Historic Preservation Commission and planning staff brief PHED committee on inventory, grants and outreach

Planning Department historic preservation staff and the Prince George's County Historic Preservation Commission briefed the PHED Committee on Feb. 20 on the county’s inventory of historic resources, staff workload and grant programs.

Tom Gross, supervisor of the planning department’s historic preservation section, said the county currently has 471 designated historic sites and 81 additional unclassified historic resources that could be designated after evaluation. He reported 107 National Register listings across 21 districts and said the newest National Register listing is Bladensburg Battlefield.

Gross summarized staff responsibilities: the historic preservation section is seven career staff plus typically one graduate assistant; the section reviewed 167 development cases in 2024 and presented cases affecting county historic sites and adjacent properties to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). The commission approves historic area work permits, preservation tax credits and designations, and makes recommendations to the planning board and district council.

Gross outlined grant programs: the Historic Property Grant Program provides up to $50,000 for brick‑and‑mortar rehabilitation and has awarded about $5.5 million to 129 county historic sites over 16 years. The non‑capital grant program, funded by mitigation payments for loss of historic buildings, began in 2018 and supports activities such as interpretive signage, National Register nominations and public events. In 2024 the commission approved 81 historic area work permits and nine tax credits totaling roughly $165,000.

HPC Chair John Peter Thompson said he is preparing a white paper on program viability and outreach, with a target presentation to the council in the fall. He described a trend in which the growth of the historic inventory has not been matched by broad public engagement, and proposed exploring Cultural and Heritage District designations and updates to the commission’s membership criteria to better reflect current organizations and community partners.

Commission and staff members discussed recent work on African American heritage resources. Planning staff noted an African American historical resources inventory published in the mid‑1990s and updated in 2012, and cited recent nominations and designations in Lakeland and Eagle Harbor. Staff said a draft National Register nomination for Eagle Harbor is under review and could be transmitted to the National Park Service in the coming weeks.

Committee members asked about recruitment and the commission’s current seven‑member composition; commissioners said two vacancies have persisted about two years, and urged a prompt resolution so quorums and workload can be sustained.