Updates

Welcome to the website for Prince George’s County’s Zoning Rewrite project!

The Prince George’s County Planning Department of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has begun a three-year effort to rewrite and update Prince George’s County’s Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations, thereby transforming the current zoning code to a more user-friendly, 21st century document.

Updating the current code is critical to enabling the County to carry out the vision laid out in the updated General Plan, “Plan Prince George’s 2035”. A modernized zoning ordinance will make regulations easier to understand and more user-friendly, support the type of quality development the county desires, and encourage economic growth.  A fresh look at the current Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations is long overdue. Neither the ordinance nor the regulations have been updated in over 50 years. During that half -century, though, both have been amended numerous times in order to address specific and pressing planning and development needs and issues. These piecemeal amendments have resulted in an unwieldy 1,000 page document that is often described as confusing, inconsistent, difficult to use and which, in some instances, has presented a road block to the type of economic development that the County desires – development supporting economic growth and improved quality of life for County residents.

We invite you to join in this important project that will directly affect the future of Prince George’s County. Over the next three years, the Prince George’s County Planning department will work with citizens, residents, businesses, property owners, special interest groups and all other stakeholders to rewrite and reorganize the county’s zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations.

Help us to create a 21st century zoning ordinance by getting involved today! Tour this web site and learn the basics through our tutorial, “Zoning 101”. Provide comments and feedback on the current zoning ordinance. Review our draft work program. Sign up to receive emails on our progress. And, register to attend and share your thoughts at one of three public listening sessions scheduled to take place this January.

We look forward to hearing from and working with you on this most important project. Thank you for helping build a great future for Prince George’s County!!

Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Hewlett, Chairman

Zoning Ordinance Website has a new look

We are happy to announce the launch of our recently updated website and blog for the Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations rewrite. Our new website was crafted specifically to keep community members and project stakeholders connected throughout the rewrite process. Optimized with a responsive design, you can easily learn about the status of the comprehensive update on any device, be it a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, or a large desktop display.

The most prominent feature of our new website is the incorporation of the modified Zoning Rewrite project logo. Borrowing themes from the Plan Prince George’s 2035 logo, our logo reflects the diversity of zones that can be found in the current Zoning Ordinance. Each of the colors in the logo correlates to a particular type of zone in the Prince George’s County Code-residential, industrial, commercial, open space, mixed-use, etc.

Visit our website frequently as we plan to post project reports, event announcements, regional zoning news, and other helpful resources to assist you in getting involved with the project.

In the meantime, follow us on Facebook, and Twitter. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the core team at zoningpgc@ppd.mncppc.org.

Community stakeholders speak with Project Team about the Zoning Ordinance

In June 2014, the project team held several community outreach sessions with residents, land-use professionals, civic associations, businesses, and municipalities. Even though these groups work with the Zoning Ordinance and development review process in different ways, their feedback was similar. Overwhelmingly, comments were that the Zoning Ordinance is long and confusing, the development review and approval process is confusing and unpredictable; and citizens have very little engagement in the process until close to the end after most major decisions have already been reached.

Weren’t able to attend? Watch the video from the June Listening Session.

Prince George’s County Zoning 101

Do the terms like DSP, C-S-C, or ZHE confuse you? Do departures and variances get you down? Don’t fear, the Zoning Rewrite Core Team is here! Watch our Zoning 101 tutorial to help you understand the significance and evolution of zoning in Prince George’s County. Hosted by the Prince George’s County Planning Department’s Associate General Counsel Debra Borden, Zoning 101 provides an overview of essential zoning concepts including: the difference between Planning and Zoning, the administration of zoning in the county, and the development review process. Pay close attention, there may be a pop quiz at the end.