Prince George's planning director outlines FY25 work program, highlights data tools and housing studies

Lakisha Hall, planning director for Prince George's County, told the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee on March 6 that the department's FY25 work program centers on workforce development, streamlining the development-review process, placemaking and partnerships.

Hall said the department is pursuing four strategic priorities'people, projects, placemaking and partnerships'and named several concrete initiatives in the current fiscal year. "We have over 250 datasets for the department that everyone can get access to in the county," Hall said, describing expanded public data and a forthcoming public-facing tool. She said the department has been expanding graduate assistant and internship programs and doubling the number of Neighborhood Planning Academy sessions each year following an award.

The presentation spelled out multiple operational and programmatic items that the county is advancing. Hall said the department released a new Master Plan of Transportation last week, its first comprehensive transportation update since 2009. She also said staff are working on legislative consultation for updates to the zoning code and subdivision regulations and auditing master- and sector-plan processes.

Deputy Director Tony Phelps described partnership programs that connect the county with universities, municipalities and community groups. He said the PALS program (Partnership in Action Learning and Sustainability) with the University of Maryland gives students real-world planning experience, and the Municipalities and Communities program provides micro-level technical help to towns, nonprofits and unincorporated communities.

Phelps listed several place-based efforts under way or planned this year: a rail-trail feasibility study in Upper Marlboro on the Chesapeake Beach Railroad corridor; pedestrian and bicycle safety work in Berwyn Heights; stormwater and sustainability work with Brentwood and North Brentwood; market and beautification work on Marlboro Pike; and a youth wellness and opportunities assessment for the Walker Mill community. He also described a Marlboro Pike placemaking demonstration that used virtual-reality renderings of future scenarios.

Hall and Phelps described DART (Development Activity Reporting and Tracking System), a public-facing service the department said is in beta and will be briefed in greater detail in an upcoming presentation. Hall said the department is working to improve coordination with the Department of Permits, Inspections and Enforcement and with Public Works to reduce friction in permitting and approval workflows.

Committee members asked about housing, permitting and implementation. Hall confirmed a missing-middle housing request for proposals (RFP) received multiple responses (she cited nine) and said the department planned initial scoring by March 17 and hoped to award a contract by April. Hall said the missing-middle contract would include an approximately 18-month public-engagement process and that the county would coordinate state-level activity such as accessory-dwelling-unit policy.

Several council members pressed for modernization of permitting and cross-agency coordination. Hall said Tony Phelps is leading an intake-and-technology team and that the department plans further modernization in FY26 while continuing to seek quick, nonlegislative streamlining where possible. She also agreed to provide council offices with hard copies of the new Master Plan of Transportation.

Committee members asked for follow-ups on multiple items, including a report on multifamily units in the pipeline and more detail on industry-cluster work with the county's economic development partners. Hall said the department is conducting a fiscal-impact study that will include police response-time analysis and that staff would continue conversations with the police chief and county executive's office on modernizing related processes.

The committee did not take formal votes on planning items during the briefing. The department closed its presentation and the meeting moved to the revenue authority briefing.