Why did the Prince George’s County Planning Board not consider the conditions Greenbelt City Council set forth for its support of the Beltway Plaza Conceptual Site Plan? On February 11, council voted to support the Beltway Plaza site plan but with conditions that largely dealt with phasing (the order in which various elements take place) of the redevelopment. Conditions set by council also related to housing unit type and number. At its March 11 meeting, council worked with city staff and others to understand the planning board’s position and decide how best to move forward.
After the city’s communication of its position and conditions to the planning board in February, county technical staff recommended approval of the Beltway Plaza site plan, with conditions. City staff were surprised, however, to discover that council’s conditions were not included. When Mayor Emmett Jordan expressed his concern, Molly Porter, Greenbelt community planning staffer, explained that the conditions the city requested are typically considered at a later stage of development, for example in the Preliminary Plan of Subdivision or a Detailed Site Plan. Porter said that the planning board no longer includes such detailed conditions at this stage to avoid generating voluminous documentation. Porter recounted that city planning staff met with the county to discuss the concerns. She said city staff explained that without these conditions, especially of housing type and number being observed, the city has strong concerns about the lack of proposed public benefit in Phase 1, including the streetscape improvements along Greenbelt Road, Cherrywood Lane and Breezewood Drive.
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