Dear Ms. Allen,

Thank you for summarizing the concerns of the residents of Constitution Hills. I will respond point by point.

1. The connection of Autumn Hills to Constitution Hills.

You are right that Autumn Hills is to be connected to Constitution Hills by Constitution Drive. This will not occur until McDaniel Road is completed and open for use to Smallwood Drive. The Constitution Drive connection is intended to provide an interconnection of residential neighborhoods. The primary access for Autumn Hills to the north and the south is planned to be McDaniel Road which will be built to a major collector standard to handle the planned traffic at a higher design speed than local roads such as Constitution and Stavors.

As indicated by Commissioner Levy construction traffic will be prohibited from entering Constitution Hills. County inspectors have been very successful regulating this restriction in other developments.

2. Impacts of the connection of Autumn Hills to Constitution Hills.

Based on the traffic study performed as part of the approval of Autumn Hills, there will be additional vehicle trips using Stavors Road from Autumn Hills. There will also be a corresponding number of trips from Constitution Hills using the connection through Autumn Hills to McDaniel Road, Smallwood Drive and Middletown Road. It is hoped that this connectivity will provide more driving convenience for the residents of both Autumn Hills and Constitution Hills. It should provide more direct access to shopping areas such as the “Mall.”

Interconnecting neighborhoods is a part of the County’s strategy to provide a better road network in the greater Waldorf area and thus relieve some of the congestion by providing more choice in selecting a travel route. Another big part of improving the network is the improvement of major roadways by the County such as the Middletown Road and Billingsley Road projects. Finally, the County improves the network by requiring developers to provide planned connections and upgrades to roads such as the McDaniel Road which will, again, allow more choices and dispersal of traffic.

3. What opportunities are there for public comment and input to development decisions.

The approval of subdivisions by the Planning Commission is an administrative process and does not allow for a formal public hearing process. However, the Planning Commission encourages public comment on subdivisions providing the input is related to the topic. There are times when the residents in the area can bring forth information that was not available to the staff in their analysis. Unfortunately, the Planning Commission has approved this development. It is not usual, however, for applicants to have a need to make revisions that warrant Planning Commission consideration. I will place a note in the subdivision file to remind us to contact you if the plan needs to go back to the Planning Commission for revision.

4. Latest approved Plan

One of the attachments referred to plans with different dates. The best way to be assured that you are looking at the approved plan is to compare it to the plan on file in the Department of Planning and Growth Management. If you or any other resident would like to inspect the file, please contact me. Staff is available to assist from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm every workday. Arrangements could also be made after hours on nights that we have meetings in the building.

I hope this was not too long winded, but I did want to give some explanation as to why the County has certain requirements and standards.

If you have any further questions please contact me.

Sincerely,

Zak Krebeck

Acting Director of Planning

Charles County Department of Planning and Growth Management

301-645-0688

krebeckz@govt.co.charles.md.us