Prince George's County task force wraps up Plan 2035 work, eyes Plan 2050 process

Prince George's County Planning Director Lakeisha Hull presented a high-level summary of the Plan Prince George's 2035 Implementation and Infrastructure Task Force's work during a wrap-up meeting on Nov. 17, 2025, and asked members whether staff should prepare a final memo and begin planning for a Plan 2050 process.

"For the record, my name is Lakeisha Hull, Planning Director for Prince George's County," Hull said as she opened the presentation, then reviewed the task force's mandate under CR 81 20 23 and the County Council resolution that adopted the general plan in 2014 (CR 2634). She noted the task force is convened for a six-year term, is required to submit annual reports, and must provide a final report by 2029 unless the council extends the term. Hull summarized briefings held this year, including reviews of the recommendation report, the Countywide master plan of transportation ('Go Prince George's'), school facilities capacity and maintenance, and a presentation on police response times.

Members endorsed producing a wrap-up memo for the County Council and discussed next steps. Hull described an early timeline for a Plan 2050 process that would begin with extensive listening sessions and community outreach, likely in spring or summer 2026, to lay groundwork before auditing or revising plan elements.

The meeting included sustained debate over whether Plan 2035 remains adequate and whether the county follows adopted plans. Ron, a task force member, argued that "it may be out of date, but it's still the plan," and said the county should follow the plan until the plan is formally changed, adding that many counties tie plans to zoning to enforce them. An unidentified task force member criticized the county's record on following plans and raised concerns that incentives such as tax increment financing (TIF) have contributed to sprawl in developments like South Lakes and Westphalia.

The group also raised technical questions about performance metrics. One participant questioned the commuter inflow/outflow analysis used in staff memos, arguing that the metric can produce a misleading positive number and that "the real issue is how many people are leaving the county versus how many people are coming into the county." Members asked staff to ensure indicators and comparisons (including per-capita tax base comparisons with peer jurisdictions) accurately reflect local conditions.

The task force acknowledged a substantive October 28 memo prepared by Dodson and Thomas Lester (Parkland Planning) that addressed many outstanding questions; members confirmed the memo had been distributed. Hull and others reiterated they would incorporate the task force's comments into a final memo and convey recommendations to the County Council. Hull also cited peer jurisdictions and planning awards (Gwinnett County, Charlotte) as models for outreach and engagement practices the county might emulate.

There were no formal votes or motions recorded during the wrap-up meeting. The task force closed with agreement to proceed with a final wrap-up memo and preparatory work for a Plan 2050 outreach process; staff said they would follow the task force's guidance on next steps.