2022 Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Process, Schedule and Documents

On April 24, 2022, during a public hearing held by the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners to review text amendments, concerns were raised about the proposed expansion of the Prince Frederick Town Center boundary, as outlined in the 2019-approved Calvert County Comprehensive Plan. As a result of these public comments, between April 2022 and November 2022, the Calvert County Planning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners reviewed and considered revisions to all town center boundaries recommended in the 2019-approved Calvert County Comprehensive Plan.

• June 7 and June 28, 2022: The Board of County Commissioners held work sessions to discuss revising all town center boundaries. The June 7, 2022 work session was open to the public. The June 28, 2022 work session was closed to the public pursuant to General Provisions Article Section 3-305 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. 
• July 20, 2022:The Department of Planning and Zoning informed the Planning Commission that the Board of County Commissioners directed staff to pursue amending the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan as follows:
  • Preserve the planned expansions for the Dunkirk, Owings, and St. Leonard Town Centers, and work towards amending the Comprehensive Plan to extend the boundaries of these Town Centers in the future:
    • Huntingtown: Remove the expansion area in its entirety.
    • Prince Frederick: Remove the Phase 2 expansion in its entirety.
    • Lusby: Retain the northern expansion for the Lusby Town Center and remove the potential expansion area between the Lusby and Solomons Town Centers.
    • Solomons: Remove the expansion area from the eastern side of the Town Center.
  • The Planning Commission directed staff to prepare the amendments to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan and return to the Planning Commission for consideration.
• August 24, 2022: The Planning Commission directed the staff to send the proposed amendments to relevant agencies for review, schedule a public hearing, and notify the agencies and adjoining jurisdictions at least 60 days in advance of the public hearing. The staff followed these instructions, distributing the proposed amendments as directed and informing the agencies that while a public hearing date had not yet been set, it would not occur before November 1, 2022.
• September 21, 2022: The Department of Planning and Zoning updated the Planning Commission on the commencement of the 60-day comment period, and if approved, the proposed amendments would reduce or eliminate Huntingtown, Prince Frederick, Lusby, and Solomons Town Center boundaries.
• October 19, 2022: The Department of Planning and Zoning informed the Planning Commission that the proposed amendments to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan had been presented to the Calvert County Economic Development Advisory Commission, the Dunkirk Architectural Review Committee, and the Solomons Architectural Review Committee. Additionally, staff was scheduled to present the amendments to the Architectural Review Committees for Huntingtown, Lusby, and Prince Frederick.
• November 2, 2022: The Planning Commission held a public hearing at 7 p.m. at the Harriet E. Brown Community Center to discuss proposed amendments aimed at reducing or eliminating the town center boundaries for Huntingtown, Prince Frederick, Lusby, and Solomons. The proposed amendments included changes to the text and maps of the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan, specifically affecting the Future Land Use Plan, the Prince Frederick Town Center expansion, and the Functional Road Classifications maps. 
  Comments received by October 14, 2022, were included in the agenda packet for the Planning Commission's public hearing. Comments submitted between October 15, 2022, and the close of business on November 2, 2022, were provided to the Planning Commission prior to the hearing. Additionally, one set of comments was submitted to the Planning Commission during the public hearing. 
  After concluding the testimony, the Planning Commission voted to close the record, accept the proposed amendments, and forward them to the Board of County Commissioners.
• November 16, 2022: The Department of Planning and Zoning informed the Planning Commission that the Board of County Commissioners scheduled a public hearing on November 29, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at the Harriet E. Brown Community Center, 901 Dares Beach Road, Prince Frederick.
• November 29, 2022: The Board of County Commissioners held a public hearing on the proposed amendments to reduce or eliminate the Huntingtown, Prince Frederick, Lusby, and Solomons Town Center boundaries at 7 p.m. at the Harriet E. Brown Community Center. Proposed amendments included changes to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan’s text and maps, including the Future Land Use Plan, Prince Frederick Town Center expansion, and Functional Road Classifications maps.
  The Board of County Commissioners received comments on the proposed amendments, closed the record, and voted to approve the amendments to reduce or eliminate the proposed expansions for the Huntingtown, Lusby, Prince Frederick, and Solomons Town Centers boundaries.
• December 9, 2022: The amendment to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan became effective.
• December 12, 2022: The Department of Planning and Zoning informed the Planning Commission that the Board of County Commissioners approved the proposed amendments to the Calvert County Comprehensive Plan.