Westphalia Approved Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment February 2007 M-NCPPC
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Prince George’s County Planning Department www.mncppc.org/pgco
Approved Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
$7.00
February 2007
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Prince George’s County Planning Department www.mncppc.org/pgco
Abstract
Acknowledgments
Title:
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Author:
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Fern V. Piret, Ph. D., Planning Director Michael E. Petrenko, AICP, Deputy Planning Director Albert G. Dobbins, III, AICP, Chief, Community Planning Division John Funk, AICP, Supervisor, Community Planning Division
Project Team
Subject:
Approved Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Westphalia
Date:
February 2007
Gregory J. Baker, Project Leader, Planner Coordinator, Community Planning Division Craig Rovelstad, AICP, Project Facilitator, Master Planner, Community Planning Division Chad Williams, Planner Coordinator, Community Planning Division Keith Hall, Senior Planner, Community Planning Division
Project Resources Source of Copies:
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772 On-line at http://www.pgplanning.org/Projects/Completed_Projects/Completed_Plans/Westphalia.htm
Series Number:
618072306
Number of Pages:
148
Abstract:
This document contains text and maps of the Approved Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Westphalia. The approved plan amends portions of the 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Area 77 & 78), and the 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan. Developed with the assistance of several stakeholders, this document presents background, recommends a vision, and furthers the goals, policies, and strategies pertaining to land use, zoning, environment, parks and recreation, transportation, trails, public facilities, historic preservation, and urban design. The sectional map amendment adopts zoning changes to implement the sector plan’s recommendations.
Front and back cover illustrations prepared by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassalbaum as part of Public Record Exhibit 44.
Countywide Planning Division Glen Burton, Planning Coordinator, Transportation Section Betty Carlson-Jameson, Senior Planner, Historic Preservation & Public Facilities Section Emily Clifton, Planner Coordinator, Environmental Planning Section Eric Foster, Planning Supervisor, Transportation Section Harold Foster, AICP, Planner Coordinator, Transportation Section Chris Izzo, Planner Coordinator, Historic Preservation & Public Facilities Section CJ Lammers, Planning Supervisor, Environmental Section Tom Masog, Planner Coordinator, Transportation Section, Gail Rothrock, AICP, Planning Supervisor, Historic Preservation & Public Facilities Section Frederick B. Shaffer, III, Senior Planner, Transportation Section Katina Shoulars, Senior Planner, Environmental Section M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation Carol Binns, Senior Planner, Park Planning and Development Chuck Montrie, Supervisor, Planning Section, Park Planning and Development Ray Palfrey, Land Acquisition Supervisor, Park Planning and Development Information Center Joe Valenza, Master Planner, Information Center Development Review Division Henry Zhang, Planner Coordinator, Urban Design Section
Technical and Administrative Assistance
Information Center Ernest Fields, Clerk, Office Services Mary E. Goodnow, Publications Specialist LaTasha Harrison, Stock Clerk II, Office Services James Johnson, Stock Clerk II, Office Services Susan Kelley, Supervisor, Publications, Graphics and Office Services Sections Judy Leyshon, Graphic Designer Dee McChesney, Publications Specialist Community Planning Division Nancy Mattingly, Principal Administrative Assistant Gary R. Thomas, Principal Planning Technician Elaine Wright, Senior Administrative Assistant
Consultants
Economics Research Associates, Inc. Devrouax+Purnell PB Placemaking
Approved Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment February 2007
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Prince George’s County Planning Department www.mncppc.org/pgco Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
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The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Samuel J. Parker, Jr., Chairman Royce Hanson, Vice Chairman Officers Bruce Crawford, Executive Director Patricia Colihan Barney, Secretary-Treasurer Adrian R. Gardner, General Counsel The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is a bicounty agency, created by the General Assembly of Maryland in 1927. The Commission’s geographic authority extends to the great majority of Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties: the Maryland-Washington Regional District (M-NCPPC planning jurisdiction) comprises 1,001 square miles, while the Metropolitan District (parks) comprises 919 square miles, in the two counties. The Commission has three major functions: • The preparation, adoption, and, from time to time, amendment or extension of the General Plan for the physical development of the MarylandWashington Regional District; • The acquisition, development, operation, and maintenance of a public park system; and • In Prince George’s County only, the operation of the entire county public recreation program. The Commission operates in each county through a Planning Board appointed by and responsible to the county government. All local plans, recommendations on zoning amendments, administration of subdivision regulations, and general administration of parks are responsibilities of the Planning Boards. The Prince George’s County Department of Planning (M-NCPPC): • Our mission is to help preserve, protect and manage the county’s resources by providing the highest quality planning services and growth management guidance and by facilitating effective intergovernmental and citizen involvement through education and technical assistance. • Our vision is to be a model planning department comprising responsive and respected staff who provide superior planning and technical services and work cooperatively with decision-makers, citizens and other agencies to continuously improve development quality and the environment and act as a catalyst for positive change. Prince George’s County Planning Board Samuel J. Parker, Jr., Chairman William M. Eley, Jr., Jesse Clark John H. Squire Sylvester J. Vaughns ii
Montgomery County Planning Board Royce Hanson, Chairman Wendy Collins Perdue Allison Bryant John M. Robinson Meredith K. Wellington Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
Prince George’s County County Executive Jack B. Johnson County Council
The County Council has three main responsibilities in the planning process: (1) setting policy, (2) plan approval, and (3) plan implementation. Applicable policies are incorporated into area plans, functional plans, and the general plan. The Council, after holding a hearing on the plan adopted by the Planning Board, may approve the plan as adopted, approve the plan with amendments based on the public record, or disapprove the plan and return it to the Planning Board for revision. Implementation is primarily through adoption of the annual Capital Improvement Program, the annual budget, the water and sewer plan, and adoption of zoning map amendments. Council Members Camille Exum, Chair, 7th District Marilynn Bland, Vice Chair, 9th District Thomas E. Dernoga, 1st District Will Campos, 2nd District Eric Olson, 3rd District Ingrid M. Turner, 4th District David Harrington, 5th District Samuel H. Dean, 6th District Tony Knotts, 8th District Clerk of the Council Redis C. Floyd
Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
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Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
Table of Contents Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Plan Highlights Community Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Community Size and Mix of Land Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Public Infrastructure and Amenities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Environmental Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Community Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Introduction Planning Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Plan Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Planning Area Boundary and Regional Setting. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Relationship to Other Plans and Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Public Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Planning Area Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Development Pattern Element
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Recommended Development Pattern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Policy 1—Westphalia Regional Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Strategy I: Westphalia Town Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Strategy II: Town Center Core. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Strategy III: Town Center Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Strategy IV: Town Center Fringe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Policy 2—Design Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Policy 3—Phasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Policy 4—Mixed-Use Activity Centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Policy 5—Residential Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Policy 6—Industrial Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Policy 7—Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
Infrastructure Element
Environmental Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Public Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Parks and Recreation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Existing Communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Historic Preservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Scenic and Historic Roads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Comprehensive Rezoning Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Sectional Map Amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Community Character Element
Implementation Appendices
1.. Development Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 2. Public Record Exhibit 44 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 3. Public Facilities Cost. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 4. Road Sections—Public Record Exhibit 65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 .5. Approval Condition from CR-2-2007 (DR-2) for SMA Change 6. . .124 6. Guide to Zoning Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
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Maps
1. Westphalia Sector Plan Boundary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. The 2002 Prince George’s County General Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. WCCP Modified Preferred Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. Land Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. Regional Center Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Illustrative Concept Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. Green Infrastructure Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. Primary and Secondary Corridors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. Transportation Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. Proposed Metro Line Extension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11. Bicycle/Pedestrian Trail Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12. Public Facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. Parks and Open Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14. Key Development Proposals—2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15. Westphalia Neighborhoods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16. Mines and Landfills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17. Historic Sites and Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. Pending Zoning Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19. Public Rezoning Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20. Approved Zoning Changes and Readopted Existing Zoning . . . . . . . 21. Approved SMA Zoning Pattern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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6 15 16 19 20 21 36 37 41 44 45 49 52 54 60 61 67 78 80 83 84
Tables
1. Proposed Park Facilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 2. Approved Zoning Inventory (in Acres) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 3. Pending Zoning Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 4. Public Rezoning Requests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 5. Approved Zoning Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
1. Westphalia Sector Plan Process Overview . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1. Heart of the Town Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2. Office and Retail Along Main Street. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3. View to the Edge Neighborhood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 4. Civic Building at Town Center Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 5. Mixed-Use Activity Centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figures
Illustrations
Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
Foreword The Prince George’s County Planning Board is pleased to make available the Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment (SMA). This community-oriented plan/SMA establishes a clear vision for future development of the area and amends portions of the 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78). Policy guidance for the plan came from the 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan and was informed by the 2005 Westphalia Comprehensive Concept Plan (WCCP) Study. A substantive public participation process was conducted for the WCCP study between June and August 2005, including a precharrette, three public charrettes, a final public presentation, a mailed community survey, and a visual preference survey. These outreach measures were supplemented by numerous community briefings, a working group to address technical matters, and meetings with a large stakeholder group of interested citizens; developers; county, state, and regional agencies; and political leadership. This document contains recommendations for land use; protection and enhancement of existing communities; transportation systems including roadways, transit, and bicycle, pedestrian, and equestrian trails; environmental protection; public facilities; parks and recreation; historic preservation; economic development; and urban design. The plan recommends medium- to high-density, mixed-use, transit-oriented development at the Westphalia town center and other designated locations and the provision of a large central park feature to bring the community together and link new development with existing neighborhoods. The 2002 General Plan is amended to designate the Westphalia town center as a regional center and a possible future metropolitan center. The SMA rezones properties to facilitate implementation of the land use concepts in the sector plan. The Prince George’s County Planning Board and the District Council held three duly advertised joint public hearings to solicit comments from property owners, residents, and other interested parties. All comments and recommendations presented at the public hearings became a matter of public record. The Planning Board adopted the plan with modifications per PGCPB Resolution No. 06-159 in July 2006. The District Council approved the plan with additional modifications per CR-2-2007 (DR-2) in February 2007. The Westphalia Sector Plan supports the findings and concerns expressed by stakeholders through an initiative launched in 2008, just a few months after the development of this plan. Envision Prince George’s sought to engage residents and stakeholders from across the county in a communitywide dialogue designed to assess their concerns and desires for their communities and neighborhoods. More than 15,000 ideas and suggestions were gathered from county stakeholders through community and online forums. The end result was the Envision action agenda, which outlines 14 priority goals with shortand long-term objectives to enhance the county over the next 10 to 20 years. Many of the recommendations contained within the approved Westphalia Sector Plan are reflected in the Envision action agenda. We invite you to visit www.envisionprincegeorges.org to learn how you can continue to impact your communities in positive ways.
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The Planning Board and District Council appreciate the contributions of the community and stakeholders throughout the plan development phase and at the public hearings. We look forward to this plan providing the foundation for the creation of a vibrant, mixed-use, transit- and pedestrian-oriented Westphalia town center and the additional mixed residential, office, employment, retail, and recreation development that will meet the needs and preserve the character of the existing communities. Sincerely, Samuel J. Parker, Jr., AICP Chairman Prince George’s County Planning Board
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Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and Proposed Sectional Map Amendment
PLAN HIGHLIGHTS Community Vision A network of attractive roads that unifies the community and meets projected traffic needs. A central park feature and a highly visible and usable network of natural greenways and parks extending throughout the 6,000-acre area. A mixed-use town center with defined core, edge, and fringe areas; a high-density, urban, transit- and pedestrian-oriented character; ample employment and retail; as well as a lively main street and town square capable of hosting community events and parades.
Green buffers along MD 4 and the Capital Beltway. New industrial development is restricted outside areas designated as the Andrews Air Force Base noise zone 70 dBA and higher. Existing industrial uses outside the 70 dBA line should be redeveloped for residential uses.
Community Size and Mix of Land Uses Mixed-Use, Retail, Office, and Industrial Development New Retail:
Two mixed-use activity centers and four small, mixed-use neighborhood centers to serve communities and neighborhoods outside the town center core area. Attractive and safe residential neighborhoods with a range of housing types and densities, access to schools, recreation, green spaces and shopping, designed to minimize the usage and visual impact of cars. Preservation of key scenic and historic community features. Preservation of rural character along the eastern edge with clustered development and incremental increases in densities up to a high-density urban core in the center.
