Prince George's County council takes remanded Springfield Road retirement-community case under advisement after dispute over acreage and variance authority

The District Council of Prince George's County took under advisement a remanded special-exception application for a planned retirement community at 8215 Springfield Road in Glendale after hours of testimony Friday over whether the property meets the 12-contiguous-acre requirement and whether the council has legal authority to grant an area variance.

The applicant, represented by attorney Chris Hatcher, asked the council to approve a planned retirement community of 57 age-restricted single-family attached dwellings and to allow removal of four specimen trees. Hatcher said an existing prescriptive non-possessory easement along Springfield Road affects whether the parcel totals 12 acres, and he said the applicants filed an alternative variance request in case the council concluded the site falls short. “The applicant is proposing a 57 dwelling unit planned retirement community,” Hatcher said, and he described the easement area as about 3,500 square feet that the developer would not otherwise have developed.

Opponents, led by attorney Sean Suhar for the Wingate Homeowners Association, urged denial. Suhar said the applicant's land surveyor concluded the property contains 11.834 acres and that additional utility easements reduce developable area to about 11.13 acres. “Because the applicant’s property does not meet the minimum required acreage and is not eligible for a variance to cure this deficiency, the special exception must be denied as a matter of law,” Suhar told the council.

Michelle Rosenfeld, representing local residents Howard and Tanya Aldag (persons of record), argued the district council lacks authority to grant the requested area variance under the county code provision governing variances tied to special exceptions. “To read [section 27-3-16] in the manner suggested by the hearing examiner would have the effect of materially expanding this provision by adding the authority to grant an area variance, when that is not provided for in this provision,” Rosenfeld said.

Resident Howard Aldag described neighborhood impacts in emotional terms: “Adding this high density retirement community on top of the present construction will totally destroy the beauty of the place,” he said, arguing the proposal would increase traffic, remove trees, and be incompatible with the surrounding large-lot neighborhood.

The zoning hearing examiner had approved the special exception with conditions on July 10, 2025, and the examiner previously reduced the applicant’s requested density; the applicant appealed and the case was remanded to the district council with questions about the property acreage, the prescriptive easement, and whether a variance was necessary. Attorneys on both sides debated whether the requested variance is an area variance or a use variance and cited Maryland case law (including Anderson v. Board of Appeals and Aviani v. Dixon) and several sections of the Prince George’s County zoning ordinance in support of their positions.

Council members probed those legal questions during the hearing. Council member DeNogue asked whether the requested relief is an area or use variance; another council member, Watson, said they would take the matter under advisement. The clerk announced that related docketed cases ERR0012025, DET2023013 and MJD2024004 would be deferred to the next district council agenda; the council then took a voice vote and the clerk recorded the cases as deferred.

The council made no final decision on the special-exception application during the session. The case remains under advisement while the council considers the legal questions raised about whether the prescriptive easement may be counted toward the 12-acre minimum and whether an area variance may be granted in conjunction with this special exception under county law.

Next steps: the council will issue a written decision on the remand questions at a later date and the clerk formally deferred several related matters to the next district council agenda.