Planners Move to Rewrite, Simplify Development Rules

For the first time in 40 years, Prince George's County is making sweeping changes to its zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations, a move that planners say will shorten the time needed to get projects approved, make the process more transparent and allow residents to have greater input in shaping their communities.

Samuel J. Parker Jr., chairman of the Planning Board, said Wednesday that the changes are necessary because the ordinance is outdated and "does not meet some of our [planning] objectives."

"Our code is built on a suburban model, and the county is much more complicated than that," he said. "We have the rural area, suburban area and urban centers. The code does not lend itself to how the county has evolved."

Arie Stouten, the Planning Board's chief of development review, said the county has modified its ordinance in the past "as issues arise," but this time it plans major revisions.

Parker and leaders of the County Council decided to rework the ordinance because they "recognized that we might not have the right kind of tools in place to implement the general plan," which outlines the county's growth management policies, Stouten said.

Marty Mitchell, vice president of the Prince George's chapter of the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association, said his group has not seen a draft of the revisions but supports the effort.

"Anything that is going to simplify, streamline the predictability of the process, we are in favor of," he said.

Stouten said the changes will reduce the number of "decision-making levels" for projects to get approved. Parker said the revisions will also clarify the process, which will help residents and developers. He said the way the ordinance is written, "you would have to be an expert to understand it."

But some community activists said streamlining the development review process will serve the interests of developers and the building industry, not the community.

"We get so few chances already to participate in the planning process, and people feel like projects are snuck past them and there is a tendency to bait and switch," said Kelly Canavan, president of the Accokeek, Mattawoman, Piscataway Creeks Communities Council.

Stouten rejects the notion that the community will have less input. He said the new ordinance, which has not been drafted, will allow the community to become involved in the process earlier. The ordinance would require developers to meet with the public in an informal review before making an application before the Planning Board.

"Most [developers] go to the community, but they are not required. They just have to notify them," he said. Under the new ordinance, they would be required to meet with the community, he said.

Planners will meet with residents next month to discuss concerns about the zoning ordinance. During the remainder of the year, the planning staff will have a series of meetings with civic associations, homeowners groups, developers, lawyers and environmentalists to talk about the plans.

Stouten said legislation probably will be sent to the County Council in January.