THE LOCAL GUIDE TO WHAT’S ACTUALLY HAPPENING

If you live in St. Mary’s County, you’ve probably seen posts from the county government or heard the term “the 2050 plan.” It’s the county’s big plan for how St. Mary’s grows between now and 2050. It’s also long. So I wanted to help everyone digest some of what’s in it.

Just the Insider’s read on the plan, not an official statement from the county.

The county adopted St. Mary’s 2050 on October 20. The county commissioners and everyone involved put a lot of work into this plan and into thinking it through. It wasn’t thrown together.

Somewhere to take the grandkids when it rains. More places to fish, walk or get out on the water. A smaller home that lets your grown child stay in the county. Those are the parts of St. Mary’s 2050 worth a closer look. I kept one simple question in mind. Could this make it easier to find a home, keep a parent nearby, get to the water or find something to do?

So what does it actually mean for you? Some parts are real goals with numbers. Others are things the county only promises to look into. The plan also has a to-do list. For each job, it says when the county plans to start and whether it already has what it needs to do it. I’ll tell you both as we go. Here’s the plain version.

Three things worth knowing up front:

More places to spend a Saturday. The county will work to bring in businesses like bookstores, movie theaters, specialty shops and arts businesses. Indoor and outdoor recreation are on the list, too. The goal is to give young families and young professionals more reasons to live here. That helps attract employers, too.

On rainy or cold days, that could mean more indoor courts. The plan calls for more courts, fields, ball diamonds and walking and biking trails as demand grows. The county will also look for private partners to help build indoor sports spaces, like a sports dome. No operator, site or opening date is named yet.

Who's doing it? The county's Economic Development office and Visit St. Mary's will keep recruiting these businesses. The plan says they already have what they need to do it. There's no set number of new businesses and no date. We'll share what comes of it.

For a day out, the plan supports more tourist-friendly shops and restaurants. It also backs businesses that take people hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, boating or on history tours. The county may even consider tax breaks for some of them. If they open, that’s more to do close to home.

New public fields, courts and trails are ongoing work. But the plan says the county doesn't have what it needs for them yet. So watch for a partner or money in the budget. That's what will show which ones actually get built. Read the plan.

A farm visit can be more than a weekend outing. It can help a farm keep earning money from the land. So the plan backs the fun stuff: pick-your-own produce, corn and hay mazes, farm stays, roadside stands and farm events. Wineries, breweries and distilleries using local products are included, too.

The goal is to protect at least 80% of the 97,660-acre Priority Preservation Area by 2040. That's the big stretch of farmland and woods the county has picked as its top spot to keep rural. The county protects land through deals that keep it from being developed. Hitting 80% means about 78,000 acres protected in total. That's not 78,000 new acres, since some are already protected. And it's not 80% of the whole county. A yearly map and report will show how many acres are protected, which deals are still in the works and where the money came from. Read the plan.

That gives you something to check each year: how many acres are protected, and how close the county is to its 2040 goal.

Could your grown child, a local worker or a downsizing parent find a home they can afford? Right now, a lot of renters are stretched. In 2023, 45% of renter households spent more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the plan. That's close to half. For a household earning $60,000 a year, 30% is $1,500 a month.

What could change is the kind of homes you see going up. Not just big houses on big lots. Think small apartment buildings with 5 to 12 units, cottage courts (small homes grouped around a shared yard), homes on smaller lots, duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and townhomes. A smaller place could suit someone who doesn't need, or can't afford, a large house.

So who does what? The county may set up a housing work group, a team to look at what kinds of homes and prices people here need. A housing study would dig into the numbers. The county will also look at faster building permits for homes priced for families earning the median income here or less. That's the point where half of households earn more and half earn less. And builders in growth areas can already build extra homes on a piece of land if some are priced for local workers. The county will keep doing that and look at making the deal more appealing to builders.

Here's the tradeoff. Right now, when builders put up a project in the county's development districts, like Lexington Park, they have to leave half the land open and undeveloped, like grass, trees or fields. The plan says that could drop to as little as one fifth if the builder includes homes priced for local workers. So you'd get more homes people can afford, but less green space in those neighborhoods. This is an idea the plan encourages, not a done deal.

