City of Bowie 15901 Excalibur Road Bowie, Maryland 20716 MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Alfred D. Lott, ICMA-CM, CPM City Manager SUBJECT: Development Review Policies DATE: February 11, 2021 ______________________________________________________________________________ On February 1st, City Council conducted a public hearing on the proposed revision to the current Development Review Guidelines and Policies document. After hearing testimony from six interested parties, Council directed staff to make further revisions and return the document for further consideration by Council. The additional revisions requested by City Council are shown in Track Changes on the attached draft, identified as “Draft With February 1 City Council Revisions”. Upon approval by Council, a Resolution will be prepared endorsing the revised policies for final action on an upcoming Consent Agenda. In addition, staff previously provided a draft letter to the Maryland State Highway Administration asking for a re-examination of the road improvement plans for Maryland Route 450 in the Bowie Mainstreet area. The letter was not discussed at the February 1st City Council meeting. A copy of the proposed letter is attached for your review and concurrence. Recommendation Staff recommends Council APPROVE the attached Development Review Policies revision identified as “Draft With February 1 City Council Revisions" and further recommends that Council approve the attached draft letter to State Highway Administrator Tim Smith. Attachments MAYOR Timothy J. Adams MAYOR PRO TEM Adrian Boafo COUNCIL Michael P. Esteve • Henri Gardner • Ingrid S. Harrison • Roxy Ndebumadu • Dufour Woolfley CITY MANAGER Alfred D. Lott City Hall (301) 262-6200 FAX (301) 809-2302 TDD (301) 262-5013 WEB www.cityofbowie.org Bowie Mainstreet Draft Letter to SHA D R A F T February _____, 2021 Mr. Tim Smith, Administrator Mail Stop C-400 MDOT State Highway Administration P.O. Box 717 Baltimore MD 21203-0717 RE: Maryland Route 450 Design and Engineering Plans Dear Administrator Smith: The Bowie City Council respectfully requests your agency’s reexamination of the pending design and engineering plans for the “Bowie Mainstreet” portion of MD 450, located between Stonybrook Drive and Race Track Road. This request is made with the knowledge that “state-of-the-art” design techniques and roadway design practices relating to commercial business districts have evolved over the years since the project design was finalized, and because the City constantly receives negative feedback from residents and users of Bowie Mainstreet who continue to face the multi-modal challenges of a substandard roadway. A design that creates a true main street character for this segment of MD 450 would address many of these issues, assist in future community development and encourage redevelopment of the existing commercial centers located adjacent to it. By way of background, in 2005, design and engineering plans were created for the Bowie Mainstreet segment, which is the last piece of a massive reconstruction project involving the entire length of MD 450, from the Capital Beltway to MD 3. At that time, a thorough public review process was undertaken with City business owners and residents, and a final plan was endorsed by the City Council and accepted by SHA. However, the current FY 2021-2026 Consolidated Transportation Program (Prince George’s County, Line 29) identifies the status of the project as “Project on hold”. The project was 85- 90% complete when it was put on hold about a decade ago, due to funding constraints. The latest CTP projects that traffic volume in this portion of MD 450 will grow by 10% by 2040. The City Council would appreciate your re-examination of the roadway design concept for Bowie Mainstreet at the earliest opportunity. The City believes two guidance documents published by SHA are applicable here: When Main Street Is A State Highway and Context Driven: Access and Mobility for All Users 1.0. The City is very interested in working with you to advance the principles espoused by MDOT Secretary Gregory Slater in his recent presentations regarding Context Driven: Access and Mobility for All Users 1.0. The City feels the Bowie Mainstreet setting, with its origins as the center of commerce and social activity for the original Levitt-built subdivisions constructed in the 1960s, represents a unique combination of Urban Center, Traditional Town Center and Suburban Activity Center characteristics. This area would greatly benefit from an expert review of the conditions and an evaluation of context driven opportunities for future implementation when the MD 450 project is constructed. Such 2 Letter to SHA Administrator Tim Smith recommendations may possibly alter (and improve upon) the physical design shown in the current design and engineering plans. The City Council looks forward to your cooperation in the effort to address the needs of this extremely important location in our community. If you should have any questions regarding the City’s request, please contact Mr. Joe Meinert, Director of Planning and Community Development, at 301-809- 3045 or [email protected]. