TO: City Council
FROM: David J. Deutsch, City Manager
SUBJECT: Status Report/Council Poll
DATE: September 21, 2006
Status Report
1. 12700 Bermuda Lane Variance #BV-3-06
The applicants, Mr. and Mrs. Jude Masters, are requesting an appeal of the
Bowie Advisory Planning Board’s revised recommendation of DENIAL
for a variance 4.34 feet from the minimum 25-foot side street yard setback
requirements in a R-55 zone.
This case was previously appealed by the applicant and heard by the Council on August 1, 2006. The Council remanded the case back to the Board for the purpose of taking additional testimony to discuss the space needs of the handicapped child and to review a reduced scope of work in this case. The applicant is proposing to decrease the required side yard setback from 25 feet to 20.66 feet in order to construct an addition. The Prince George’s County Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum side yard setback of 25 feet in the R-55 zone. A variance of 4.34 feet has been requested. This appeal is scheduled for your October 3, 2006 meeting.
2. Rural Tier County Council Pending Legislation
On Wednesday, September 20th, the Prince George’s County Planning,
Zoning and Economic Development (PZED) Committee met to discuss CB-75-2006.
This is an ordinance establishing procedures and regulations for an Agricultural
Open Space (A-O-S) Zone.
Over 150 people signed up to speak. Many of the speakers were in opposition to the bill. State Senator Miller spoke and encouraged members of the Council to adopt the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) legislation and implement the Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) adopted legislation prior to adopting an A-O-S zone. Delegate Vallario spoke about ensuring that property owners maintain equity in their land. (Utilizing TDRs and PDRs are two possible ways to achieve equity.) Delegate Proctor spoke as well.
At the beginning of the meeting, staff from the Park and Planning Commission recommended that several additional uses that are often associated with single-family uses, such as swimming pools and home offices, be permitted as-of-right and that some uses, such as day care centers, be allowed by special exception. Many of the speakers noted that the uses in the proposed A-O-S zone were still too restrictive. Speakers also said that rules governing the intra-family transfer of property were too limiting. The bill proposes to allow a minimum of 12.5 acres per single-family dwelling unit for an intra-family transfer instead of a 25-acre minimum. At the end of the meeting, the PZED Committee decided to HOLD CB-75-2006 in committee.
3. Petroleum Management Board of Appeals Hearing
On Wednesday, September 20th, the Prince George's County Board of Appeals
continued their hearing on appeals filed by Petroleum Management, Inc.
(PMI) for their business located at 8333 Zug Road. This hearing was a continuation
of the September 7, 2006 hearing. Employees of PMI as well as 13 residents,
including Councilman Kroemer and Delegate Jim Hubbard, attended. City Attorney
Elissa Levan and Planning Director Joe Meinert also attended. Yesterday
afternoon, the County Attorney filed a motion to dismiss AA-1600, PMI's
appeal of the Fire Code Official's denial of a variance to allow the three
(3) 10,000-gallon tanks to remain above ground, on the basis that the Board
of Appeals does not have jurisdiction. It was acknowledged that neither
the Board of Appeals nor their legal counsel had sufficient time to react
to this claim. PMI was permitted to add testimony from one (1) additional
witness, an MDE inspector who testified about the efforts PMI had made
to comply with MDE regulations. Following this, the County Attorney objected
to presenting her case regarding the appeal of the Fire Code Official's
denial of the variance, because the Board had not ruled on the motion to
dismiss. After a short recess, Chairperson Bobbie Mack announced that the
hearing would be continued again to November 1, 2006 at 6:00 p.m. by which
time the Board would be prepared to address the motion to dismiss. Public
testimony was then given by eight (8) speakers, including Connie Wilson,
Gary Hinkle, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Thompson, City Planning Director Meinert,
Councilman Kroemer, Delegate Hubbard (who asked permission to defer his
comments to the November hearing) and Fred Tutman. Testimony focused on
the impacts of the aboveground tanks on the immediate neighborhood, safety
concerns, the possibility of a train derailment, wetland contamination
concerns, and the lack of zoning authorization for the current use of the
property.
Attachments