No price, number of homes or timeline is set yet. For families trying to stay close, the number that matters is the price on the listing. Read the plan.

If Mom or Dad needs changes to the house to keep living there, the permit could get easier. These are changes that help an older or disabled family member stay in their own home. The plan says the county will look at the permit rules for these changes and make approvals simpler. The county's Land Use and Growth Management and Economic Development offices are in charge. The plan sets it to start soon and says the county already has what it needs.

An accessory apartment is a small, separate apartment on the same property as a house. It could let a parent live close by with their own space. The plan encourages them where there's enough parking and the outside of the house still fits the neighborhood. There's a catch. Each home needs its share of water and sewer capacity, and the county will look at whether to allow more for these apartments. That review is set to start soon, too.

The county also plans to keep growing help for older residents. That includes meal delivery, caregiver support, in-home support and social activities. It also wants to keep and grow rides for seniors, like the Senior Rides Program. How many more people will be served isn’t set yet. Read the plan.

Getting to the water could get easier at Myrtle Point. The county will study adding public access to the Patuxent River there. That includes access for people with disabilities, lighting and a design that protects the shoreline.

For a family member using a mobility aid, better access could make the whole outing possible. The first thing to watch for is a clear plan for how people could reach the water.

The county's Recreation and Parks department will lead that study. The plan sets it to start soon and says the county already has what it needs. But a study is just the first step. It's not a pier or ramp opening.

Longer term, the plan calls for more public boat ramps and fishing areas. That means more places to launch a boat or cast a line. The county doesn't have what it needs for those yet, and no sites are named. Read the plan.

More trails that actually get you somewhere. The plan says the county should require developers to either build part of the Three Notch Trail or pay a fee to help finish it. It doesn’t spell out which projects that covers. The county’s land use and public works departments are in charge, and the plan says they don’t have what they need for it yet. The goal is trails that connect to parks, schools and places to reach the water.

When shops or neighborhoods are built or rebuilt next to each other, the rules would require sidewalks or paths between them. That rule change is set to start soon, and the county already has what it needs. The county also already requires shared driveways between some side-by-side properties. That can mean you don't have to pull back onto a main road just to reach the store next door.

The county will also work with SMECO, the power company, to look at turning land along power lines into trails. And it's working on a study about extending FDR Boulevard with the Metropolitan Planning Organization, a regional group that helps plan roads. The study is meant to make the case for getting money to build the extension.

For your commute, that's step one. A finished study helps the county ask for road money. It doesn't build a road, and there's no opening date yet. Read the plan.

If an old shopping center gets rebuilt, the county wants room saved for the small shops already there. The plan gives a couple of ideas, like helping a shop find a spot nearby during the work, or lower rent for local shops that move into the new center. It's a goal, not a rule, and the plan doesn't name an office in charge or a start date.

If a shopping center near you gets rebuilt, it's fair to ask: Where will the shop go? Can it come back? What will the rent be? The plan suggests this kind of help, but it doesn't require it.

And yes, gas stations come up. The county will write a master plan for each town center, including Hollywood, Mechanicsville and Charlotte Hall. Each one is a more detailed plan for that area. Those plans should look at ways to keep too many of the same kind of business from going up, like gas stations and convenience stores. That's a long-term job, and there's no new limit in place. Read the plan.

Some of this isn't new. The 2010 plan also hoped for a movie theater, a bookstore and accessory apartments. It also set a goal: at least 70% of new homes should go in the county's growth areas. Those are the places the state and county target for growth. In 2025, about 72% of finished new homes were built there. In 2024, it was about 54%. That's one way to grade the old plan, not the whole report card. Read the 2025 report.

You won’t have to wait until 2050 to see how it’s going.

Here's the schedule. The county will put out a progress report every year. Every three years, by July 1, there's a bigger check-in. And at the five-year mark, the county will do a full review of how the plan is going. Those reports are where you'll see if any of this is actually happening. Read the plan.

For the parts covered here, I’d look for:

That’s what would make this matter at home. A home your child can afford. A parent who can stay nearby. A farm that stays a farm. An outing that works for everyone. The plan gives us numbers and jobs we can check on.

See you out there, St. Mary’s.