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Bowie City Council Timothy J. Adams Mayor cc: The Honorable Gregory Slater, MDOT Secretary The Honorable Douglas J.J. Peters, State Senator The Honorable Marvin E. Holmes, Delegate The Honorable Geraldine Valentino-Smith, Delegate The Honorable Ronald L. Watson, Delegate The Honorable Todd M. Turner, County Council Chair Ms. Erica Rigby, SHA District Engineer Mr. Terry Bellamy, Director of Prince George’s County DPW&T Mr. David Rogers, SHA Regional Planner for Prince George’s County Development Review Guidelines and Policies Standards for Creating a Quality Living Environment DRAFT WITH FEBRUARY 1 CITY COUNCIL REVISIONS Prepared by the Department of Planning and Community Development Approved and Adopted by City Council on _________, 2021 Resolution R-____- 21 Draft With Feb 1 City Council Revisions 2 Draft With Feb 1 City Council Revisions Table of Contents Introduction.…..........................................................................................……………………………3 I. PART ONE – CITY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS City Development Review Process………………………………………………….5 II. PART TWO – CITY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW GUIDELINES A. Design Guidelines…………………………………………………..............……….8 B. Environmental and Open Space Guidelines………………………………………...10 C. Transportation Guidelines…………………………………………………………..11 III. PART THREE – CITY DEVELOPMENT POLICIES A. Land Use…………………………………………………………………………….13 B. Economic Prosperity………………………………………………………………...16 C. Transportation and Mobility…………………………………………………………17 D. Natural Environment…………………………………………………………………21 E. Housing and Neighborhoods…………………………………………………………23 F. Community Heritage, Culture and Design…………………………………………...24 G. Public Facilities………………………………………………………………………26 IV. DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS FLOW CHARTS 3 Draft With Feb 1 City Council Revisions Introduction The City of Bowie does not control major land use, zoning, subdivision, or site plan decisions within its municipal boundaries, as this authority is given to Prince George’s County under the State of Maryland’s Regional District Act. A Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC), the agency that administers planning and zoning regulations in Prince George’s County, gives the City the right to review, comment and provide recommendations on all major development applications within the City limits, as well as the areas within one mile of the City limits. The City does, however, have authority to review and act on departures and variances from the Prince George’s County Zoning Ordinance for projects within the City limits, under certain circumstances. The Prince George’s County Council granted this authority to the City in October 1998. In addition, the County Council granted they City the authority to review and decide certain types of alternative compliance applications involving the County Landscape Manual, certification of nonconforming uses and revisions to special exception site plans. This authority was granted in 2011. Since the 1980s, the rapid growth of the Bowie area, an outdated Master Plan (1970), and the City Council’s limited ability to regulate development activity through planning and zoning powers of its own gave rise to the need for development policies to guide growth within and around the City. The original Bowie Development Policies document (1989) was formulated after many hours of deliberation and Council consideration of direct input from area residents, and was used as the framework for the City’s position in the updating of the Bowie-Collington- Mitchellville and Vicinity Area Master Plan in 1991. Since that time, the guidelines have been updated several times, with the last formal update occurring in January, 2005. The major goal of the Bowie Development Review Guidelines and Policies is to encourage and promote a carefully planned community and sensitively designed development sites. Bowie’s Development Review Guidelines and Policies are intended to: - encourage an equitable distribution of well-designed and efficient land development which reflects appropriate relationships between uses, continuity between neighborhoods, availability of public facilities, and a sensitivity to the natural environment; - enhance the natural environment and provide guidance for site development within, and immediately