■■Approximately 1,000,000 square feet in the Westphalia town center. ■■Approximately 350,000 square feet distributed in six mixed-use local centers. New Office: Approximately 4,000,000 square feet including a medical facility. New Industrial: Infill development along the I-95 corridor near Andrews Air Force Base. Residential Development, Public Facilities, and Services Residential: Approximately 15,000–16,000 new units in a wide variety of housing types and densities, with higher densities in the urban town center area.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Transportation Roads A greatly expanded and inter-connected road and trail network to provide convenient vehicle and pedestrian access to schools, recreation, green spaces, shopping, and the town center. ■■Several master-planned roads. ■■Five new and upgraded interchanges along MD 4 and I-95. ■■Improvements and realignments to key existing roads to improve safety. ■■Traffic calming improvements to discourage and restrict truck traffic on existing local roads. ■■Specially designed Westphalia roads to ensure the rural character of key existing roads and pedestrian safety and urban amenities on new roads. Transit Transit-oriented development in and around the core. Expanded bus transit service throughout. Direct access to the Largo Metro Station via new north/south roads linking the Suitland Parkway to the Harry S Truman Drive. 1
A new park-and-ride lot near the town center core along MD 4.
Public Safety Facilities
Preservation of the Smith Farm Knoll (Blythe House).
A future Metro line extension to Andrews Air Force Base and the Westphalia Center core.
One new police station in or near the core with possible additional facilities in Little Washington and other locations in or near the older communities.
Preservation and appropriate adaptive use of the Blythewood House, farm complex, and tobacco barn (Historic Resource 78-013)
Library
Protect, maintain, and enhance older neighborhoods in Westphalia.
Pedestrian Way and Trail Networks
An extensive network of paved and natural paths and trails for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians, as well as sidewalks on new streets and key existing streets.
Public Infrastructure and Amenities Schools Five new elementary schools, renovations to Arrowhead Elementary, a new middle school, and a new high school.
Public Open Space, Parks, and Recreation
Open space, parks, and recreation facilities on approximately 1,850 acres within and immediately adjacent to the Westphalia sector plan area. A new 150-acre central park located near the town center featuring a lake, a variety of active sports facilities, community event facilities, and family gathering and open space areas. Extensive publicly accessible, privately maintained greenway parks with paved hiker/biker trails and equestrian trails. Special recreational facilities including a publicly accessible recreation/aquatic center, an equestrian center, and public town squares for community events and picnics, etc. 2
One new fire station.
One new library, possibly with community meeting space capacity, located in the town center core adjacent to a usable outdoor open square/space and on or near the main street.
Environmental Protection Primary management area (PMA) preserved as open space within the developing areas. A coordinated road network with a limited number of new stream crossings utilizing existing farm crossings, where possible. Restoration of stream quality and stability through the removal of agricultural uses and the establishment of stream buffers. Placement of residential uses so as to limit the impact of aircraft noise.
Community Character Historic and Scenic Preservation
Preservation of the MD 4 scenic corridor and establishment of a scenic corridor buffer on Ritchie Marlboro Road and a green buffer along the Capital Beltway.
Existing Communities
Design new development in older communities to be compatible with the established character. Provide all neighborhoods with modern facilities and services. Protect owners in existing neighborhoods from displacement. Enhance the safety and security of residents through design techniques (e.g., Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) and neighborhood maintenance.
Economic Development
Build and coordinate partnerships to promote and maintain high-density, transitoriented development in the town center. Attract and retain community and neighborhoodserving nonresidential development throughout Westphalia. Promote development and expansion of minority-owned business enterprises.
Preservation of Melwood Road as a rural road trail and greenway. Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
INTRODUCTION
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
INTRODUCTION Planning Background The Westphalia sector plan and sectional map amendment (SMA) area comprises a section of a larger geographic area covered by the 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78). The 1994 master plan recommended a planned community consisting of increasingly less-intense development patterns radiating from a higher-intensity, mixed-use, local activity area centered north of Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4). After approval of the 1994 master plan, the pace of new development, as measured through rezoning requests to the Prince George’s County Planning Department, remained relatively low. In the last several years, however, new development proposals became increasingly frequent, with increased market pressure for the development of new commercial and residential properties in the vacant portions of the sector plan area. The vast majority of these development proposals were on some of the last large, contiguously undeveloped parcels of land in the middle of the Westphalia area. Noticing that many of the development proposals were also in close geographic proximity to each other, yet prepared independently, with
seemingly uncoordinated projects proposed for the same landscape, the Prince George’s County District Council expressed its intent on fulfilling the vision of the 1994 master plan for one wellplanned, cohesive community with adequate public facilities. An official study, coordinated by the Planning Department, began with the intent of refining and updating the vision established by the 1994 master plan and to serve as a preliminary instrument for the review and evaluation of development proposals in the area. Throughout 2005, a series of analyses were conducted, and public meetings held, to develop and refine the vision established by the 1994 master plan. Participants ranged from citizens, to developers, to county planning staff, and property owners in the study area. The resulting document, the October 2005 Westphalia Comprehensive Concept Plan (WCCP) study, was finalized and presented to the Prince George’s County District Council in late 2005.
Plan Purpose The purposes of this plan and sectional map amendment are: To implement the 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan. To amend portions of the 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78). To incorporate elements of the vision established in the WCCP study into county planning policy. To analyze existing development and the current zoning pattern for consistency with the county’s development policies. To amend the zoning map to implement the land use recommendations through a sectional map amendment. To set policies that will guide future development in the sector planning area.
Shortly following this briefing, in January 2006, the Prince George’s County District Council directed The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) Planning Board to begin the process of converting the WCCP into an official sector plan.
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Planning Area Boundary and Regional Setting The Westphalia sector plan area is bounded to the north and east by Ritchie Marlboro Road, to the west by the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495), and to the south by Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4). The sector plan area falls within a portion of Planning Area 78 and encompasses only a portion of the approved 1994 Melwood-Westphalia Master Plan area, which included all of Planning Areas 77 and 78. The sector plan considers areas beyond these geographic boundaries and addresses areawide issues such as floodplain, wetlands, transportation, trails and parkland, and public facilities.
Map 1: Westphalia Sector Plan Boundary
Relationship to Other Plans and Policies 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan
The 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan designates three policy tiers, each with unique characteristics and opportunities: the Developed Tier, the Developing Tier, and the Rural Tier. The Westphalia sector plan and sectional map amendment (SMA) is within the Developing Tier. The vision for the Developing Tier is to maintain a pattern of low- to moderatedensity suburban residential communities. The sector plan area includes a portion of the Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) corridor, one of
the seven corridors where the 2002 General Plan recommends more intensive development and redevelopment. The segment of the Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) corridor within the sector plan area is located between the Capital Beltway and Ritchie Marlboro Road. The 2002 General Plan also promotes development of a possible future community center in the Westphalia sector plan and SMA area adjacent to the Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) corridor. This is one of 27 centers that the county identifies as existing, or possible future, locations for the concentration of medium- to high-density, mixed-use, and pedestrian-oriented development. The Westphalia sector plan amends the 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan to officially designate the town center in Westphalia as a regional center, changing its designation from a “possible future” community center, and defining the center boundaries.
1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78)
The 1994 approved Melwood-Westphalia Master Plan and SMA recommended the creation of a master planned community with a medium- to high-density, mixed-use local activity center, surrounded by incrementally less dense bands of residential and commercial development. It also encouraged the development of a linear park system traversing the center of the planning area and relegated industrial uses largely to the areas north and east of Andrews Air Force Base. 6
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
The Westphalia sector plan and SMA refines and updates the vision of the 1994 plan, in large part by utilizing the vision established by the Westphalia Comprehensive Concept Plan (WCCP) study, whose purpose it was to update the 1994 vision in light of recent development proposals in the Westphalia vicinity. The Westphalia sector plan champions the same themes of the 1994 vision, as refined by the WCCP study: a master-planned community with a high-density, mixed-use core, surrounded by incrementally less dense bands of residential and commercial development.
The 1992 Maryland Economic Growth, Resource Protection, and Planning Act
This legislation was enacted to encourage economic growth, limit sprawl development, and protect the state’s natural resources. It establishes consistent general land use policies to be locally implemented throughout Maryland. These policies are stated in the form of eight visions: Development is concentrated in suitable areas. Sensitive areas are protected. In rural areas, growth is directed to existing population centers and resource areas are protected. Stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay and the land is a universal ethic. Conservation of resources, including a reduction in resource consumption, is practiced. To ensure achievement of one through five above, economic growth is encouraged and regulatory mechanisms are streamlined.
Adequate public facilities and infrastructure under the control of the county or municipal corporation are available or planned in areas where growth is to occur. Funding mechanisms are addressed to achieve these visions. The eight visions are a set of guiding principles that describe how and where growth and development should occur. The act acknowledges that the comprehensive plans prepared by counties and municipalities are the best mechanism to establish priorities for growth and resource conservation. Once priorities are established, it is the state’s responsibility to support them.
The 1997 Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Act
This act builds on the foundation of the eight visions adopted in the 1992 Act, as amended. The act is nationally recognized as an effective means of evaluating and implementing statewide programs to guide growth and development. In 1997, the Maryland General Assembly enacted a package of legislation collectively referred to as the Neighborhood Conservation and Smart Growth Initiative. The Maryland Smart Growth initiative has three basic goals: to save valuable remaining natural resources; to support existing communities and neighborhoods; and to save taxpayers millions of dollars in unnecessary costs for building infrastructure to support sprawl. A significant aspect of the initiative is the Smart Growth Areas legislation that requires that state funding for projects in Maryland municipalities, other existing
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
communities, and industrial and planned growth areas designated by counties will receive priority funding over other projects. These are called priority funding areas (PFA).
Public Participation Westphalia Comprehensive Concept Plan (WCCP)
The planning and public outreach process for the WCCP study was designed to obtain and respond to detailed comments from as many area stakeholders as possible. Target groups included community leaders, residents, property and business owners, land developers, officials, M-NCPPC staff, and others. The team used several different techniques to ensure adequate feedback. These included the following: Public Meetings/Charrettes M-NCPPC staff and the consultant team held five public meetings at a site within the community between June and August 2005. The meetings were well attended with a large percentage of new participants each time. A pre-charrette was held on June 14, 2005. The team explained the purpose of the study, its schedule, and process. They reviewed the existing 1994 plan and policies affecting Westphalia and asked participants to identity the key issues that the study should address. Attendance: 41 people.
