Prince George's County leaders and developers press to speed zoning approvals while protecting community input

Prince George's County planners, developers and council members spent a retreat session on proposals to shorten the county’s development timeline and better align zoning with updated master plans.

Acting Planning Director James Hunt said the planning department is pursuing greater cross-agency coordination and will convene a developer outreach session on Feb. 25 in Largo to gather feedback on process improvements. Hunt told the council the department is benchmarking peers such as Montgomery and Fairfax counties and expects to release a housing-cost study “within the next couple of days.”

Panelists from the land‑use bar and engineering firms urged several reforms they said would encourage investment without losing public participation. ‘‘Flexibility is the number one thing,’’ said land-use attorney Arthur Horn, arguing transit-station areas need workable departures from rigid form-based rules. Ed Gibbs, another zoning attorney, called the current timeline ‘‘a drag’’ and recommended combining preliminary plans and detailed site plans and compressing reviews to preserve due process while reducing delay.

Developer counsel Matthew Tedesco said two priorities are certainty and flexibility. ‘‘If you don't have that, you're stuck,’’ he said, adding that the county’s new code leaves little avenue for relief and that uncertainty deters capital. Civil engineer Ken Dunn cited the many technical codes (stormwater, erosion, utilities) that add review time and urged integrating or streamlining those checks early in the process.

Several council members pressed for concrete incentives the county can offer to attract the kinds of retail, entertainment and mixed-use projects its master plans call for. Tedesco and other panelists suggested targeted reductions in impact fees, a reduced-detailed‑site‑plan requirement in agreed locations, and priority‑project or fast‑track designations for developments that meet predefined public-benefit criteria.

Council members also raised strong concerns about community voice and recent policy changes. Multiple members referenced the Landover data‑center episode, saying voters felt ‘‘blindsided’’ when legislation reduced council oversight of certain land uses. Chair (unnamed in the record) and other speakers said they will pursue a balanced approach: make the process more predictable for investors but preserve meaningful public engagement and oversight.

Panelists and planning staff agreed on several near-term steps: review and reduce unnecessary pre‑acceptance documentation, explore consolidating reviews where feasible, pilot an expedited queue for priority projects, and increase master‑plan staffing so zoning changes come through a public, proactive master‑plan process rather than ad hoc amendments.

James Hunt and other agency representatives pledged continued collaboration with DPIE and the council, and Hunt provided the count of roughly 395 entitlements currently under review as a data point the department is auditing to identify projects stalled for financial or technical reasons.

The planning department also said it will circulate a finalized housing study shortly and continue comparative work with jurisdictions such as Austin, Montgomery County and Fairfax to identify best practices for preserving public engagement while shortening timeframes. The council closed the session asking staff to convert the discussion into tangible policy options and timelines for follow-up.