MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council
FROM: David J. Deutsch,
City Manager
SUBJECT: Amendments to Prince George’s County Ten-Year Water and Sewer
Plan
August 2003 Cycle of Amendments
03/W-04, Mill Branch Parcel 5
DATE: 10/15/03
I. Background
The Prince George’s County Water and Sewer Plan categories represent different planning levels for the provision of public water and sewer service. The County has been using water and sewer categories, also known as “service areas” and “system areas”, since the adoption of the first Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan in 1977. The process of changing categories allows public water and sewer service to be staged according to development proposals and supports high quality development by the landowner consistent with County policies.
The policy of linking water and sewer categories to stages of the development process assures that the water and sewer systems will expand appropriately to reach new development as it comes on line. Conversely, this system assures that when new developments are built, adequate water and sewer service will be available. The Water and Sewer Plan categories and their respective criteria, which were revised in the 2001 Water and Sewer Plan, are shown on Attachment #1.
Prince George’s County has developed special policies to govern water and sewer planning in a manner consistent with the County’s goals for development review. The policies governing changes to a designated category must take into account environmental factors, economic concerns, planning requirements, regulatory policies, engineering constraints, and public health concerns (see Attachment #2). An application may be rejected if these policies and criteria are not met, unless a hardship in meeting the policies and criteria is demonstrated by the applicant.
The City mailed notices to all residents living within 500 feet of the subject property and posted the property with public notice signage. The County Council’s public hearing for this amendment cycle will likely be scheduled in November
II. Proposal
The one application under review in the Bowie area, for a property located on Mill Branch Road, east of Route 301 (see Attachment #3), is described below:
Amendment #03/W-04 Mill Branch, Parcel 5 – Request change from Category
6 to 4 on approximately 99 acres. Proposal: 44 single-family detached dwellings
with a minimum floor area of 3,000 square feet and a minimum sale price of
$450,000. The property is located on the east side of US 301, between Route
301 and Mill Branch Road in the R-A (Residential Agriculture) and O-S (Open
Space) zones.
III. Analysis
The subject application is the same application as the one filed in the last cycle (April, 2003 Cycle of Amendments). In the previous cycle, the County Executive did not support the request, due to concerns with extending public facilities into the Rural Tier. The County Council ultimately denied the applicant’s request.
This application is a request to revise the Water and Sewer Plan’s Sewer Service Envelope boundary in the Rural Tier. Any decision to extend public water and sewer facilities to the property would involve a change to the City’s and Prince George’s County’s longstanding water and sewer policy for the area east of US Route 301. The relevant City Development Review Policy is as follows:
(1) With the exception of the Southeast Quadrant, the portion of the planning area east of US Route 301 should be recommended only for permanent low-density development with no public water and sewer. (emphasis added)
In the previous review, staff reviewed the applicant’s justification statement regarding compliance with the County’s Biennial Growth Policy/General Plan and did not concur with the findings of their analysis. It was staff’s conclusion that the proposal would not be in conformance with the General Plan objective of contiguous growth, since the Chesley-Gibraltar property, approved for public water and sewer service in 2002, is several properties north of the subject site. In addition, the General Plan recommends that extension of water and sewer services into the Rural Tier be prohibited unless necessary to address existing health problems.
Two conceptual subdivision layout plans were submitted in the prior application to illustrate how the property might be developed. One plan includes public water and sewer; the other includes private well and septic systems. The former contains 44 lots; the latter contains 40 lots. The applicant has stated that the increase in lot yield as a result of public water and sewer facilities will allow for additional amenities, such as entrance features, to be provided. In addition, these facilities would obviate the need for two shared septic easement areas that serve multiple lots. The result would be less cumbersome than having to establish multiple easements and burden individual owners with maintenance responsibilities for the shared systems. Having access to public facilities would also allow the property to be developed sooner, rather than later, since Health Department percolation testing cannot occur until next spring. Another advantage would be that the subdivision would set a tone for the type of development in this portion of the Rural Tier within the R-A zone.
Staff notes that the current Master Plan shows the subject property as part of a larger Permanent Low Density Community (Community X). At 0.44 dwelling units per acre, the proposed density for a 44-lot subdivision complies with zoning requirements for the R-A (Residential Agriculture) zone (0.50 dwelling units per acre maximum). The provision of large-lot single-family detached housing is also a County housing objective. The proposed development would address this objective, whether public water/sewer is present or not.
Staff also observes that the subject property will be affected to some degree in the future by the new Route 197/301 interchange design. Currently, two alternates are under study (Alternative 2 Modified and Alternative 5). Both designs involve a grade-separated intersection at Mill Branch Road and a service road along the east side of Route 301. A 290’ wide swath of future right-of-way (measured from the centerline of existing Route 301) affects the property.
A 1,400-foot water extension is required to serve the property. This extension may be CIP-sized. The extension would connect to an existing 16” water main in Mount Oak Road. Construction of this extension would require tunneling under Route 301. An existing 21” sewer line traverses the property. Because of the site’s topography, service to the southeastern portion of the property will require some kind of pumping. CIP-sized sewer mains and a wastewater pumping station may be required to serve the property. The Health Department states that a potential exists for acceptable installation of on-site sewage disposal systems, pending satisfactory percolation testing.
The Mill Branch Pumping Station abuts the property on the west. However, the City’s historical position regarding access to the Mill Branch Pumping Station has been that the pumping station should not be used to spur growth on the east side of Route 301. The downzoning of several commercial properties on the east side of Route 301 (e.g. Offen and Litten properties) by the County Council in the last SMA fulfilled this policy of the current Bowie Master Plan.
Staff concluded in the previous review that the criteria for revising the Water and Sewer Plan’s Sewer Service Envelope boundary were not met. However, at the public hearing held on June 16, 2003 (see Attachment #4) the City Council voted to support the request, noting that the proposed development: conforms to existing zoning; includes an upscale, quality proposal; and, will address an environmental concern regarding septic systems. Based on the recent change in Council policy, staff recommends approval of Category 4.
Recommendation (#03/W-04): Category 4
IV. Recommendation
It is recommended
that a letter containing the above recommendation be sent to the County Council
regarding the August 2003 Water and Sewer Plan amendment cycle.