Videos

Evaluation and Recommendations: Simplifying Zones and Uses

Prince George’s current zoning ordinance has more than 73 zone districts. Can you imagine trying to thumb through 73 zoning codes and regulations? It’s like reading a surgical manual on operation procedures and you have never been to med school!

Clarion has recommended that we consolidate and restructure our zones and regulations to 43. It’s a start…Zone consolidation helps support mixed-use, transit oriented development, and revitalization. Making sure we get the right growth in the right locations.



Evaluation and Recommendations: Aligning to Plan Prince George’s 2035

Plan Prince George’s 2035 is the blueprint for where and how the County grows over the next 20 years. The plan establishes goals, policies, strategies, and a new growth vision for Prince George’s County that will help direct new development to existing transit-oriented centers, focus public investment on our economic engines, capitalize on and maintain our infrastructure, strengthen our established communities, and proactively preserve our natural, historic, and cultural resources. “Plan Prince George’s 2035” identifies updating the Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance as “the number one priority in order to begin to implement Plan 2035.”



Why are we Rewriting the Zoning Ordinance?

Can you imagine trying to read a 1,000-page document just to add a deck to your home? Well, if your answer is no, then you are not alone.

Many in the community agree the current Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision regulations are outdated, confusing, inconsistent, difficult to understand and use, and in some instances creates challenges to achieving the types of development County residents desire



Evaluation and Recommendations Community Meeting Recap

In January and February 2015, the project team held several community outreach sessions with residents, land-use professionals, civic associations, businesses, and municipalities to discuss Clarion Associates evaluation and recommendations for how the County’s Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations should be restructured.

If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can watch highlights from the presentation below.



Enroll in Zoning 101

Do the terms DSP, C-S-C, or ZHE confuse you? Do departures and variances get you down? Have no 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.

https://youtu.be/_I4NL7CwBYg