Prince George's County committee weighs repeal of police facility adequacy tied to subdivision approvals

The Prince George's County Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee on May 12 considered CB 29-2025, which would remove police facility adequacy and police response-time standards from the county's subdivision regulations. The committee heard more than an hour of testimony from county staff, police and private-sector developers about the bill's effect on development, public safety and mitigation revenue.

The bill sponsor and county policy staff said the current law has become unworkable. Shaylyn Miller, policy analyst for CB 29, summarized the proposed changes: the legislation would remove police response-time indicators from the level-of-service standards that apply to residential subdivision approvals, remove requirements that the police chief submit equipment and response-time statements, and repeal the mitigation guidelines that require applicants to fund or participate in construction of police facilities on a pro rata basis.

Why it matters: Developers told the committee recent police response-time data have pushed large swaths of the county into moratoriums or into mitigation, blocking subdivisions or imposing high mitigation fees. Those…