Planning Board to hold hearings for two area development proposals on Thursday

By Mike Rauck

Pecan Ridge

The Prince George’s County Planning Board will conduct public hearings tomorrow (Thursday) for multiple development plans including applications for the proposed Pecan Ridge and Melford Mansions projects.  The meeting starts at 10am in the Council Hearing Room in the County Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive in Upper Marlboro, and residents can sign up to speak during the hearings.

Pecan Ridge is a proposed 80-unit residential housing development located just outside the City of Bowie along the WB&A trail on a 41-acre horse farm currently operated as Temptation Farm.

Developer Caruso Homes is proposing that the Pecan Ridge development be a Public Benefit Conservation Subdivision, which is meant to preserve open space and/or site features. According to county law, Public Benefit Conservation Subdivision developments in the Rural Residential Zone like Pecan Ridge must preserve at least 40% of the land, and developers can build on up to 60% of the property with minimum lot sizes of 6500 square feet (0.15 acres). Caruso is proposing to conserve 42% of the property.

Among the areas of the property identified for conservation is a buffer with the Horsepen Hill Farm property, a buffer with the Blue Skys Stable property, and a grove of Pecan trees that dates back to the early 20th century.

The Bowie City Council voted unanimously last month to recommend that the county reject the preliminary plan of subdivision proposed by Caruso Homes for the Pecan Ridge development citing residents’ concerns about the environment, traffic safety, and school overcrowding.  The Planning Board, however, will likely base their decision on less subjective criteria for school and traffic capacity as prescribed by law.

The Planning Board will also conduct a hearing Thursday for a detailed site plan application for the Mansions at Melford Town Center, an apartment complex that includes 435 units in nine separate residential buildings.

The Melford Mansions complex is the second multi-family application being considered for the Melford Town Center.  A detailed site plan for the 389-unit Aspen apartment complex was approved in 2018, although most of that project is still in the permitting phase.

Click here to see the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

Click here for instructions for signing up to speak during one of Thursday’s hearings.