Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Primera Iglesia seeks special-exception approval to expand Capitol Heights church
Summary
At a Sept. 10 hearing, the applicant for Primera Iglesia Adventista Ebenezer requested approval to expand an existing house of worship at 813–903 Cypress Tree Drive in Capitol Heights from an existing building to 3,919 square feet; staff recommended approval with conditions and the record was closed pending a decision.
Prince George's County Zoning Hearing Examiner Maureen McNeil held a Sept. 10, 2025, hearing on a special exception application from Primera Iglesia Adventista Ebenezer to expand an existing church and to obtain alternative compliance from portions of the county landscape manual. The property is described in the application as 0.62 acres made up of four tax parcels at 813, 815, 901 and 903 Cypress Tree Drive in Capitol Heights.
The applicant, represented by attorney Robert Antonetti of Shipley & Horn, asked the examiner to approve a building expansion that the application and witness testimony described as bringing the church to 3,919 square feet, with on-site parking sized to meet zoning requirements and site improvements including a new sidewalk, stormwater management and perimeter landscaping. Technical staff recommended approval with conditions in a report dated June 12, 2025, which the planning board endorsed June 26, 2025; the hearing record was closed at the end of the Sept. 10 proceeding and a decision was to follow.
Why this matters: The proposal raises typical neighborhood issues — parking and traffic, landscape buffering and site design — while the applicant says the project will modernize an existing house of worship, provide required on-site parking and reduce off-street impacts. Prince George's County rules require special-exception scrutiny for places of worship on smaller residential lots; staff and the applicant's witnesses framed the plan as designed to meet those standards while responding to site constraints.
Site and proposal details
Witnesses for the applicant described the site and plan in detail. Colliers Engineering and Design landscape architect Scott R. Wolford said the property totals 0.62 acres and is formed from four tax accounts; the current structure on the site is recorded in the application at about 1,337.67 square feet and the proposal would expand the building to a total of 3,919 square feet. Wolford testified that roughly 514 square feet of the existing building would be…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
