Applicant seeks rezoning for Melwood Estate to allow single‑family detached homes; applicant says 2007 SMA was a mistake

An evidentiary hearing before the Prince George's County Zoning Hearing Examiner on Feb. 4, 2026, examined ZMA‑2025‑003, an application by Dayland Investment LLC to rezone roughly 27.54 acres at 4816 Melwood Road (Melwood Estate) from the AR (agricultural‑residential) zone to the RSFA (residential single‑family attached) zone with binding conditions limiting development to single‑family detached homes at no more than 3.5 dwelling units per acre.

In an opening statement, Matthew Tedesco, counsel for the contract purchaser, said the application "is about aligning zoning with adopted planning policies and correcting a mistake in the 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan sectional map amendment." Tedesco told the examiner the property is adjacent to the Westphalia Town Center edge, is served by public water and sewer infrastructure, and that county policy (Plan 2035) defines "residential low" as up to 3.5 dwelling units per acre. He said the applicant would proffer binding conditions to limit development to single‑family detached homes and disputed the technical staff report's recommendation of denial as a misapplication of the legal standard for a "mistake" in a sectional map amendment under section 27‑3601(e)(3).

Two nearby residents spoke in favor of the application. Lashonna Tillman of Parkside at Westphalia said she supports the project because, she said, additional residential rooftops are "a critical factor in creating the customer base necessary to support the economic growth of our area and our long anticipated town center." Robert Gates Claggett Jr., a nearby landowner, testified he owns adjacent farmland, said he is not a project owner, and confirmed he had submitted a letter of support now incorporated into the record.

Applicant witnesses described the site's history and technical feasibility. Jenny (identified on the record as Jenny Linday/Day) testified she and her husband have held the property for decades and had sought a higher residential designation during the 2006–2007 sector plan process, conditioned on future sale or redevelopment. She testified the property historically functioned as a hobby equestrian farm and said she did not file a revisory petition in 2007.

Mark (Olumuyiwa) Sobao, a member of Dayland Investment LLC, testified the LLC is in good standing and argued the council's 2007 decision failed to account for then‑existing, reasonably foreseeable facts and trends supporting a residential zoning classification.

Daniel Schlegel, planning department manager with Dewberry Engineers, presented the applicant's conceptual site plan and technical work. Schlegel said the applicant prepared a boundary survey, environmental review and a Natural Resources Inventory approved on 12/05/2025. He described a conceptual layout with one access from Melwood Road, a loop road and an internal connector, lots approximately 60 by 100 feet, open space and stormwater management areas. Schlegel said the concept yields "right at 3.5 DU per acre" and roughly 90–96 lots, and that the parcel is in water/sewer categories W‑4 and S‑4.

During testimony the recorder and counsel flagged several exhibit and affidavit filing issues (for example, an unsigned or incompletely checked ethics exhibit and a collation error that made a support letter appear within the applicant's Statement of Justification). The examiner instructed counsel to correct the record and submit required affidavits and ownership information before the record closes. Counsel for the applicant agreed to supply additional LLC member/ownership documentation required for administrative record clarity.

The hearing recessed for a short break after the technical witness testimony; no formal action or decision was announced. The examiner will keep the record open to allow correction of exhibit affidavits and filings noted on the record.