Villas at Lexwood Townhomes Proposed
Originally Published: June 23, 2023
The Planning Commission will review a proposal for the Villas at Lexwood, a new development of 40 townhomes located off Lexwood Drive, just across from Lexwood Court. The 40 townhomes will be split across 7 buildings, with 84 parkings spaces.
Aydco Holdings LLC, owner of the landsite, also owns the townhomes on Lexwood Court. The company specializes in building and rehabbing affordable housing. Tom Ayd, owner of Aydco Holdings, is a principal owner of Greenstreet Housing in Salisbury, MD, which is “dedicated to the creation and preservation of affordable housing in rural areas” according to their website. Greenstreet owns the apartments off Lexwood Court.
The Planning Commission will need to approve or deny the concept site plan for this development and decide on three variances for the property. The project does not comply with the St. Mary’s County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance in three ways:
-At least 50% of the site is required to remain as open space, but the developer will be unable to meet that with the current site plan.
-A total of 24 townhomes are only 16’ wide, less than the 20’ required by zoning.
-Wetlands exist on the property which are planned to convert to a storm water management pond. This has already been approved by MDE.
Further, the Planning Commission will need to approve an amendment to MetCom’s Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan to allow hookup access in the next 3-5 years rather than 6-10 years. The St. Mary’s County Health Department and MetCom have both signed off on this change. MetCom notes in documents the Forest Run pump station, where this development would discharge, is at capacity and not funded for construction until FY26. They go on to say that final approval of the site plan and building permits will not occur until water/sewer facilities are in place and ready for hookup.
The concept site plan shows seven buildings, five on the outside and two on the inside of what will be called Fenland Circle. There is a play area in the center of the development, between buildings six and seven.
The Planning Commission meeting is on Monday, June 26th at 6:30PM at the Chesapeake Building in Leonardtown. Email your comments, questions, or concerns to jessica.burch@stmaryscountymd.gov for them to become part of the record. You can also attend the meeting in person and provide comments.
Here is the link to the agenda, with supporting documents: http://go.boarddocs.com/md/stmarysco/Board.nsf/goto?open...
