The Charles County Comprehensive Plan update team has dropped a land use scenario that business groups supported that focused on distributed growth and has instead prepared two scenarios for an open house set for Oct. 19.

Previously, the comprehensive plan team, which included consultants from Environmental Resources Management in Annapolis and EDSA in Baltimore, had developed three land use scenarios as options to consider to guide the 2012 comprehensive plan.

Planning Director Steven Ball told the Charles County Planning Commission on Monday that scenario two was not popular at public outreach meetings and has been dropped.

Scenario two maintained the development district from 2006, which includes Waldorf, St. Charles and Bryans Road, and included projected growth areas for La Plata and Indian Head. In place of a priority preservation area, the scenario recommended downzoning a PPA-like area to one unit per 10 acres.

Scenario two also included a deferred development district for future growth beyond 2040, the cross-county connector and the Indian Head Science and Technology Park.

The new scenario one is a fine-tuned scenario one while the scenario two includes elements of the old scenario three combined with other elements mentioned at the public meetings, county spokeswoman Deborah Avery-Tarbox said.

Scenario one focused on environmental protection by protecting the county’s stream valleys, increasing coastal protection and including a PPA. The scenario concentrates development in Waldorf, St. Charles and the existing town boundaries of Indian Head and La Plata.

The new scenario two does envision a downsized cross-county connector with just four lanes, a “greener” parkway design and downzoning of adjacent areas to address environmentalists’ concerns about the area. It includes existing employment areas, including the Indian Head Science and Technology Park, Avery-Tarbox said.

The new scenario two also envisions a more developed Bryans Road as seen in the Bryans Road subarea plan.

Scenario three focused development along U.S. 301, with growth areas for La Plata, and envisioned Bryans Road as a mixed-use village. The scenario also had a smaller PPA and envisioned the redevelopment of Aqua Land.

Avery-Tarbox said that staff still is finalizing details about the scenarios, which are set to be released next week in preparation for the open house on Oct. 19 in La Plata.

Harry Shasho of Shasho Consulting Commercial Real Estate said that he would need more information about the scenarios before commenting, but added that he sent a letter to the county advocating for a fourth scenario that emphasized economic development and included elements from all three preliminary land use scenarios.

Paul Facchina Sr., CEO of the Facchina Group of Companies, said he was “intensely interested in commenting on the comprehensive plan” but would need to meet with stakeholders before commenting further.

Bonnie Bick, vice president of the Mattawoman Watershed Society, said that she is most interested in seeing the impact of a water resources element on the remaining scenarios.

“The WRE is supposed to be used as a lens to guide the comprehensive plan, so we are interested to see how it impacts the land use scenarios,” she said.

Bick and several residents criticized a water resources element for the 2006 comprehensive plan earlier this year for lacking science and a smart growth scenario.

“I have no problem with scenario two being dropped,” Bryans Road resident Cynthia King said. “I do not want Bryans Road to be urbanized.”

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To learn more

Full information on the two remaining land use scenarios has not been released. When they are available, they will be posted on the comprehensive plan website, www.charlescountyplan.org.

The open house will take place 5-8 p.m. Oct. 19 at La Plata High School, 6035 Radio Station Road, La Plata.

Call Amy Blessinger at 301-645-0650 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .