MEMORANDUM


TO: City Council

FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager

SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll

DATE: July 20, 2006


Status Report

1. PNC Bank at Excalibur Road and US 301

On Thursday, July 13th, the Prince George's County Planning Board voted 5-0 to approve, with conditions, Detailed Site Plan (DSP) #05092 for a 3,395 sq. ft. LEED certified bank located at the southwest quadrant of Excalibur Road and US 301. The site is 1.03 acres and is zoned C-S-C (Commercial Shopping Center). The City reviewed the application in October 2005. All of the City's nine (9) conditions were included in the approval.

2. Old Town Bowie Residential Façade Program Update

The Old Town Bowie Residential Façade Program is progressing very well. From the original $75,000 in funding from the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Community Legacy Grant, almost $40,000 has been issued to applicants in the form of matching grants. Eight projects have been completely finished, with two additional applicants receiving partial payment for partial work completed; these two applicants have been granted extensions of time to complete the remaining portions of their projects due to extenuating circumstances. Three additional applicants' projects are pending completion. One applicant is working on providing more information to the City before signing the program contract.

A letter was recently sent to owner-occupants in the Huntington section of Old Town Bowie who have not previously requested information. The deadline for this second round of project requests is August 31.

“Before and After” photographs of completed projects are included in your package.

3. County Council Legislation

On Tuesday, July 18th, the Prince George’s County Council met and approved the following legislative bills of interest to the City:

CB-04-2006 (DR-2) (Conservation Subdivision Design - Subdivision Bill)
An Act concerning subdivisions for the purpose of establishing requirements, procedures and standards for conservation subdivisions, deleting the subdivision options of the use of clusters, lot size averaging and flag lots, and grandfathering those accepted as of July 1, 2006 (amended to November 1, 2006 for flag lots).

CB-06-2006 (DR-2) (Conservation Subdivision Design - Zoning Bill)
An Ordinance concerning residential zones for the purpose of permitting conservation subdivisions, establishing bulk regulations for conservation subdivisions, deleting the Subdivision option of the use of lot size averaging and varying lot sizes, grandfathering those approved as of a certain date.

CB-41-2006 (Rural Tier Interim Design Regulations)
An Ordinance concerning O-S Zones for the purpose of developing new development standards and procedures, including the establishment and imposition of temporary zoning regulations restricting development on properties classified in the O-S Zone and located within the Rural Tier for a period of time to expire on December 31, 2006. This Ordinance provides for a limited validity period for building permits, creates additional requirements for granting extensions to the validity periods of expired building permits, and establishes interim guidelines for residential development.

CB-42-2006 (Rural Tier Subdivision Moratorium Bill)
An Act concerning subdivisions in the O-S Zones for the purpose of temporarily precluding the filing of new applications for Preliminary Plans of Subdivision for properties in the O-S Zone in the Rural Tier until new development standards can be established to implement growth management and preservation policies within the O-S Zone.

CB-47-2006 (DR-2) (Purchase of Development Rights Program)
An Act concerning Purchase of Development Rights for the purpose of establishing a Purchase of Development Rights Program in Prince George’s County to permit the acquisition of conservation easements.

City Council supported all of the bills and letters containing Council's recommen-dations were sent to the County Council prior to the public hearings. The majority of the speakers at the public hearings generally supported the bills.

4. BRAVA

Representatives of the Joint Use Agreement signatories met this week to review the project’s status. The first Governance Board meeting is slated for August 30th. Phase IV work is ongoing and will continue until year’s end. It is expected that recruitment of the Executive Director and Technical Director will commence in the early Fall.

Attachment:

Before and After Photographs - Residential Facade Grant Program