City Council removes Amber Ridge public hearing and vote from agenda

By Mike Rauck

Amber Ridge Illustrative Plan

The Bowie City Council was scheduled to host a public hearing and a vote on plans for the Amber Ridge development project during Monday night's council meeting, but councilmembers voted to remove the item from the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.  The lack of a vote means that the Prince George’s County Planning Board will not have a Bowie City Council recommendation when it considers the project during its meeting today (Thursday), although Frank Stevens from the city’s Planning  & Community Development Department stated that he plans on addressing the Planning Board on behalf of the city.

Amber Ridge is a proposed housing development for 200 townhouse and 20,000 square feet of retail space on Route 301 South near the intersection with Mitchellville Road, and the Bowie City Council was scheduled to make a recommendation on both a preliminary plan of subdivision and a detailed site plan.

Two residents who signed up to speak during the Amber Ridge public hearing Monday night were permitted to address the council during the citizen participation portion of the meeting.

Bowie Mayor Tim Adams explained to residents Monday night that the city doesn’t make the final decisions on development projects, and the city needs to continue to fight to get zoning authority.  He also shared with residents that it’s important for the council to not take any actions that might jeopardize the city’s ability to get zoning authority.  With regard to the lack of action on Amber Ridge, Adams stated, “It was the best way for us at this time to address the issue.”

In a phone call with Bowie Living, District 3 Councilman Adrian Baofo stated that the decision to cancel the Amber Ridge hearing and vote is not indicative of how the council will treat future development project recommendations.  The council is concerned that its recommendations won’t be taken seriously if the development plans before the council are always rejected, according to Baofo, so the council is currently working on a new approach.  Boafo indicated that a closer working relationship with the county Planning Board is likely part of that plan.

Based on a memorandum of understanding between the City of Bowie and the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission, the city has the right to review, comment, and make recommendations on all major development applications in the city or within one mile of the city limits.  That includes reviews of conceptual site plans, preliminary plans of subdivision, and detailed site plans.

The city has adopted development review guidelines and policies for reviewing major development applications.  The guidelines call for a stakeholders meeting to be held for an application, a review of the application by city planning staff, a public hearing and recommendation by the resident-lead Bowie Advisory Planning Board, and finally a public hearing and recommendation by the Bowie City Council.  Council approved recommendations become part of the record when the county reviews a development application, and it’s common for city staff to address the county Planning Board, District Council, and County Council in support of Bowie City Council recommendations.