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Three public charrettes were held on June 28, June 29, and July 25, 2005. At each of three sessions the team presented alternative and refined plans and posed questions and options to obtain directions to shape the plan. Participants broke into small groups to review plans and discuss their reactions. All groups recorded their responses and reported back to the full session so that the team could assess the degree of consensus and the outstanding issues to be addressed. Three alternative plans were developed, followed by a preliminary concept plan that was refined twice. Attendance: Approximately 72 people at each charrette. In order to ensure that participants understood the 1994 Melwood-Westphalia plan, copies were handed out during the public charrette and participants filled out and returned a questionnaire on the plan’s key features. A final public presentation was held on August 22, 2005. The team presented the final plan and related recommendations and solicited comments from participants to help staff and the team assess community consensus and to identify any outstanding issues or minority opinions. Attendance: Approximately 80 people. Team Working Charrettes Between the public charrettes, the team conducted working charrettes at county offices in Upper Marlboro to refine the plan and
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respond to the comments given. County staff, officials, and the Board of Education, as well as all the charrette participants, were invited to drop in and make individual comments during the second charrette. A wide range of residents, property and business owners, officials, and M-NCPPC staff participated. WCCP Study Document Development Three preliminary alternatives and the subsequent refinements were developed by the consultant team and presented at the three public charrettes. The criteria used by the team to develop and refine these plans are as follows: Community feedback from the surveys and public meetings. Consistency with the intent and policies of the 2002 General Plan and the approved 1994 Melwood-Westphalia Master Plan. Feedback from key property owners. Consideration of current development proposals, both approved and under review. Existing community conditions, both positive attributes and areas of concern. Adequate road capacity and public facilities to support growth. Public Notification and Survey To inform area residents and property owners of the WCCP study and encourage participation, the following techniques were employed:
Community Survey: At the beginning of the process, M-NCPPC staff and the District 6 County Council Member mailed a letter and survey to all households in the study area explaining the process and requesting input and participation. Names and addresses were taken from the tax rolls to use for three separate mailings with approximately 2,100 addresses. Community Signs: Several signs were posted along roadways in the Westphalia community prior to the first meeting to remind people of the location and time. The five meetings were well attended with a large percentage of new participants each time. Flyers: Notices were also sent through churches and homeowners associations. Mailed Announcements: M-NCPPC staff and the District 6 County Council Member mailed announcements to all property owners in the study area on several occasions explaining the process, announcing meeting dates, and urging people to participate. Local Media: Local newspapers and the Planning Department web site were utilized to publicize upcoming meeting dates. Visual Preference Survey: Participants at the first charrette were asked to identity the character of development that they preferred to see in the community. There were 41 participants in this exercise.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Preliminary Sector Plan Review and a Continuous Public Evaluation Process
To reinforce the public participation efforts conducted during preparation of the WCCP study for the preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and SMA, a continuing plan implementation and stakeholder coordination process was conducted parallel to publication of the preliminary plan and public hearing review. The purpose of the continuing public outreach program was to transparently evaluate and refine recommendations of the preliminary sector plan, to obtain additional public and private stakeholder input with a focus on implementation and concurrency, and to build consensus on refined plan recommendations without delaying the time schedule for sector plan review and approval. Figure 1 illustrates the Westphalia Sector Plan process including three joint public hearings on sector plan and SMA recommendations or proposed amendments and the continuous plan evaluation and refinement process. Plan Implementation and Stakeholder Coordination Meetings The plan implementation and stakeholder coordination process involved the establishment of a stakeholder group that included all interested private parties and relevant public officials. This stakeholder group was organized to review and refine recommendations of the preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and SMA and to promote implementation in a timely manner. A technical work group was established as a subgroup that would research and provide
information on technical issues as identified by the larger stakeholder group. Private sector stakeholders included county residents, land owners, area developers, and representatives of various organizations. Public sector stakeholders included staff from the M-NCPPC Planning Department and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the county Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T), offices of the County Council and County Executive, the Maryland State Highway Administration, the Maryland Department of the Environment and Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A management group, consisting of senior level staff assigned to the project, engaged an independent consulting team to provide meeting management and facilitation services, to conduct an in-depth analysis of the WCCP and preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan recommendations and to prepare a public facilities financing plan. Outreach and involvement efforts included: The stakeholder and the technical work groups held more than two dozen open meetings between March 2006 and January 2007. A public workshop on the Westphalia town center design issues and relationships between the existing and planned community was held in May 2006. Another public workshop concerning protection, preservation, needs, and enhancement of existing communities was held in August 2006 to
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
collaborate on recommendations for the Existing Communities section of the Community Character Element. A communitywide bus tour was conducted in July 2006 to identify community issues and concerns with representatives of five civic associations, area developers, elected county officials and staff from the Department of Environmental Resources, the Department of Public Works and Transportation, the Planning Department, and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Civic association meetings were regularly attended by staff from M-NCPPC, DPW&T, and the District 6 County Council office throughout the planning process to keep residents informed of issues and scheduled events, to respond to questions, and to get feed-back. Interagency meetings on technical issues pertaining to land use, transportation, recreation, and the environment were held between March 2006 and February 2007. The project web site was continuously updated to reflect meeting schedules and issues that were addressed to keep stakeholders and the community informed. A joint public hearing on the preliminary sector plan and SMA was held on May 23, 2006. Joint public hearings on proposed amendments to the sector plan or SMA by Council Resolutions CR-66-2006 and CR83-2006 were held on September 19, 2006, and January 16, 2007, respectively. 9
Results of the Plan Implementation and Stakeholder Coordination Process
As a result of the continuing public outreach and evaluation process, recommendations of the preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and SMA were revised and several amendments to the zoning ordinance were approved to streamline development review procedures and facilitate implementation of plan recommendations. All were the products of deliberate, continuous, and open involvement of the many public and private stakeholders facilitated via the plan implementation and stakeholder coordination process. Revisions to the Preliminary Westphalia Sector Plan and SMA The Development Pattern Element was revised to promote a more intense, mixeduse, pedestrian- and transit-oriented urban design for the Westphalia town center, the phasing of development to ensure that both residential and commercial development proceed in tandem, and a unique central park as the focal point for the Westphalia area. The Transportation section was revised to recommend a transportation network more focused on a pedestrian-oriented and transitready urban center with multiple connections to surrounding neighborhoods including roads, bike paths, sidewalks and trails, and bus routes. The Environmental Infrastructure section was revised to address the challenges of constructing transit- and pedestrian-oriented urban development patterns in new communities.
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A new Existing Communities section focuses on the need to upgrade older neighborhoods in conjunction with new development and documents needed public improvements and strategies for implementation. A new Economic Development section emphasizes the importance of minority participation in all phases of developing the new community and operating new businesses in Westphalia and recommends strategies for implementation. The Implementation chapter was revised to emphasize the continuing need for coordination and partnerships between the public and private sectors, as well as for public awareness and transparency in the development review and public facility implementation processes. Design concepts to guide site plan review of development proposals rezoned by the SMA are incorporated in this chapter. A Westphalia Sector Plan Public Facility Financing Program report that identifies short and long term financing needs and strategies to implement plan recommendations was prepared as part of the stakeholder sector plan evaluation process and was published concurrently with approval of the plan. Legislative Revisions to the Zoning Ordinance To facilitate implementation of the Westphalia Sector Plan, several changes to the county’s Zoning Ordinance were enacted in 2006:
CB-76-2006 allows comprehensive design zones to be approved in a sectional map amendment without a rezoning application under certain circumstances. CB-77-2006 and CB-78-2006 establish the recommendations and guidelines of a master plan or sector plan as the primary criteria for the review of site plan applications in a comprehensive design zone or an M-X-T Zone that was approved in an SMA such as in Westphalia. This legislation also establishes a new public facility financing and implementation program as another method to provide adequate public facilities required by the ordinance for approval of site plans and preliminary subdivision applications, or to fund construction and maintenance of other public or private community infrastructure. Public Record and Exhibits Transcripts of testimony from the three public hearings and 76 exhibits submitted to the public record during the public review process for this sector plan are maintained by the Office of the Clerk of the County Council, Second Floor, County Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro MD 20772. Some of the exhibits are referenced in this plan as providing background information regarding the intent of the District Council or to provide more specific policy guidance for review of subsequent applications in the development review process.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Figure 1: Westphalia SectorProcess Plan Process Overview Westphalia Sector Plan Overview Initiated by CR-5-2006 (DR-2) on January 17, 2006
February–March 2006
April 2006
Preliminary Sector Plan and SMA Preparation by Staff
Publishing and Distribution of Preliminary Sector Plan and SMA by Staff
Stakeholder and Implementation Coordination Process
Stakeholder Group Meetings
Management Group Meetings
Project Management Group Meetings
Technical Group Meetings
Planning Issues Clarification, Alternatives and Solutions
May 2006 Joint Public Hearing by Planning Board and District Council
July 2006
June 2006
Planning Board Worksession
Planning Board Sector Plan Adoption and SMA Endorsement District Council Work Session—Proposed Plan Amendments
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
September 2006
January 2007
February 2007
Second Joint Public Hearing on Plan Amendments
Third Joint Public Hearing on Plan Amendments
Approval of the Sector Plan and SMA
(CR-66-2006)
(CR-83-2006)
(CR-2-2007 (DR-2))
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Planning Area Profile* Land Area 6,067.41 acres 9.4803 square miles Population 2000: 5,417 2030: 14,043 By Race: 18.8% White alone 76.3% Black or African American alone .47% American Indian and Alaska Native alone .66 % Asian alone 0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone .74% Some other race alone 2.3% Two or more races
By Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity: 33.67% White alone 0% Black or African American alone 0% American Indian and Alaska Native alone 0% Asian alone 0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone 55.1% Some other race alone 11.2% Two or more races Dwelling Units 2005: Single-Family: 2,233 Multifamily: 0 2005 Total: 2,233 2030 Total 5,569 Employment 2000: 3,073 2030: 5,006
2005 Existing Land Use
In the Westphalia Sector Plan Area
Land Use Type
Acres
Residential Single-family
634
Townhouse/Condominium
32
Mobile Home Park
45
Commercial
43
Industrial
776
Farm
2,120
Public/Quasi Public M-NCPPC Park
99
Board of Education School
12
Homeowners Association Common Area
75
Rural Unsubdivided
2,039 Total
5,875
Based on Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation land use code data, excluding public roads.
* Data is based on the 2000 U.S. census and the Council of Governments Cooperative Forecast (Round 7) and the Prince George’s County Planning Department dwelling unit inventory and population estimates. 12
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
DEVELOPMENT PATTERN ELEMENT
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
DEVELOPMENT PATTERN ELEMENT Introduction Planning Framework
The Westphalia sector plan area is in the Developing Tier and a segment of the Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor as described in the 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan. The vision for the Developing Tier is to maintain a pattern of low- to moderatedensity suburban residential communities, distinct commercial centers, and employment areas that are increasingly transit serviceable. The vision for corridors is mixed residential and nonresidential uses that are communityoriented in scope at moderate densities and intensities. This development should occur at local centers and other appropriate nodes within one-quarter mile of major intersections or transit stops along the corridor.
regional markets as well as the surrounding communities. Regional centers should be served by rail or bus mass transit systems and have a strong emphasis on transit-oriented development. The development pattern concept for the Westphalia sector plan is also established largely by the 2005 Westphalia Comprehensive Concept Plan (WCCP) study, which built upon the vision of the General Plan and the approved 1994 Melwood-Westphalia Master Plan by promoting a high-density, mixed-use core off MD 4, with incrementally less dense, largely residential development throughout the remainder of the area and green spaces and parks linking the elements together.
The 2002 General Plan indicates a possible future community center in the Westphalia sector plan area north of Pennsylvania Avenue. Designating Westphalia as a regional center and a possible future metropolitan center was evaluated during preparation of this sector plan, which was subsequently approved as an amendment to the General Plan. The General Plan’s vision for regional centers is a mix of residential and nonresidential uses at moderate to high densities and intensities that serve Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
W est
ph
ali
a
Map 2: The 2002 Prince George’s County General Plan 15
Map 3: WCCP Modified Preferred Option (from consultant)
HARR YS TRUM A
M
To Blue line
Largo Metro Station
N DR
FE
Rural Gateway
S HOU WHITE
E
Community Center Core
RD
Community Center Edge Fringe Mixed-Use
RNWOOD
Mixed Use / Retail
HS-1
Industrial / Office Residential Residential Conversion RD
Rubblefill
SAN SBU RY
Church
PEPCO SUB STATION
ES-1
School Parks / Open Space
Community Center per General Plan PC O
Greenway Spine
PE
WA Y
Option I Me
6 A-6
AVE
ng isti Ex
NSY LVA N IA
RD
Proposed School Site
.5 or 2.0 du/ac (Gross)
Smith Farms, Development along Pennsylvania Avenue and Clagett Property
BE LT
PEN
ES-2
ALIA PH ST WE
Option II
D'A
RCY RD
Gateway Rural Hamlet
oo lw
ES-4
Smith Farm
d
M
Proposed Metro Line PEPCO Right-of-Way
MS-1
CA PIT AL
Branch Ave Metro Station (to green line)
High School/ Elementary School (under construction)
Clagett Property
RI TC HI EM AR
SUI T L AN D P RK WY
ES-3
M
1000
2000
North
ES-5
PEPCO
MD 4
0
OLD M ARLBORO
PIKE
Rural Gateway
AVE VANIA NSYL PEN WOODYAR D RD
RD DOWER HOUSE
Clear Zone il ra dT oa ilr Ra ay
Note: This map is for conceptual and illustrative purposes only. It represents the land use vision for the area as a result of the WCCP study charette. It is not an official representation of the zoning map.
Noise Contour
RD
B ke ea
Andrews Air Force Base
Chesapeake Bay Railroad Trail
ap
NPS GATEWAY
ANDREWS GATEWAY
M
K OO BR
Existing Melwood Trail
NE
es Ch
M
LB OR O
A EL
Westphalia Study Area Boundary
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Existing Development
The predominant land uses have historically been agricultural and equestrian in nature, but are currently being converted to residential and commercial uses. Existing residential land use patterns include single-family homes on small and large lots, such as those found in the Little Washington, Westphalia, and Melwood neighborhoods. Approximately six single-family residential subdivisions have been built in recent years, with two large residential subdivisions now under construction along Ritchie Marlboro Road and Old Marlboro Pike on the east side of the sector plan area. Additional development applications have been approved or are pending review. An older mobile-home park is also located in the northwest part of the area. Limited industrial and commercial office development has taken place along MD 4 and along the Capital Beltway under the northern extension of the Andrews Air Force Base flight path and its related noise contours. Additional industrial uses are located off Westphalia Road and D’Arcy Road. One large rubble fill, and approximately six Class Three landfill operations, exist in the central, northern, and western parts of the sector plan area.
Recommended Development Pattern Vision
The Westphalia sector plan area contains an urban town center core that is transit- and pedestrian-oriented, with ample public spaces suitable for community events, and surrounding residential and commercial development that helps create a single unified community. Westphalia’s existing neighborhoods are an integral part of the new development pattern. Map 3 shows the overall development concept envisioned by the WCCP and the sector plan. The concept promotes: A mixed-use, urban town center with a defined core and a defined edge. An urban town center core that is transitand pedestrian-oriented, with ample public spaces suitable for community events, and surrounding residential and commercial development that helps create a single unified community. Two mixed-use activity centers with medium-density local commercial, office, and retail development that serves area neighborhoods. Four smaller-scaled mixed-use neighborhood centers to serve local neighborhoods. Retail development of approximately one million square feet located primarily in the Westphalia town center core and also within the two mixed-use activity centers and four mixed-use neighborhood centers.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Office development of up to 4.5 million square feet. Attractive and safe residential neighborhoods with a range of housing types and densities, convenient access to schools, recreation, green spaces, and shopping, designed to minimize the visual impact of cars. Residential development of approximately 17,000-18,000 units (including existing houses) in a wide range of mixed housing types and densities, with incremental increases in development densities closer to the high-density urban town center core. Open space of approximately 1,850 acres within, and immediately adjacent to, the Westphalia sector plan area. Preservation of green space along the eastern edge and a portion of the MD 4 corridor. New industrial development restricted to areas within the Andrews Air Force Base noise zone of 70 dBA (the average day/night sound level measured in decibels) and higher, and existing industrial uses outside the 70 dBA line redeveloped for commercial or residential uses, depending on their location. Taking into account this development concept, recently approved zoning cases, and existing land uses, recommended future land uses for the Westphalia sector plan area are shown on Map 4.
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Goals
Promote compact, mixed-use development at moderate to high densities through the development of a regional center on the Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) corridor in accord with the amended 2002 General Plan. Create a mixed-use town center with highquality urban form. Develop compact areas of commercial and office development. Encourage phased commercial and office development that strategically targets and creates market demand in the town center and mixed-use areas. This development should precede or occur concurrently with and in proportion to residential development. Maintain low- to moderate-density land uses for the sector plan area, except in the Westphalia town center core. Reinforce existing residential neighborhoods in the Westphalia sector plan area. Preserve and enhance environmentally sensitive areas, such as streams, woodlands, and wetlands. Develop transit supportive densities and promote street grid systems with compact blocks of development that provide easy automobile, transit, and pedestrian accessibility. Balance the pace of development with the provision of adequate transportation and public facilities.
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Policy 1—Westphalia Regional Center Promote development of an urban regional center with a defined core, edge, and fringe, with mixed residential and nonresidential uses at medium to high densities and intensities, and with a strong emphasis on transit-oriented design. Strategy I. Westphalia Town Center: Develop the Westphalia town center as a regional center and possible future metropolitan center, consistent with its designation by the 2002 General Plan as amended by approval of this sector plan. Review all development applications for conformance with the design principles in this plan for a transit- and pedestrianoriented, urban regional center, such as illustrated by Map 6. Compare the design concepts for all proposed development to Illustrations 1–4, which represent the desired character of urban development sought for this regional center. Strategy II. Westphalia Town Center Core: Develop a compact, interconnected, high-density, high-quality, transit-oriented urban core with mixed commercial, retail, office, residential, and public spaces that create an appealing place for people to live, work, shop, and play. Size: An area of approximately one-quarter mile from the midpoint of the town center.
Development Density and Intensity Targets: Residential density at a minimum of 24 dwelling units per acre net, with a preferred target density range of 40-60 dwelling units per acre net. Mixed-use and nonresidential intensity at a minimum 1.0 FAR (floor area ratio) net lot area. Recommended Range of Land Use Mix: Residential: 20-70% Retail and Services: 10-60% Office:10-60% Public and Quasi-Public Uses: 10-20% Design Principles: Construct high-density residential and commercial development using multistory buildings, generally of three to ten stories, with taller landmark buildings. (Note: The town center area is located under federally regulated airspace surrounding Andrews Air Force Base. The regulations limit the height of buildings in the town center area to generally less than 150 feet depending on site elevation and distance from the airport runway. The exact restrictions for each building site need to be verified with Andrews Air Force Base personnel.) Limit attached residential dwelling units to no more than 50 percent of the units in the Westphalia town center as a whole. Feature vertical mixing of uses, particularly along main streets, to include ground-level retail and upper level office or residential uses.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Map 4: Land Use
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Map 5: Regional Center Concept
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Map 6: Illustrative Concept Plan
Note: This illustration portrays a long-range development scenario for the Westphalia town center as proposed in Public Record Exhibit 44. Some of the road alignments and the location and design of proposed interchanges along MD 4 are illustrative of preliminary concepts and do not correspond to those finally approved in the plan. Nonetheless, the illustration is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia town center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
See Appendix 2 for additional maps regarding land use, heights, phasing, and core boundaries.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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■■Texture ■■Canopies ■■Projections or indentations ■■Vertical expression of structural bays ■■Roof design
Illustration 1: Heart of the Town Center
Design building wall planes to have shadow relief; pop-outs, off-setting planes, overhangs, and recessed doorways shall be used to provide visual interest at the pedestrian level. ■■Design signs as a means to communicate a unified theme and identity for the town center. ■■Prohibit drive-through commercial services that are visible from public streets. ■■Hide garbage collection and other storage areas from streets, parks, squares, and pedestrian spaces through strategic placement and screening. This illustration, prepared by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassalbaum as part of Public Record Exhibit 44, is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia town center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
Create a high-quality urban environment that results in a lively and appealing place to live, work and shop: ■■The façade of all buildings should front all master planned or internal streets and roads unless they front a plaza, green, courtyard, or public park. ■■Encourage the use of materials and finishes that reinforce a sense of quality and permanence.
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■■Encourage building designs that are compatible in scale, form, rhythm, and materials to adjacent commercial or residential structures. ■■Provide architectural variation in buildings to discourage the appearance of a uniform structure: Building façades that face public streets should be articulated with form variation and should include design elements such as:
■■Locate loading areas and service driveways adjacent to alleys or parking areas off the rear or the principal buildings, hidden from streets, parks, squares, and pedestrian spaces by the principal structure, or through articulated screening walls. Promote the development of quality public spaces: ■■Design a minimum of one public space in a prominent, centralized location of the town center core at a minimum of three acres in size. ■■Construct inviting public amenities such as a gazebo, fountain, bandstand, public
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
art or ornamental landscaping in all civic and public spaces.
■■Provide direct access from public sidewalks to all buildings, unless the building fronts a plaza, green, or courtyard.
■■Develop numerous smaller public spaces such as plazas, courtyards, and green spaces of approximately one-quarter to one-half acre in size.
■■Design streets with pedestrian facilities and amenities such as wide sidewalks, street trees, nature strips or tree boxes, pedestrian-scaled lighting and signs, landscaping, and street furniture.
■■Design a town center road network that reflects the sector plan’s design principles for development with an urban character, provides functional continuity with the sector plan transportation network (Map 9), and needed capacity for adequate circulation of nonmotorized as well as motorized transportation on internal streets.
■■Design sidewalks adjacent to master planned roads to an appropriate standard for city boulevards, city collectors, and
city residential streets (see Exhibit 65, Appendix 4). ■■Design all other streets with sidewalks no less than six feet in width. ■■Provide attractively designed transit stops and stations that are adjacent to active uses and recognizable by the public. ■■Design safe, attractive, and convenient pedestrian connections from transit stops and stations to building entrances.
Illustration 2: Office and Retail Along Main Street
Use street grid systems to create compact blocks of development and provide for easy connectivity of all town center features: ■■Prohibit culs-de-sac. ■■Construct blocks with an average length of no more than 500 feet and maximum length not to exceed 800 feet. Develop in a way that promotes walking and transit use and provides high levels of pedestrian accommodation, safety and amenity: ■■Design streets to support multiple users such as: automobiles, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit buses, and trash collection and emergency vehicles. ■■Provide necessary rights-of-way for transit, transit stops, or stations. This illustration, prepared by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassalbaum as part of Public Record Exhibit 44, is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia town center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Promote on-street parking and construct it in a manner that is practical and does not impair aesthetics or safety:
Illustration 3: View to the Edge Neighborhood
■■Promote parking that meets needs of various uses: short-term turnover for retail, longer term for employment, and parking for evening and nighttime uses. ■■Break up long lines of parked vehicles with planting island projections if appropriate. Discourage surface parking lots, and ensure appropriate design if built, by: ■■Orienting and designing surface lots in a manner that enables infill development as the town center develops and increases in density. ■■Locating pedestrian pathways in areas where vehicular access is limited. ■■Avoiding large areas of uninterrupted parking especially adjacent to community and public viewsheds.
This illustration, prepared by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassalbaum as part of Public Record Exhibit 44, is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia town center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
Encourage structured parking that is multiuse and does not interfere with aesthetics of the streetscape: ■■Screen free-standing parking structures from public walks and streets by locating them off street or behind the primary structure or a liner building.
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■■Encourage ground floor retail development in structured parking that fronts public streets; integrate structured parking with active uses. ■■Design clear and safe pedestrian pathways with signs that link parking to destinations.
■■Using trees and landscaping to provide shade, screening, and filtering of stormwater runoff in parking lots. Strategy III. Town Center Edge: Develop a medium- to high-density urban pattern surrounding the high-density town center core, including medium-density mixeduse commercial and office, and several interconnected residential neighborhoods that have diverse housing styles and a network of open space (see Map 5 and Illustration 3).
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Size: An area of approximately one-quarter to one-half mile beyond the midpoint of the town center.
• Triplexes or quadruplexes
■■Limit the maximum height for “two over two”structures to 65 feet.
• Zero-lot line or garden homes • Townhouses or rowhouses • Dwellings above nonresidential space
Development Density and Intensity Targets: Residential density at a minimum of eight dwelling units per acre net, with a preferred target range of approximately 15-30 dwelling units per acre net.
• Multifamily condominiums (including “two over two” units—defined as twofamily attached dwellings at the time this sector plan was approved.) • Multifamily apartments
Nonresidential intensity at 0.5 to 1.5 FAR net
■■Create varied architecture and avoid flat façades by using bays, balconies, porches, stoops, and other projecting elements. ■■Design single-family detached and attached homes and multifamily buildings so the mass of the living space and the front door dominates the front façade:
Recommended Range of Land Use Mix: Residential: 40-80% Retail and Services: 5-20%
Illustration 4: Civic Building at Town Center Park
Office: 5-20% Public and Quasi-Public Uses: 10-20% Design Principles: Use medium- to high-density multistory buildings (generally two–five stories); avoid constructing one-story buildings. Limit attached residential dwelling units to no more than 50 percent of the units in the Westphalia town center as a whole. Build residential neighborhoods that are attractive, walkable, and include diverse housing styles and open space: ■■Encourage a variety of residential dwelling unit types within blocks and within neighborhoods, such as: • Small lot single-family • Cottages • Duplexes
This illustration, prepared by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassalbaum as part of Public Record Exhibit 44, is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia town center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
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• Require garages that are hidden or clearly subordinate to the main structure and do not project beyond the main façade of residential buildings. • Arrange driveways so that cars are parked to the side or rear of the house or otherwise hidden from the street. • Promote rear alleys to have access to parking and garages for residences that are sited back-to-back. ■■Maximize the number of windows facing public streets. ■■Allow the use of accessory dwelling units or “granny flats” in appropriate locations. ■■Enhance community gateways to demonstrate neighborhood pride and delineate boundaries. ■■Design streets to include high levels of interconnectivity between neighborhoods: • Do not build culs-de-sac, except to avoid sensitive environmental resources. • Do not allow gated streets or developments. ■■Emphasize the provision of high-quality pedestrian and bikeway connections to transit stops/stations and surrounding neighborhoods. ■■Build large multifamily developments within approximately one-quarter mile of transit serviceable roadways. ■■Develop parks and open spaces in town center edge neighborhoods: 26
• Distribute parks generally no less than one-quarter mile from each other. • Cluster residences around shared amenities to form distinct neighborhoods with a sense of identity. Use green space to define and divide the clusters. Design attractive commercial, retail, and office use areas: ■■Front the façade of all buildings to public roads or internal streets, unless they face a plaza, green, courtyard, or public park. ■■Feature vertical mixing of uses, particularly along main streets, to include ground level retail or commercial and upper level office or residential uses. ■■Encourage building designs that are sensitive to the scale, form, rhythm, and materials proximate to commercial areas and residential neighborhoods that have a well-established, distinctive character.
■■Encourage structured parking that is multiuse and does not interfere with aesthetics or safety of the streetscape: • Screen any free-standing parking structure from public walks and streets by locating it off street, or behind the primary structure or a liner building. • Encourage ground-floor retail development in structured parking that fronts public streets; integrate structured parking with active uses. • Design clear and safe pedestrian pathways with signs that link parking to destinations. Promote on-street parking and construct it in a manner that is practical and does not impair aesthetics or safety: ■■Promote parking that meets needs of various uses: short-term turnover for retail, longer term for employment, and parking for evening and nighttime uses. ■■Break up long lines of vehicles with occasional planting island projections.
■■Encourage location of mixed-use commercial projects in transition areas and areas where small-scale commercial uses can fit into a residential neighborhood context.
Discourage large areas of off-street surface parking and design surface lots appropriately:
■■Provide architectural variation in buildings to discourage the appearance of a uniform structure.
■■Orient and design surface lots in a manner that enables infill development as the town center develops and increases in density.
■■Restrict drive-in commercial services to rear areas behind main structures; do not allow on street fronts.
■■Encourage placement of parking along the rear and sides of street-oriented buildings.
■■Provide public plazas, squares, or other public gathering spaces.
■■Locate pedestrian pathways in areas where vehicular access is limited.
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■■Avoid large areas of uninterrupted parking especially adjacent to public view sheds. ■■Use trees and other landscaping to provide shade, screening, and filtering of stormwater runoff in parking lots. Promote a town center edge development pattern that promotes walking and transit use and provides high levels of pedestrian accommodation, safety and amenity: ■■Design streets to support multiple users such as automobiles, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit buses, and trash collection and emergency vehicles. ■■Provide necessary rights-of-way for transit, transit stops, or stations. ■■Provide direct access from public sidewalks to all buildings, unless the building fronts a plaza, green, or courtyard. ■■Design streets with pedestrian facilities and amenities such as wide sidewalks, street trees, nature strips, pedestrian-scaled lighting and signs, landscaping, and street furniture. ■■Design sidewalks adjacent to master planned roads to urban boulevard, collector, and residential street standards. (See Exhibit 65, Appendix 4.) ■■Design local and internal streets with sidewalks of no less than six feet in width. ■■Provide attractively designed transit stops and stations that are adjacent to active uses and recognizable by the public.
■■Design safe, attractive, accessible, lighted, and convenient pedestrian connections from transit stops and stations to building entrances. Strategy IV. Town Center Fringe: Develop town center fringe areas as distinct and cohesive districts of commercial, office, employment, and institutional uses in campus like settings that are separate from the core and have “greener” character and setting by abutting parkways, parks, and green space fronting MD 4. Create building styles that favor large office or institutional developments, with medium- to large-scale commercial developments, and limited landmark, high-density structures such as mid-rise hotel and office buildings. Size: An area approximately 180 acres as shown on Map 5. Development Density and Intensity Targets: 0.3 FAR or greater for commercial and employment uses Recommended Range of Land Use Mix: Retail and Services: Less than 40% Office: More than 50% Public and Quasi-Public Uses: More than 10% Design Principles: Use street grid systems that are looser than in the regional core and that accommodate urban parkways and greenways. Buildings may be set back from the street to create landscaped front yards and to comply with security requirements.
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Design large commercial buildings to have architectural variation that supports a human scale and provides the appearance and functionality of smaller scale development: ■■Where feasible, use small buildings in key locations to create a human-scale environment in large retail centers. ■■Design structures to be of a height and mass that are compatible with the surrounding area. ■■Design large retail buildings to have articulation and to break up large masses by creating multiple entries and façade treatments that create the appearance of multiple smaller buildings. ■■Incorporate separate individual main entrances directly leading to the outside of large buildings to function as smaller building storefronts. ■■Use offsetting planes, roof lines, and overhangs or other means to break up the exterior façades of large retail establishment structures into distinct building masses. ■■Utilize green space as buffers or public spaces, and integrate them into campuslike settings: ■■Design structures to border or overlook green spaces. ■■Create large landscaped squares or interconnected public spaces with walkways or trails, particularly adjacent to office complexes.
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■■Design all developments along the MD 4 frontage to include landscaping or buffering to minimize the appearance of large building façades or parking lots. Integrate appropriately designed transit stops and centers, particularly near employment centers: ■■Provide attractively designed transit stops and stations that are recognizable by the public. ■■Provide necessary rights-of-way for transit, transit stops, or stations. ■■Design safe, attractive, accessible, lighted, and convenient pedestrian connections from transit stops and stations to building entrances. Design parking that is functional and supports aesthetics of the built environment: ■■Promote development of parking structures that are wrapped on their exterior with other uses to conceal the parking structure. ■■Design safe, attractive, accessible, lighted, and convenient pedestrian connections from transit stops and stations to building entrances. ■■Use trees and other landscaping to provide shade, screening, and filtering of stormwater runoff in parking lots. Create signage that functions to market services or denote building tenants but does not compromise aesthetics or safety: ■■Design signs to only advertise a service, product, or business on the site on which the sign is located. 28
■■Design signs to be compatible in style and character with the primary structure on the site. ■■Discourage large wall signs. ■■Promote monument signage. ■■Encourage appropriately scaled monument signage: • Do not exceed eight feet in height and 60 square feet of area per side for multitenant monument signage. ■■Prohibit pole-mounted signs except directional signs. ■■Prohibit signs that compromise motorist safety: • No fluorescent, reflective, or blinking signs. • Discourage animated, flashing, rotating signs. ■■Prohibit roof signs. Screen the service and loading areas of businesses: ■■Service/loading areas should have an articulated screening wall to shield trucking activities from pedestrian areas. ■■Loading areas and service driveways should adjoin alleys or parking areas to the rear or the principal building and shall be hidden from streets, parks, squares, and pedestrian spaces. ■■Hide trash receptacles, garbage areas, and storage areas from public rights-of-way and public and pedestrian spaces through strategic placement and screening.
■■Preserve a buffer along historic Melwood Road and the Twin Knolls subdivision that is an average depth of 150 feet with a minimum depth of 40 feet to provide an appropriate transition to lower density preexisting neighborhoods.
Policy 2—Design Standards The Westphalia town center should be designed and reviewed in accordance with design standards and best practices for urban development as described in this sector plan.
Strategies
Approve development standards specifically for the town center area in a conceptual site plan review per Part 3, Division 9, of the Zoning Ordinance to ensure development of urban land use patterns and character and that may revise or replace the suburban development standards contained in the zoning ordinance pertaining to lot size, lot coverage, frontage, setbacks, height, and mix of land use types, signs, off-street parking and loading, landscaping, and other parts of the zoning ordinance. Consider a future Development District Overlay Zone (DDOZ) for the entire sector plan area or a portion of the sector plan area such as the town center or local activity centers to ensure a comprehensive review of all new development applications and adherence to the policies, strategies, and design guidelines.
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Policy 3—Phasing
Size: Varies from approximately 7 to 30 acres.
Location: Two Mixed-Use Activity Centers:
Ensure high-intensity commercial and office development in the first phases of town center construction.
Development Density and Intensity Targets: Residential at 4.5 to 28 DUA net
■■North of the town center on the north side of the grand park.
Retail/Services at 0.2-0.3 FAR net
Strategies
Office at 0.4 to 0.75 FAR net
■■At the intersection of Ritchie Marlboro Road and Sansbury Road.
Identify and reserve sites specifically and exclusively for high-intensity office, highintensity mixed use, and high-density residential uses in the town center core. In the site plan and subdivision review and approval processes, define and require highintensity office and retail construction in the town center core prior to, or in conjunction with and in proportion to, specified levels of residential construction.
Recommended Range of Land Use Mix: Residential: 20-80%
Four Mixed-Use Neighborhood Centers:
Retail and Service: 5-50% Office: 5-50% Public Uses: 10-20%
• South of Westphalia Road near Poplar Avenue. • North of Westphalia Road to the west of Ritchie Marlboro Road.
Illustration 5: Mixed-Use Activity Centers
Policy 4—Mixed-Use Activity Centers Promote development of six distinct mixed-use activity areas beyond the town center area with residential, retail, service, and employment components to service the area’s neighborhoods.
Strategy Mixed-Use Activity Centers and Mixed-Use Neighborhood Centers: Develop distinct commercial activity centers serving communities and neighborhoods outside the town center core area with mediumto high-density, mixed-use commercial, retail, and office development that is designed around a main street and anchored by shared amenities such as open space or civic centers (see Map 4 and Illustration 5).
This illustration, prepared by the Lessard Group, Inc., as part of Public Record Exhibit 19, is representative of the main street development character that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia mixed-use activity centers. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for these areas.
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• West of Ritchie Marlboro Road at Old Marlboro Pike.
• Promote ample and numerous windows on a building’s front ground-level elevation.
such as roundabouts or traffic circles that are raised and landscaped.
• North of Old Marlboro Pike at Melwood Park Avenue.
■■Main street businesses should be interconnected between parcels with the sharing of curb cuts, parking, and stormwater management.
• Design parking to meet needs of various uses: short-term turnover for retail, longer term for employment, permit parking for residential areas, and parking for evening and nighttime uses.
Design Principles: Develop distinct, high quality, walkable, mixed-use and “main street” commercial development areas with focal points and shared amenities: ■■Residential and commercial development should be medium- to high-density with a minimum of two-story buildings, up to six stories. ■■Design commercial development to front a main street or parks, plazas, or courtyards. ■■Anchor development with larger scale commercial development or public or civic spaces and amenities at one or both ends of the main street. ■■Design interesting and attractive architectural features that create a quality environment and “sense of place”: • Develop buildings and signage with a common, appealing, and unifying theme and attractive, clearly demarcated entrances. • Encourage the use of materials and finishes that reinforce a sense of quality and permanence. • Design buildings to be attractive on all sides. • Design buildings with some form of architectural variation or articulation. 30
■■Restrict drive-in commercial services to rear areas behind main structures; do not allow on street fronts. ■■Provide high levels of pedestrian accommodation, safety and amenity: • Design sidewalks no less than six feet in width to include street trees and planting boxes. • Design internal streets/site circulation as low-speed streets with parallel or angled on-street parking. • Provide pedestrian amenities such as canopies and street furniture. • Do not design main streets larger than two lanes in each direction. • Design key intersections with clearly demarcated crosswalks and enhancements such as brick pavers. • Promote innovative pedestrian safety improvements such as bump-outs. • Utilize landscaping and parked cars to buffer people from traffic. • Encourage street medians with amenities such as raised planters and ornamental or period lighting. • Encourage progressive and aesthetically appealing traffic-calming techniques
■■Create a parking network that is safe, functional, and promotes the aesthetic of a main street: • Encourage on-street parking, including “head-in” parking along the main street. • Design structured parking with active uses; screen any free-standing parking structures from public walks and streets by locating it off main streets. • Design off-street surface parking to be placed to the side and rear of buildings, in the interior of blocks, and screened from public walks and streets.
Policy 5—Residential Areas Promote new residential development and preserve, protect, and enhance existing residential neighborhoods.
Strategy
Develop approximately 3,500 acres of new low- to medium-density residential areas in a manner that conserves and is integrated with approximately 1,300 acres of existing residential development in accordance with the overall development pattern concept.
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Design Principles: Design new low- to medium-density residential neighborhoods that are varied in housing styles and architecture and promote best practices for residential design: ■■Feature the same quality design and treatments on the exposed façades as on the front façade of highly visible residences on corner lots and elsewhere.
transit stops/stations, village centers, and local schools.
■■Maximize the number of windows facing public streets.
■■Clarify neighborhood roadway intersections through the use of special paving and landscaping.
Design residential developments that connect and appropriately transition to preexisting communities and neighboring commercial areas: ■■Develop neighborhoods to reflect the character of their location within Westphalia, with areas closer to the town center being more compact and more urban, and outlying areas more rural.
