Project News – Page 16

NEXT STEPS for the Zoning Rewrite

In December 2014, Clarion Associates released the Evaluation and Recommendations Report. This document was intended to serve as a catalyst for community discussion concerning ideas to improve the County’s zoning and subdivision approval system.

This goal was achieved as many stakeholders came to our scheduled events prepared with questions and ideas. More than 55 meetings have been held with civic associations, non-profit organizations, local municipalities, and government agencies to discuss the pros and cons of the report’s recommendations.

Overwhelmingly, stakeholders agreed that the proposals presented by Clarion Associates would improve the current zoning and subdivision codes, while also withholding judgment on some of the recommendations (such as eliminating council “call-up” procedures and shifting more types of applications to administration review) until more details are available. Now the heavy lifting of drafting the County’s NEW Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations can begin.

Here’s how it will take place. Over the next two years Clarion Associates will prepare three individual modules, conduct public review of the module, synthesize the public’s comments in writing, prepare staff/consultant recommendations on the suggested changes, and then get direction from the decision makers on the suggested changes.

If you are wondering why the new laws are being prepared in this manner, the primary reason is that the code and the modules are interrelated. As each individual module is drafted, changes will most likely need to be made in the other modules. Incorporating changes from previous modules into this process complicates the rewrite process since many times changes are revised again at later stages. Therefore, it is better to address and incorporate all appropriate revisions at the same time.

Clarion Associates has drafted more than 120 codes throughout the nation and these experiences have led to good practices and ideas on the most effective ways to rewrite local legislation.

Download a copy of the Final Phasing Plan Summary for additional details about the next steps of the drafting of the County’s new Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Regulations.

Stay connected for more updates and staff articles about how zoning affects you. The latest happenings with the Zoning Rewrite are posted on our website, Facebook, and Twitter. In the meantime, please let us know your thoughts—contact us directly at zoningpgc(at)ppd.mncppc.org.

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Evaluation and Recommendations: Making the Code User-Friendly

One of the biggest challenges with Prince George’s current zoning ordinance is that it is outdated, lengthy, and confusing. The current zoning code is more than 1,000 pages long and is difficult to understand. The document lacks images or graphics that visually explain concepts to the everyday person.

Clarion Associates recommends that we
– Reorganize the written structure of the ordinance so that it is more intuitive to search,
– Use flowcharts to explain procedures making it easier for people to visual interpret the process.
– Modify the publication’s layout to integrate more tables and graphics makes the zoning ordinance easier to read and understand.

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Evaluation and Recommendations: Best Practice Development Standards

It has been over 50 years since the last time the zoning ordinance has been comprehensively revised. During that time, the median household income about $7,000, and the average American home cost $24,600. Life has changed a great deal since the 1960’s. We have more use of technology, a greater need to preserve our open space and environment, and a growing population. Today’s needs call for a 21st Century Zoning Ordinance.

Clarion Associates recommends the new zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations incorporate best practices from across the country that address how to redevelop and revitalize the under used commercial corridors; provide regulations that will protect and sustain our communities; design guidelines that will improve connectivity and roads in our communities; and develop regulations that will protect our open space, agriculture, and farmlands.

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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.

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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.”

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