Prince George’s County, Maryland, adopted it first new zoning ordinance in over 50 years!

On Tuesday, October 23, Prince George’s County, Maryland, adopted it first new zoning ordinance in over 50 years, and Clarion Associates is celebrating! Located on the eastern edge of Washington, D.C., Prince George’s County is home to an extraordinarily diverse population over 800,000 and lands that range from older urban areas with redevelopment potential to still-productive farmland. It also features fifteen Metro stations and eleven light rail stations (planned and under development) that are ripe for high-quality development with good jobs and innovative housing. In early 2014, Clarion Associates assembled a talented team of consultants, including Mosaic Urban Partners, Nelson Nygaard, Design Collective, White and Smith, Justice and Sustainability Associates, and the Planning and Design Center at the University of Maryland to assist in the effort. Over the next three-and-a-half years, we assisted the highly committed staff of the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) to tailor the zoning ordinance to the unique needs of the County. The resulting ordinance includes a wide spectrum of transit-oriented development and activity center zones based on the County’s adopted Plan Prince George’s 2035 comprehensive plan,  provides greater opportunities for mixed-use walkable development along existing commercial corridors, supports green building practices, creates greater opportunities for local food production, opens up new opportunities for redevelopment of older areas inside the capital beltway, strengthens protections for agricultural and environmentally sensitive lands, and rationalizes the planned development process.  We thank all of our consulting team members and congratulate the Prince George’s County Council, the Planning Commission, and the entire MNCPPC staff – including  Division Chief of Countywide Planning Derick Berlage and Master Planner and Project Manager Chad Williams in particular – on this landmark accomplishment. We are proud to have been a part of it!