Charles County Planning Commission Meeting: October 5, 2026

The Charles County Planning Commission met on October 5, 2026, for its regular meeting. Chairperson Kevin Wedding presided. The commission approved a site development plan, held a work session on a subdivision regulation amendment, received an affordable housing and development update, adopted the 2027 meeting schedule, and addressed follow-up questions about Falcon Ridge. The meeting adjourned at 7:07 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The October 5, 2026 agenda was approved as written by voice vote.
• The August 3, 2026 meeting minutes were approved by four votes; Ryan Sekretarski recused himself, and Samiya Hackett was absent for that prior meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No personal appearances were scheduled, and no members of the public signed up to comment on the site development plan.

Discussion Items

Site Development Plan SDP 260016 - Village of Wooded Glen, Parklands Neighborhood 4, Phase 12, Parcel R2

• Staff planner Tatiana Anderson presented a request to approve a site development plan for 102 townhouses and six duplexes on 64.45 acres at the corner of Rocky Mountain Lane and North Cascade Place. The property is in the Wooded Glen neighborhood within the St. Charles Plan Unit Development and is zoned PUD, in the Development District and Priority Funding Area.
• The plan was presented as consistent with the Villages of Wooded Glen and Piney Reach Master Plan and with the Parklands preliminary subdivision plan PLREV 25002, approved by the Planning Commission on December 1, 2025. The original preliminary subdivision plan PSP 19001 was approved November 4, 2019, and revised November 3, 2025.
• Applicant representative Steve Scott described the request as straightforward, noted this is the final section of the Parklands neighborhood, an age-restricted community, and stated the applicant agreed to the two conditions in the staff report. He also indicated state highway approval had been issued for the project's access.
• The commission approved the site development plan as presented with the staff conditions.

Work Session - SRA 26-01 Subdivision Regulations Amendment

• Staff reviewed the amendment to preliminary subdivision plan completion conditions. Staff had earlier recommended denial, but after public testimony the commission asked staff to work with the applicant.
• The proposed revised language would keep the current option of completing 25% of physical improvements and recording 25% of lots, and add two independent options: completing at least 50% of physical improvements, or recording at least 50% of lots.
• Staff discovered that the applicability section had been inadvertently dropped from earlier drafts and recommended restoring language making the amendment effective for projects with approved preliminary plans as of January 1, 2026. Applicant attorney Steve Scott said the intended beneficiaries were Falcon Ridge and Brookwood. Commissioner Jeffrey Bossert questioned whether the date could leave other projects out; Mr. Scott indicated those were the identified projects and that new projects would also benefit from the new options going forward.
• The commission closed the work session and remanded the revised amendment for a second public hearing, scheduled for the November 2, 2026 Planning Commission meeting.

Affordable Housing and Planning Growth Update

• Joe Binkley presented quarterly development statistics and an annual update on the Affordable Housing Strategy.
• For the first three quarters of 2026, there were no preliminary subdivision plans approved; about 475 final plats, minor and major, were approved, a low number if the trend continues; 23 site development plans were approved, accounting for more than 300 residential units, primarily townhouses, and more than 400,000 square feet of commercial development, of which more than 270,000 square feet was part of the third phase of Barrie Point.
• Commercial building permits totaled 12 for 105,000 square feet, including a Kia dealership, a medical building in Waldorf, and a Royal Farms gas station in Indian Head. Residential permits for the first three quarters totaled about 339 housing units.
• On the Affordable Housing Strategy, Mr. Binkley reported that the accessory dwelling unit zoning text amendment was approved by the county commissioners in July and became effective in late August; fewer than a dozen ADU applications had been submitted, with dozens of additional inquiries. The pilot affordable housing program funded 289 units in the prior round, all affordable to households earning 60% of area median income or less, representing about one-quarter of the county's identified deficit. About $360,000 remained in the program's original budget. The pilot program provides a 20-year tax abatement with inflation accounted for.
• Programs in progress include rental licensing, efforts to limit corporate ownership of single-family homes, and zoning code work on voluntary inclusionary zoning, density bonuses, tiny homes, missing middle housing, and starter homes. A mixed residential communities text amendment would lower the minimum single-family dwelling size from 1,250 square feet to 960 square feet and create a cottage dwelling option below 960 square feet, but it has not yet been approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
• Mr. Binkley stated the current deficit is about 1,250 units affordable to households earning 30% to 80% of area median income. Without policy changes, the deficit would grow; with the strategies being implemented, he projected the county could enable roughly 200 affordable units per year and eliminate the deficit after 10 years. The development pipeline includes about 1,400 units countywide, including in La Plata, but units are not counted toward the deficit until permitted and under construction.

2027 Planning Commission Schedule

• The commission adopted the 2027 meeting schedule, generally meeting on the second and fourth Mondays, with the first meeting on January 11, 2027. Commissioner Jeffrey Bossert proposed moving the final meeting from December 13 to December 6, 2027, and the schedule was approved as modified.

New Business and Director's Report

• Commissioner Jeffrey Bossert asked about the status of the encroachment zoning text amendment. Mr. Rice said it had not yet gone before the county commissioners, with a public hearing anticipated later in October, possibly October 20.
• In the director's report, Mr. Rice answered questions previously raised by Ms. Schertler about Falcon Ridge. He stated that, while the planning commission decision is under appeal, the developer cannot record 25% of the lots or complete substantial physical improvements beyond grading and filling; therefore the related questions about mootness and precedent were not applicable. Fee-based reviews, such as forest conservation plan approval, may continue, but the county cannot issue approvals allowing lot recording or physical improvement permits.

Key Outcomes

• Approved SDP 260016 for Parklands Phase 12, Parcel R2, including 102 townhouses and six duplexes, with the staff report conditions.
• Closed the SRA 26-01 work session and scheduled a second public hearing for November 2, 2026.
• Adopted the 2027 Planning Commission meeting schedule, with the final meeting moved to December 6, 2027.
• Adjourned at 7:07 p.m.