Park and Planning seeks input on master plan

Sidewalks, flooding, open space top residents’ concerns in Lanham-Seabrook-Glenn Dale Master Plan

Planners from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission are currently preparing to update the Master Plan and are looking for all the feedback they can get from the community.

Rex Hodgson, a planner coordinator for M-NCPPC who is spearheading the project, has attended several community meetings over the past two months soliciting resident response.

Hodgson attended a Seabrook Acres Neighborhood Association meeting Feb. 13, a Lincoln-Vista Community Association meeting Feb. 21 and a Glenn Dale Citizens Association meeting Feb. 19 to let residents know that M-NCPPC is preparing to update the plan and answer residents’ questions.

Ted Jackson, a Glenn Dale resident, said he wants to see the Master Plan include considerations for a new library in Glenn Dale.

‘‘It would be very nice to have [a library] here in Glenn Dale,” Jackson said. ‘‘It certainly would be very convenient to walk across the street to a library. It’s something I would really like to see.”

Hakim Muhammed, a Lanham resident and the vice president of the Kingswood Civic Association, said a major concern for Lanham residents continues to be the quality of the community’s sidewalks. He said he would like to see some of the sidewalks addressed in the Master Plan, particularly those in his Kingswood neighborhood.

‘‘The sidewalk issue is a concern,” Muhammed said. ‘‘There are still some areas [in Lanham] that need to be taken care of. There are trees that have been planted that have uprooted some of these sidewalks. It is a major concern because you have sidewalks that are public safety risks for people in these neighborhoods.”

Leland Bryant, a Glenn Dale resident, said he wants to see a plan that preserves a sizable amount of open space.

‘‘I don’t want to see anything rezoned for higher density,” Bryant said. ‘‘There really is not a lot of open space left so there is no need to take any more of it.”

Matthew Holmes, a Glenn Dale resident and At-large member with the Seabrook Acres Neighborhood Association, said he also wants to see the county keep as much open space as possible.

‘‘I don’t want to see any more woods cut down, especially that strip of woods that stretches from DuVal Street to 98th Street on Lanham-Severn Road that they seem to always want to develop,” Holmes said. ‘‘We really don’t have any more woods to spare around here. We need to keep what we do have.”

Erma Anderson, a Lanham resident and recreation director for the Lincoln-Vista Community Association, said she wants to see planners better control the amount of flooding that occurs in her neighborhood when it rains.

Dale Shama, a community activist who lives in Glenn Dale, said the plan should put an emphasis on ‘‘not exacerbating” the amount of traffic created by new development.

Hodgson said planners try to rely on the expertise of the community when formulating their plans.

‘‘It is important for the community to be involved in the process and take ownership of the plan,” Hodgson said. ‘‘Ultimately, this is really their plan, for their community, which we help produce.”

Councilman Eric Olson (D-Dist. 3) of College Park agreed that community contributions should be an important part of the planning process.

‘‘Citizen participation is the key to making sure that the recommendations made for the different land uses in an area are appropriate for that community,” Olson said. ‘‘In order to be successful at updating the master plan, [the plan] should reflect the community’s thinking, so public participation is critical to the success of the plan.”

Hodgson said he will continue to meet with other civic groups throughout the planning area in the coming months.

‘‘There are many well-organized community groups in the project area,” Hodgson said. ‘‘We are looking forward to working with these groups to inform as many people as possible about the planning effort for this area and seek their input and involvement in the process.”

Hodgson said that from his attendance at civic group meetings, he has already learned about problem intersections, environmental issues and safety concerns.

Hodgson said particular areas that the planners will concentrate on are Annapolis Road extending to Martin Luther King Jr. Highway near the Vista Gardens Marketplace in Lanham, Greenbelt Road extending to Lanham-Severn Road and the area around the Seabrook MARC Station.

The plan focuses on zoning matters, public facilities, transportation, utilities and public safety among other land-use matters.

The proposed boundaries for the plan are Good Luck, Cipriano and Greenbelt roads to the north, US 50 to the south, the Capital Beltway to the west and Enterprise Road, Annapolis Road, Hillmeade Road, Daisy Lane and Glenn Dale Boulevard to the east.

The plan was last updated in November 1993.

Hodgson said the Prince George’s County General Plan, adopted in 2002, leaves the 1993 Master Plan outdated.

The planning process is in the pre-planning stage. Pre-planning will continue until the project receives the go-ahead from the Planning Board and the District Council, which is scheduled to occur in May 2008.

The District Council is the name given to the County Council when it convenes to consider zoning matters.

After the pre-planning stage, planners will draw up a preliminary plan to be completed by February 2009. A public hearing for review and modification of the plan is then scheduled for May 2009, with plan adoption planned for July 2009.

E-mail Jonathan Stein at jstein@gazette.net.