■■Create varied architecture and avoid flat façades by using bays, balconies, porches, stoops, and other projecting elements. ■■Design single-family detached and attached homes and multifamily buildings so the mass of the living space and the front door dominates the front façade:
■■Create lot divisions that respect the existing pattern of development for neighborhood continuity and compatibility.
• Require garages that are hidden or clearly subordinate to the main structure and do not project beyond the main façade of residential buildings. • Arrange driveways so that cars are parked to the side or rear of the house or otherwise hidden from the street.
• Allow the use of detached accessory dwelling units.
■■Discourage use of walls, gates, and other barriers that separate residential neighborhoods from the surrounding community and commercial areas. Design an efficient, safe, and interconnected residential street system:
• Promote rear alleys to have access to parking and garages for residences that are sited back-to-back. ■■Incorporate a variety of housing types in single-family projects/subdivisions: • Build townhomes and small lot singlefamily homes to add diversity to neighborhoods or as a transition between higher density units and lower density single-family neighborhoods. Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Design or retrofit street systems to link individual subdivisions/projects to each other and the community.
Create a system of open space and parks and preserve sensitive environmental features: ■■Cluster residences around shared amenities to form distinct neighborhoods with a sense of identity. Use green space to define and divide the clusters. ■■Preserve large wooded areas and fields by using cluster or conservation subdivision design techniques, by allowing smaller lot sizes and by permitting usable shared green areas in the immediate neighborhood. Provide a variety of single-family attached residential lot sizes in and near the Westphalia town center. Within the town center urban areas, there should be a range of lot sizes for singlefamily attached dwelling units, with a minimum lot size of 1,000 square feet. ■■Near the town center, lot sizes may range from 1,300 to 1,800 square feet.
■■Avoid closed loop subdivisions and extensive cul-de-sac systems, except where the street layout is dictated by the topography or the need to avoid sensitive environmental resources.
■■The finished floor area for single-family attached dwelling units should be determined during site plan review in order to ensure an urban character of development.
■■Emphasize the provision of high-quality pedestrian and bikeway connections to
■■The percentage of townhouses and other dwelling unit types to be allowed in the 31
town center and surrounding development projects should be determined at site plan review based on the policies and exhibits referenced in the sector plan text.
Policy 6—Industrial Areas Promote industrial development at appropriate locations in the sector plan area.
Strategies
Locate new industrial development primarily near the Capital Beltway and MD 4 where the Andrews Air Force Base flight paths result in noise ratings of 70 dBA or higher (see Map 4). Require interior acoustical buffering for all buildings in high noise impact areas related to flight operations at Andrews Air Force Base. Separate industrial areas from residential areas by use of buffering designed and placed to minimize sight, sound and dust. Provide screening for outdoor storage areas and truck parking or loading areas for industrial properties bordering roads. Design access roads to industrial areas to border or pass around, not through, residential neighborhoods. Provide access to industrial sites by means of pedestrian trails and public transit, as well as public roads.
Redevelop existing industrial uses located within residential communities with redesigned or new uses that are highly compatible with a residential living environment: ■■Enclose, buffer, or otherwise modify business activities to reduce noise, traffic, or unattractive views. ■■Redevelop incompatible industrial uses with more compatible types of business land use. ■■Rezone incompatible industrial areas to allow for redevelopment with compatible nonindustrial land uses.
Policy 7—Gateways Promote the development of attractive gateways into the Westphalia area that define the site’s image as an inviting and safe place.
Strategy
7. Westphalia and Ritchie Marlboro Road 8. Sansbury Road and White House Road 9. D’Arcy Road at the Capital Beltway 10. Harry S Truman Drive at White House Road (outside the sector plan area) Design Principles: Design designated gateways to include at least the following design elements: ■■Landmark elements such as entrance signage, artwork, monuments constructed on features such as stone or masonry, decorative columns, water features, or clock towers. ■■Landscape design including both softscape and hardscape elements. ■■Resting and recreation facilities, information kiosks, or other amenities as appropriate.
Develop ten gateways at key intersections entering the Westphalia community at the following locations (see Map 4): 1. MD 4 at Westphalia Road 2. Suitland Parkway at MD 4 3. Dower House Road at MD 4 4. Woodyard Road at MD 4 5. Old Marlboro Pike at Ritchie Marlboro Road 6. P-615 and Ritchie Marlboro Road
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INFRASTRUCTURE ELEMENT
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
INFRASTRUCTURE ELEMENT Environmental Infrastructure Vision
The environmental infrastructure is an interconnected system of public and private lands that contains significant areas of woodlands, wetlands, wildlife habitats, and other sensitive areas and minimal intrusions from land development and light and noise pollution.
Background
The planning area’s designated green infrastructure network was identified through the refinement of the network designated in the Countywide Green Infrastructure Plan. The plan identifies environmentally-sensitive and regulated features of local and countywide significance and network gaps comprising areas that are critical connections to support the overall functioning and connectivity of the green infrastructure network (see Map 7). The strategies of the Countywide Green Infrastructure Plan state that the boundaries of the network should be refined during the preparation of a master plan to reflect areas of local significance and should consider additional opportunities for connectivity and other environmental elements. Cabin Branch, which originates in the Westphalia study area, has been identified as a primary corridor as part of a continuous stream system
that flows east to Western Branch, the Patuxent River, and eventually into the Chesapeake Bay. Designated secondary corridors in the Westphalia study area indicate where connectivity is critical to the long-term viability of the primary corridors and include Back Branch, Turkey Branch, and the PEPCO right-of-way. Map 8 identifies primary and secondary corridors within the Westphalia planning area. The majority of the study area contains properties previously subject to heavy agricultural practices. Development should be evaluated in regard to its potential to restore tree cover and increase the amount of stream buffers along Cabin Branch, Back Branch, and Turkey Branch. Noise impacts, energy consumption, and impacts to environmentally-sensitive areas should also be considered during the development process.
Goals
Preserve, enhance and, where appropriate, restore environmentally-sensitive features through the identification of a green infrastructure network of local significance, including green spaces and woodlands. Implement the sector plan’s desired development pattern while protecting sensitive environmental features and meeting the full extent of environmental policies and regulations.
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Restore and enhance water quality in areas that have been degraded, and preserve water quality in areas not degraded. Address, through appropriate measures, issues of energy consumption and noise impacts.
Policy 1—Green Infrastructure Protect, preserve, and enhance the identified green infrastructure network within the Westphalia sector planning area.
Strategies
Use the sector plan designated green infrastructure network to identify opportunities for environmental preservation and restoration during the review of land development proposals. Preserve 480 or more acres of primary management area (PMA) as open space within the developing areas. Preserve or restore the regulated areas within the sector plan, both within and outside the designated green infrastructure network and those designated through the development review process. Consider legislated revisions that, subject to appropriate legislative authority, allow a variation process to address thresholds below current requirements for designated General Plan centers in order to encourage an urban character of development. 35
Map 7: Green Infrastructure Network
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Map 8: Primary and Secondary Corridors
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Evaluate current policies and ordinances to consider providing the option of woodland conservation credit for stream restoration, for the removal of invasive plant species, and to consider credit for the planting of a community tree grove or arboretum. Allow street trees within the designated town center to count towards woodland conservation requirements where the trees have been provided sufficient root zone space to ensure long-term survival and sufficient crown space that is not limited by existing or proposed overhead utility lines. Enhance regulated areas by concentrating required woodland conservation adjacent to regulated areas and in an interconnected manner. Evaluate current policies and ordinances to consider allowing plantings on slopes of rubblefills and Class III fills to count toward woodland conservation requirements. Place sensitive environmental areas within conservation easements to ensure preservation in perpetuity. Protect primary corridors (Cabin Branch) during the review of land development proposals to ensure the highest level of preservation and restoration possible. Protect secondary corridors (Back Branch, Turkey Branch, and the PEPCO right-ofway) to restore and enhance environmental features, habitat, and important connections. Limit overall impacts to sensitive environmental areas to those necessary for infrastructure 38
improvements such as road crossings and utility installations. Evaluate and coordinate development within the vicinity of primary and secondary corridors to reduce the number and location of impacts to sensitive environmental areas. Develop flexible design techniques to maximize preservation of environmentallysensitive areas.
Policy 2—Water Quality and Quantity Restore and enhance water quality and quantity of receiving streams that have been degraded and preserve water quality and quantity in areas not degraded.
Strategies
Remove agricultural uses along streams and establish wooded stream buffers where they do not currently exist. Require stream corridor assessments using Maryland Department of Natural Resources protocols and include them with the submission of a natural resources inventory as development is proposed for each site. Add stream corridor assessment data to the countywide catalog of mitigation sites. Follow the environmental guidelines for bridge and road construction as contained in the transportation section of this sector plan. Construct shared public/private stormwater facilities as site amenities using native plants and natural landscaping.
Use low-impact development (LID) techniques such as green roofs, rain gardens, innovative stormwater outfalls, underground stormwater management, green streets, cisterns, rain barrels, grass swales, and stream restoration, to the fullest extent possible during the development review process with a focus on the core areas for use of bioretention and underground stormwater facilities under parking structures and parking lots.
Policy 3—Energy Consumption Reduce overall energy consumption and implement environmentally-sensitive building techniques.
Strategies
Use green building techniques that reduce energy consumption. New building designs should strive to incorporate the latest environmental technologies in project buildings and site design. As redevelopment occurs, the existing buildings should be reused and redesigned to incorporate energy and building material efficiencies. Use alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen power. Provide public examples of uses of alternative energy sources.
Policy 4—Noise Plan land uses appropriately to minimize the effects of noise from Andrews Air Force Base and existing and proposed roads of arterial classification and higher.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Strategies
Limit the impacts of aircraft noise on future residential uses through the judicious placement of residential uses. Restrict uses within the noise impact zones of Andrews Air Force Base to industrial and office use. Evaluate development proposals using Phase I noise studies and noise models. Provide for adequate setbacks and/or noise mitigation measures for projects located adjacent to existing and proposed noise generators and roadways of arterial classification or greater. Provide for the use of appropriate attenuation measures when noise issues are identified.
Transportation Vision
Westphalia will be a comprehensively planned transit- and pedestrian-friendly community. A specially designed road network will support the mixed-use development pattern through design principles that promote transit while reducing the dependence on automobiles in the sector plan area.
Background
The 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78) recommended upgrades and the enhancements to existing transportation infrastructure in order to accommodate a proposed master-planned community with a
local activity center. The Westphalia sector plan realigns and upgrades the local activity center to a town center concept consistent with the amended 2002 General Plan’s designation of a regional center in the Westphalia area. The minimum acceptable traffic level of service (LOS) within the Westphalia Regional Center shall be LOS E, consistent with the General Plan policies for creating multimodal, pedestrianfriendly transportation systems in regional centers located within the Developing Tier. Additional enhancements to the internal road network are recommended to facilitate this change. There have been additional changes since the 1994 master plan that have further affected the composition and operational requirements of the Westphalia transportation network. The planned extension of Woodyard Road (MD 223) to MD 202 has been precluded by development, and the Metrorail Blue Line has been extended to the Largo Town Center, north of Westphalia. This sector plan proposes a connection from the Westphalia town center to the Largo Town Center. Other developments since 1994 that influence the transportation network in Westphalia include discussions with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), and the county Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T) on Metrorail extension options. These include a possible Green Line extension via Andrews Air Force Base to Westphalia or a dedicated right-of-way, rail, or bus rapid transit (BRT) connection between Westphalia and Largo Town Center Station on
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
the Blue Line. A third option is the possible extension of the proposed Purple Line (formerly the Bi-County Transitway) from New Carrollton to either Largo Town Center or the Westphalia town center. Since the 1994 master plan was approved, Prince George’s County has also adopted one, and is now preparing a second, multiyear countywide Transit Service and Operations Plan (TSOP) that will provide bus transit service options, policies, and recommendations for Westphalia. As discussed below, the Westphalia sector plan recommends that bus transit service for Westphalia be closely coordinated with the next countywide TSOP and that the town center eventually be served by one of these rail extensions. The sector plan recommends that, during plan implementation, all options be evaluated for increasing the attractiveness and use of all forms of transit both to and within Westphalia.
Goal
Provide for a comprehensive, multimodal transportation network to support the land use, growth, and development recommendations of the amended 2002 General Plan and the Westphalia sector plan.
