Efforts to curtail where developers can build new town house construction in Prince George’s County, Maryland, drew rebuke from the county executive’s office and a veiled warning about potential lawsuits during a hearing on Tuesday.
Two pieces of legislation, both backed by Council Chair Tom Dernoga and Vice Chair Wala Blegay, would impose limits on future development in the name of curbing sprawl. The bill’s backers are seeking to push it through the council quickly, and after a series of revisions and amendments were approved out of what’s known as the committee of the whole, setting up a public hearing and final vote next month.
The hearing offered the county executive’s office its first chance to comment on the bills, and Angie Rodgers, who is the deputy chief administrative officer for economic development, didn’t hold back in her criticism.
Saying the legislation would discourage development in the suburban sections of the county, which she described as “most appropriate” for new town houses, Rodgers said the council’s efforts would push town house construction close to transit, “where our entire economic development strategy has really been focused on achieving higher density, multifamily and mix-used development,” Rodgers said.
“Fundamentally, I think if we begin to take away the housing type that is often the entry point in our housing market for first time buyers, for young buyers, for African American and other buyers of color, then we’ll end up having the same missing middle discussion that other jurisdictions in our region are already having,” Rodgers said.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by John Domen over at WTOP
