivering comments to the hearing should bring fifteen copies for the BOCC, staff, and the media.