Policy 1—Roadways Develop a transportation system that improves existing roadways, develops new roadways with minimal disruptions, and supports the sector plan’s proposed development pattern. 39
Strategies Freeways: A divided highway for through traffic with full access controls using grade separations at intersections, intended solely to carry large volumes of traffic over medium to long distances. Rights-of-way range from 300 to 600 feet in width, excluding service roads. Maintain and improve freeways as required to accommodate current development and regional traffic. ■■F-7 (Capital Beltway I-95/I-495): upgrade the interchange at Ritchie Marlboro Road to a full cloverleaf design as indicated on Map 9. ■■F-6 (Pennsylvania Avenue MD 4): add new, and upgrade existing, intersections reflecting the design concepts and footprints indicated on Map 9 from I-95/495 to Ritchie Marlboro Road: • Construct interchange (Westphalia Road).
at
A-37
• Construct interchange at A-67 (Suitland Parkway). • Construct interchange at A-52 (Dower House Road). • Construct improvements to the interchange at A-53 (Woodyard Road) consistent with design concept Alternative K (MD SHA) or Alternative N (see Public Record Exhibit 68) pending further analysis to accommodate tie-in of A-66 (Presidential Parkway extended). 40
Arterials: A divided highway with intersections at grade and with geometric designs and traffic controls intended to expedite the movement of through traffic. Direct access to abutting properties may be permitted, but access is carefully controlled by county regulations and by the statutory authority of the agencies that operate these roadways. Rights-of-way are generally a minimum of 120 feet, where underground drainage is provided.
■■ Construct A-52 (Dower House Road extended) from F-6 (MD 4) to A-66 (Presidential Parkway extended).
Improve and extend existing, or construct new, arterials as required by current and proposed development.
■■Improve A-67 (Suitland Parkway extended) from F-6 (MD 4) to MC-634 (Presidential Parkway).
■■Improve A-36 (White House Road) from E-7 (I-95/495) to A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road).
Collectors: A multilane or two-lane roadway designed to carry medium-speed traffic between an arterial and internal local streets, to provide access to major traffic generators, and to connect residential neighborhoods to major highway systems. Access to abutting properties is usually permitted. Major collectors include separate left-turn lanes at major intersections and may incorporate medians to control leftturn access. Collector rights-of-way are generally a minimum of 80 feet, where underground drainage is provided, and up to 100 feet on major collectors.
■■Improve A-37 (Westphalia Road) from F-6 (MD 4) to MC-634 (Presidential Parkway extended). ■■Improve A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road) from F-6 (MD 4) to A-36 (White House Road). • Require only four lanes of road construction for the segment between C-604 (Old Marlboro Pike) and MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) to prohibit direct access to the road from individual lots, and require additional right-of-way at major intersections for one additional lane in each direction (but not along the entire road length) in order to minimize impacts on adjacent properties and provide LOS D operation at the major intersections during peak hours.
• Improve the segment of A-39 between F-6 (MD 4) and C-604 (Old Marlboro Pike) with six to eight lanes.
■■Construct A-66 (Presidential Parkway extended) from A-52 (Dower House Road extended) to A-53 (Woodyard Road).
Improve and extend existing, or construct new, collectors as required by current and proposed development. ■■Construct MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) from MC-634 (Presidential Parkway extended) to A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road) as a major collector. Require additional right-of-way at
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Map 9: Transportation Network Approved by CR-2-2007 (DR-2)
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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major intersections for one additional lane in each direction (but not along the entire road length) in order to minimize the impacts on adjacent properties and provide LOS D operation at the major intersections during peak hours. ■■Construct MC-632 (Westphalia Boulevard) from A-66 (Presidential Parkway extended) to MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) as a major collector. Ensure the equivalent of a major collector road function is provided through the designated network of urban streets in the town center during the review of conceptual site plans submitted for development projects along MC-632. Ensure safe pedestrian crossings throughout the town center. ■■Construct MC-634 (Presidential Parkway extended) from A-52 (Dower House Road extended) to A-36 (White House Road) as a major collector. Require additional rightof-way within the segment between C-630 (Sansbury Road) and A-36 (White House Road) for multiple turning lanes at a T-intersection with Ritchie Marlboro/White House Road. ■■Construct MC-635 (D’Arcy Road extended) from MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) to MC-637 (Dower House Road extended) as a major collector. ■■Construct MC-637 (Dower House Road extended) from A-66 (Presidential Parkway extended) to MC-632 (Westphalia Boulevard) as a major collector. 42
■■Improve C-604 (Old Marlboro Pike) from A-66 (Presidential Parkway extended) to A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road). ■■Improve C-626 (Westphalia Road) from MC-634 (Presidential Parkway extended) to A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road). ■■Construct/improve C-627 (D’Arcy Road extended) from MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) to F-7 (Capital Beltway). ■■Improve C-630 (Sansbury Road) from C-627 (D’Arcy Road) to MC-634 (Presidential Parkway extended). ■■Construct new road C-636 from MC-632 (Westphalia Boulevard) to P-615 (Dower House Road extended). Industrial Roads: A two-lane roadway that provides access to, from, and through industrially developed areas. Rights-of-way for industrial roadways are generally a minimum of 70 feet. Improve existing industrial roads as required to consolidate access to current or proposed development. ■■Improve and relocate I-603 (MD 4 service road) between MC-634 (Presidential Parkway extended) and A-37 (Westphalia Road) Primary Roads: These two-lane roadways provide access to, from, and through residential areas. On these roadways, the street space is valuable for bicycle and pedestrian movement as well as for vehicular movement. In
Westphalia, primary residential roadways have 60- to 70-foot rights-of-way regardless of whether open drainage or curb and gutter drainage is utilized. As a means of improving safety for nonvehicular users, traffic calming measures may be considered. Construct new primary roads as required to connect and consolidate access to current or proposed development. ■■Construct P-615 (Dower House Road extended) from MC-632 (Westphalia Boulevard) to P-617. Provide a 70-foot right-of-way with two travel lanes and parking on each side of the roadway between MC-632 (Westphalia Boulevard) and new road C-636. ■■Construct P-616 (Westphalia Boulevard) from MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) to C-626 (Westphalia Road). ■■Construct a new primary road P-617 from P-616 (Westphalia Boulevard extended) to A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road). ■■Construct a new primary road P-618 (Marlboro Ridge Road) from P-615 (Bridle Ridge Road for this segment) to A-39 (Ritchie Marlboro Road). ■■Construct a new primary road P-619 from P-615 (Dower House Road extended) to MC-631 (Suitland Parkway extended) as a 70-foot right-of-way with two travel lanes and parking on each side of the roadway.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Local Roads: Roadway linkages should be provided between and within existing and proposed developments to enhance connectivity throughout the Westphalia area.
Policy 2—Transit Plan an integrated bus, and eventually rail, transit system that provides efficient and userfriendly service that will reduce potential impact on existing communities and, in the Westphalia town center, supplant the private automobile as a mobility option.
linking Woodyard Road to Harry S Truman Drive. Stage transit improvements to ensure an integrated, multimodal transportation network in Westphalia that can accommodate each phase of development, particularly in and near the town center. Provide safe and convenient pedestrian crossings and access between transit facilities and the town center core. Initiate project definition and planning for either: ■■Metrorail Green Line extension from Branch Avenue Station, via Andrews Air Force Base, to the Westphalia town center as shown on Map 10, or
Strategies
Comprehensively and aggressively plan for increased bus transit service in the MD 4 corridor. ■■Create a new park-and-ride lot near the Westphalia town center core along MD 4.
■■Metrorail Blue Line extension to Westphalia from Largo Town Center Station.
■■Ensure adequate bus service throughout the Westphalia sector plan area.
Ensure that planning, design and engineering for the Purple Line fully explores the options for constructing or eventually extending the transitway to the Westphalia town center via a multimodal transit center at Largo Town Center.
Plan and design roadways and road access to ensure adequate transit links between the sector plan area, particularly the town center, and existing Metro stations. Coordinate transit service and facilities planning for the Westphalia town center with DPW&T through the current and subsequent TSOP and the countywide Master Plan of Transportation (MPOT). Ensure direct access to the Largo Town Center Metro Station via a new north/south road (A-66, MC-632, MC-631, and A-39)
Encourage transit-oriented development (TOD) in the sector plan area, particularly within and near the Westphalia town center.
Policy 3—Sidewalks, Bikeways, and Trails Provide appropriate trails and bicycle and pedestrian facilities throughout the Westphalia area.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Strategies
Create a system of sidewalks, bikeways, natural surface paths, and hiker/biker/equestrian paths as shown on Map 11 and described below: ■■Cabin Branch Greenway Multiuse Trails: Create a network of Class IV multiuse trails and dedicated natural-surface equestrian trails with one main trail along the main east/west corridor to connect to existing and planned residential clusters on both sides of the stream using existing farm crossings where possible. An equestrian trail network should occupy the eastern half of the greenway and will link the equestrian center, the central park and other area trails. ■■Rubblefill Park: Develop a trail system within the rubblefill park that links to the community trails system, particularly the proposed Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail, the bike and pedestrian improvements along Harry S Truman Drive extended, A-39, MC-631, MC-634/A-66, and the P-616/ MC-632 connection to the community core. ■■Melwood Road Greenway Trail: Preserve segments of the road with a green buffer on either side as an integral part of the community’s trail and greenway network. The preserved segments should be incorporated into a north/south multipurpose path that wends through the center of the community. Sections of the trail that are not wooded and outside of the PMA may be realigned to parallel new streets, through 43
Map 10: Proposed Metro Line Extension HARRY S TRU MAN DR
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Map 11: HARRY
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parks, along lakes, etc., as needed to achieve the desired result. The path should extend from Old Marlboro Pike to the central park and up to the intersection of D’Arcy and Westphalia Roads. It could feature a trail head at Old Marlboro Pike on a section of unused right-of-way east of Melwood Road. Where Melwood Road provides access to preexisting homes it may be retained as privately maintained ingress/egress easements or a county-maintained road at the discretion of the county. Access will be provided to the nearest publicly maintained road. Access points should be located to discourage through vehicular traffic. ■■Suitland Parkway Trail: Upgrade to a tenfoot shared hiker/biker trail along the Suitland Parkway to extend from the high school site at White House Road to Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4). ■■Back Branch Greenway Multiuse Trail: A Class IV trail starts at the Melwood trail head, passes through private open space, to cross Ritchie Marlboro Road and join the Cabin Branch trail near its planned trail head at Brown Station Road. ■■Presidential Parkway Trail: A Class III trail, along existing parkway and extended parkway from the MD 4/MD 223 (Woodyard Road) interchange at the Melwood trail head through Little Washington and to the northern mixed-use activity center as road improvements and new road segments are added. 46
■■Arrowhead Trail: Should be a Class II trail per the 1994 master plan. ■■Chesapeake Beach Rails to Trails Project: This Class IV trail will pass through the high school and land fill park sites. It will pass in front of the northern mixed-use activity center, which should coordinate with this feature. A trail head should be created at the intersection of this trail and the north/south trail near the White House Road and Harry S Truman Drive intersection. ■■Woodyard Road Trail: This trail segment should be relocated to follow the north/ south spine road from the Presidential Parkway trail to the town center, where it should link to the Melwood trail and the Suitland Parkway trail. Through the town center core and edge it will be an urban bike route Class III. ■■Ritchie Marlboro Road and Westphalia Road Sidepath: Should be Class II. ■■North/south spine road (MC-632 and P-616): Presidential Parkway to Westphalia Road. Segments in the community town center core, center, edge, and fringe should have wide sidewalks with designated bike lanes. Outside these areas it should transition to standard sidewalks, a side path, and possibly to designated bike lanes or wide outside curbs. ■■All town center core roads: Either standard or wide sidewalks should be included on all roads in the town center core.
Policy 4—Design Principles Develop a transportation system that incorporates design principles promoting the intended character of the Westphalia area and the desires of the Westphalia community.
