For Immediate Release

May 29, 2008

 

Contact:  301-952-4314

             TTY: 301-952-3796

 

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY PLANNING BOARD

ANNOUNCES RE-INITATION OF THE LANDOVER GATEWAY SECTOR PLAN

 

           The Prince George’s County Planning Board of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) today announced the re-initiation of Preliminary Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) for the Landover Gateway area.

 

                   The plan, which originally kicked-off in 2007, is being re-initiated to give Planning Department staff additional time to work more closely with the community and state and local agencies to address major transportation considerations related to a possible Metro alignment along the Capital Beltway and Light Rail along Brightseat Road.

 

“One of the critical questions we are facing is road capacity and whether the transportation infrastructure in this area can adequately handle the number of people that will live, work and recreate under the future Landover Gateway Sector plan,” said Planning Board Chairman, Samuel J. Parker, Jr. “These concerns were highlighted to us as part of the public outreach process and we made a decision to go back to the drawing board in order to continue to refine and strengthen this plan.”

 

After voting last month to not adopt the plan, members of the Planning Board pledged their commitment to working with all stakeholders to make sure that staff address and resolve the overshadowing concerns associated with road capacity and the lack of future transit needs.

 

Under the new plan refinement proposal, the Department has outlined an aggressive timeline for refining and wrapping up the plan within the next six months. The Department is expected to meet with stakeholders throughout the summer with the first plan preparation meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 25. Additional meetings will follow in July and September, though specific dates are still yet to be determined. The plan is expected to go to the Board for permission to print in November of this year.

 

“We strongly believe that this effort to strengthen our plan will give us an opportunity to collaborate more closely with all of the key stakeholders to set the foundation for creating a first-class downtown for Prince George’s County,” said Parker.

         

 For further information, please contact Christine Osei, Project Manager, M-NCPPC, Community Planning North Division at 301-952-3313, TTY, 301-952-3796, or e-mail at Christine.Osei@ppd.mncppc.org   or visit the project website at:http://www.mncppc.org/cpd/Landover Gateway.htm

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