Prince George's County Board of Appeals affirms violation finding against Foxley LLC

Prince George's County Board of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed a county finding that Foxley LLC is operating out of conformance with its use-and-occupancy permit and the accompanying site plan for 6600 Foxley Road in Upper Marlboro, voting 3-0 to uphold Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) citations under County Code §27-253(c).

The decision matters because it sustains DPIE's enforcement action against an industrial outdoor-storage operation used by many local contractors and leaves the company subject to compliance requirements while it completes an ongoing multi-year permitting effort.

Petitioners, represented by attorney Mr. Maloney, argued that Foxley operates under a 2007 certificate of occupancy that authorizes “contractor services with outdoor storage,” and that older detailed site-plan approvals (recorded in 1987, 1991 and referenced in a 06/22/2007 approval) did not draw strict limits on where outdoor storage could occur across Parcel 64. Michael Amon Sr., who testified that his company has provided contractor storage on the site since at least 2005, said the business has spent “over a half a million dollars” on updated plans and permitting and asked the board to defer action for “four or five months” so final permits (including a tree conservation plan and stormwater approvals) could be obtained.

County staff and Park and Planning reviewer Michelle Hughes testified that site-plan and parking-plan review considers the legal limits shown on an approved plan: outdoor storage is allowed only in areas shown and not where buildings, designated parking spaces or drive aisles are depicted. Hughes said modern detailed site plans (which did not exist in the same form when earlier approvals were issued) would show screening, buffers and other limits; she testified that Park and Planning would not expect an approved use to be carried out on portions of land that are not shown on the legal limits of the site plan.

Attorney Thomas Haller, representing the petitioner in land-use matters, described the current permitting steps under way: a Natural Resources Inventory filed 08/18/2022 and approved 12/28/2022; a stormwater/site development concept plan submitted 06/20/2023 and approved 08/19/2024; and repeated submissions on a tree conservation plan (petitioner reported a ninth submission during the hearing). Haller said the project team expects, in their view, to finish permitting in roughly four to five months and that the revised plans include buffers and protections for the adjacent residential neighborhood that in many places exceed the County's minimum landscape-buffer requirements (Haller referenced a 50-foot buffer standard in the landscape manual for industrial-to-residential interfaces).

Neighbors raised quality-of-life concerns in previous hearings and in testimony referenced during the meeting, including worries about water runoff and nighttime vehicle noise. Michael Amon Jr., who runs operations at the site, testified he reached out to at least one nearby resident after that neighbor raised flooding concerns and said the parties had implemented an agreed-upon solution.

Vice Chair Johnston voiced skepticism of the petitioner during questioning, at one point asking whether the petitioner's request amounted to asking the board to allow continued nonconforming activity; Johnston also used a critical characterization of the operation during questioning. The board discussed the long chronology of inspections, prior citations and dismissals and noted that several DPIE enforcement actions dating back to 2020 had been dismissed or resolved in prior administrative processes; the single remaining, operative enforcement cited at this hearing was the September 19, 2024 notice alleging nonconformance with the use-and-occupancy permit and accompanying plan.

After deliberation the board adopted a motion by Vice Chair Johnston, seconded by Member Stanton, to affirm DPIE's determination that Foxley LLC is in violation of County Code §27-253(c). The roll call vote was Chair Boulware — Aye; Vice Chair Johnston — Aye; Member Stanton — Aye (motion carries 3–0). The board also approved routine measures on the agenda, including adoption of minutes from the May 7 meeting.

The board record will include the testimony and the exhibits (the petitioner's submitted use-and-occupancy permit and historical site plans, aerial photos, and permitting chronology). The transcript notes that, under local permitting rules, building permits will not be processed until a copy of the board's written order is presented to the County permits office; the board's decision affirms DPIE's determination pending any further proceedings provided for by law.