Strategies
Design a town center road network that reflects the sector plan’s design principles for development with an urban character, provides functional continuity with the sector plan transportation network (Map 9), and needed capacity for adequate circulation of nonmotorized as well as motorized transportation on internal streets. Implement the road transportation system in an environmentally-sensitive manner, by: ■■Minimizing the crossings of streams and wetlands, where possible, by careful planning of road locations, maximizing the use of existing stream crossings, and coordinating the road network between parcels to limit the need for stream crossings and other environmental impacts. ■■Crossing streams (where stream crossings are unavoidable) at right angles except where prevented by geologic features. ■■Constructing stream crossings using span bridges or, where bridges cannot be used for design reasons, bottomless culverts or other low-impact crossing structures that have a width that matches or exceeds the natural width of the stream and that minimize the impact to stream habitats, fish and other stream organisms.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Using drainage structures, such as water turnouts or broad-based dips, on both sides of a crossing as needed to prevent road and ditch runoff from directly entering the stream. ■■ Retrofitting stream crossings (where necessary) in a manner that removes fish blockages. Establish special design standards for roads in the Westphalia community that implement the principles for compact, high-density, transit- and pedestrian-oriented development in the town center and walkable, mixed-use and “main street” commercial development in activity center areas. (See Appendix 4.) Arterials and Major Collectors: ■■Arterial and major collector roadways should be designed as parkway-like streets, edged by linear green spaces and fronted by development. ■■Wide planted medians, meandering paths and trails, lush plantings, and pedestrian lights should all be provided. ■■Development, neighborhood recreation, and park activities should front onto roadways. Intersecting streets, frontage streets, and alleys should be designed to facilitate this condition. Alleys, used in lieu of direct access driveways or homes backing up to the roadway, are the preferred design solution throughout Westphalia. ■■On-street parking and direct parking should be avoided and direct access driveways should be minimized.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Road segments classified as collectors should be consolidated wherever possible. Local Streets: ■■Streets should be designed to ensure low speed travel without unduly restricting traffic capacity, by utilizing narrow pavement widths, tighter curve radii, traffic roundabouts, circles and squares, and onstreet parking with curb bump-outs at intersections. ■■Designs should promote pedestrian and bike activity. ■■Planting strips with full-size shade trees should be provided between curb and sidewalks or hiker/biker trails on all streets and roadways designated rural roads. ■■Except in the industrial areas in the Andrews Air Force Base noise zone, streets should be designed to discourage through movement of large trucks. Alleys: ■■Alleys are strongly encouraged in both residential and commercial areas and should be designed to accommodate delivery, service and emergency vehicles. ■■Alleys are most encouraged behind developments that front on to roads with limited curb cuts and in sections where homes are placed back to back.
Rural Roads: ■■As determined by the Department of Public Works and Transportation, adequate safety roadway improvements for Melwood Road between MD 4 and new road MC632 (Westphalia Boulevard), including traffic calming devices, should be bonded for construction prior to issuance of building permits for the Westphalia town center development project. Sidewalks, Bikeways and Street Trees/ Planting Strips: ■■Sidewalks should be provided throughout the Westphalia community, except on designated scenic rural roads, highways, bikeways, trails, and lanes. ■■Street trees should be provided in planting strips between curbs and sidewalks on all roads and streets with walks or paths.
Policy 5—Financing Ensure the timely, efficient, and cost-effective development of the necessary transportationrelated infrastructure as described throughout the sector plan.
Strategy
Develop and finalize a comprehensive public facilities financing plan that includes detailed recommendations for the financing mechanisms, phasing, and construction and maintenance costs for the transportation infrastructure proposed by the Westphalia sector plan.
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Public Facilities Vision
Westphalia will be a pedestrian-friendly community with needed public facilities and infrastructure.
Background
At present, only one school is located in the Westphalia sector plan area, Arrowhead Elementary. A new school, Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr., Senior High School, is under construction on Brooke Lane, just east of the sector plan boundary on Ritchie Marlboro Road, and will provide additional capacity for this area beginning in fall 2006. Police services are provided from Police District II in Bowie and a police substation in the Little Washington neighborhood. Fire and emergency services are provided primarily from Forestville Company 623 (located just across MD 4).
Goal
Strategies
Construct seven new schools to serve the projected number of households for the sector plan area. (Map 12 illustrates the recommended locations for schools serving the sector plan area.) ■■A new high school on approximately 60 acres next to the planned park near the intersection of Ritchie Marlboro and White House Roads (just outside the sector plan area). This site is capable of also accommodating a middle school if needed in the future. ■■One new middle school park site of approximately 20 acres on the southern portion of the Woodside Village site between MC-631 and P-619 (combined with an elementary school. ■■Five new elementary school park sites, each approximately 12 to 18 acres, in the following locations:
Provide needed public facilities and infrastructure to create a quality community and support the planned land use program consistent with county standards.
• On Westphalia Road, co-located with the Westphalia Neighborhood Park.
Policy 1—Schools
• East of the town center core, adjacent to C-636 and north of the Back Branch greenway.
Locate needed school facilities where they will have good vehicular access and will be safely accessed by students arriving on foot.
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• On the southern portion of the Smith Home Farms site, adjacent to the Grand Central Park.
• On the southern portion of the Woodside Village site between MC-631 and P-619 (combined with a middle school).
• On Brooke Lane adjacent to Henry A. Wise High School (outside the sector plan area to the east). Revitalize or replace Arrowhead Elementary School to better serve the needs of students, faculty, and staff. Place schools adjacent to area parks and greenways and on major pathway routes. Size school sites to provide a school park with additional neighborhood recreational facilities. Distribute new schools throughout the community’s residential neighborhoods where they will have good vehicular access and will be safely accessed by students arriving on foot.
Policy 2—Public Safety Locate needed police, fire, and medical facilities where there is excellent access to the road network and efficient response times.
Strategies
Construct one new fire station and one new police facility near the proposed town center core (see Map 12), with the final locations to be determined as facility and service needs, and the implementation of the Westphalia town center vision, warrant. Co-locate the police and fire facilities proximate to the higher density development and near a major intersection to expedite emergency response time to police and fire service areas to the extent possible.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Map 12: Public Facilities
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Retain the existing substation concept and possibly locate additional substations in or near the older communities. Provide a medical facility as one of the uses developed within the town center area.
Parks and Recreation Vision
Enable cooperative planning and shared implementation of public infrastructure improvements and mitigations among individual parcels.
Winding throughout Westphalia, an extensive network of beautiful green public and private parks, natural open spaces, parkways, and pathways tie Westphalia together. A highly visible central park wrapping around the community town center will serve as a unifying community destination and amenity. Outlying neighborhoods are linked to the center by the green fingers of parkways, boulevards, greenways and trails. Pockets and clusters of active recreation and picnic grounds sit along the trails between the streams/Patuxent primary management area (PMA) and the parkways in developable pockets of land. Homes, businesses, public facilities, schools and recreational facilities overlook these green spaces. The parks and greenways of Westphalia become a countywide asset.
Strategies
Background
Policy 3—Library Locate needed library facilities in the town center core on or near a main street adjacent to a usable outdoor open space or square.
Strategy Construct one new library, with a community meeting space, in the proposed town center core.
Policy 4—Implementation
Conduct a comprehensive public facilities plan analysis to establish the appropriate method, staging, and financing mechanism that ensures provision of the aforementioned public facilities concurrently with development of new homes and businesses. Develop a comprehensive underground utilities network, particularly for the Westphalia town center area, that addresses the location of public utility easements (including fiber-optic lines).
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Park and recreation facilities in the county are divided into six categories: Neighborhood Park and Recreation Areas— Includes mini-parks, playgrounds, parks, recreation centers, and park/schools with less than 20 acres. Parks serve residents in the immediate vicinity. Community Park and Recreation Areas— Includes community center buildings, parks, recreation centers, and cultural centers between 20 and 200 acres. Neighborhood and community park areas are classified as local parks.
Regional Park and Recreation Areas— Includes stream valley parks, regional parks (parks with more than 200 acres), cultural arts centers, and service facilities. These facilities serve residents of an entire region within the county. Countywide Park and Recreation Areas— Includes river parks, historic sites and landmarks, hiker/biker/equestrian trails, unique natural features, conservation areas, and service facilities. Parks in this category are available to all county residents. Urban Park and Recreation Areas—Includes urban parks and urban nature centers that serve county residents with severely limited access to outdoor nature areas. Special Park and Recreation Areas— Includes aquatic facilities, ice rinks, golf courses, shooting centers, athletic complexes, equestrian centers, airports, marinas, and reclamation areas. These facilities are available to all county residents. Park facilities recommendations identified in the strategies below are based on public input and a quantitative needs assessment using county benchmarks for the projected buildout population of approximately 38,550 people in the Westphalia sector plan area. There is a strong community preference for quality recreational facilities, places for community events, and enhancements to the five existing neighborhood and community
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
parks rather than large areas of land. Out of 21 possible recreational opportunities listed, community survey respondents ranked the following as their most preferred: 1. Playgrounds for small children 2. Natural green space 3. A community swimming pool
Strategies
Create a parks system consisting of 1,850 acres of public and private parks and green spaces as described below and itemized on Map 13 and Table 1: 941± acres of public parkland at 11 sites including: ■■Two community parks:
4. Paved hiker/biker trails
• Sansbury rubblefill park 400± acres
5. A community recreation center
• Central Park/Cabin Branch Greenway 400± acres
Utilizing county-defined benchmarks for recreational facilities, a demand analysis by population projection for the sector plan area established a need for additional facilities as described below.
Goal
Create public and private parks, open space, and recreation facilities sufficient to meet the needs of the current and future residents of the Westphalia sector plan area.
■■Four public neighborhood parks—on about 100 acres ■■Five school/park sites with public recreation on about 37 acres 908 acres of private park land and specialized park facilities and green spaces including: ■■Three private neighborhood parks of varied sizes ■■Three private greenways ■■Three special parks and recreation areas/ facilities: • An equestrian center • A community recreation/aquatics center • An urban park/town square in the town center core
Policy 1—Park Standards Provide park and recreation acreage that complies with the standards set by the National Recreation and Parks Association, the State of Maryland, and the 2002 General Plan: A minimum of 15 acres of M-NCPPC local parkland (or the equivalent amenity in parks and recreation service) for every 1,000 residents. A minimum of 20 acres of regional, countywide, and special M-NCPPC parks for every 1,000 residents.
Policy 2—Green Spaces Ensure development of a parks system that results in central green spaces which serve to unite the Westphalia community and its surrounding neighborhoods.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Strategies
Designate the Westphalia Central Park and Cabin Branch Greenway as the community focus areas, with development overlooking them and roads winding along their edges. These parks should become a regional draw and icon for Westphalia. Ensure parks, streets and public squares are all designed to accommodate community parades, festivals, and other events. Establish a parks fee of $3,500 (in 2006 dollars) for each new dwelling unit built in the Westphalia sector plan area to fund construction of the public parks facilities recommended in the sector plan.
Policy 3—Coordination Ensure major development projects are adequately integrated into the implementation of the sector plan parks system recommendations.
Strategies
Develop the Smith Farms site (Map 14) to include appropriate parks amenities to develop the parks system vision for the Westphalia sector plan area: ■■Cabin Branch Greenway—Design the PMA area on-site as a highly visible, signature greenway. Coordinate design with abutting developments. Place streets along the greenway edge. Provide small recreational homeowners association (HOA) and public amenities along the greenway edges in developable pockets. Amenities should include playgrounds and group picnic areas. 51
Map 13: Parks and Open Space
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 1: Proposed Park Facilities REGIONAL PARKS Westphalia central park Cabin Branch greenway Sansbury rubblefill park LOCAL PARKS, RECREATION and GREEN SPACES Public and Private Neighborhood Parks Little Washington neighborhood park Melwood neighborhood park Westphalia neighborhood park Westphalia Estates neighborhood park in central park Woodside Village neighborhood park Marlboro Ridge neighborhood park Smith Farm neighborhood club and park Presidential neighborhood park(s) Park/School Sites Smith Farm elementary school/park site Woodside Village elementary school/park site in central park Woodside Village middle school/park site Westphalia neighborhood park Future high school park site Linear Parks and Greenways Melwood trail head park Melwood linear park/greenway north Melwood linear park/greenway south Back Branch greenway Westphalia parkway greenway/linear park Addison property greenway Special Recreation Areas and Facilities Westphalia town square Marlboro Ridge equestrian center/trail system Old Marlboro Pike village square Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Westphalia recreation community center and festival/picnic grounds Publicly accessible, on private and public lands with hiker/biker/equestrian trail network Incremental development as acquired Expansion and improvement with adjoining residential development (may include a recreation center) Improvements and additional facilities Expansion and conversion to elementary school/park site with adjoining development (may include a recreation or community center) Expansion and improvement into adjoining residential development (may include a recreation or community center) New neighborhood park along parkway to be used for athletic fields Private park maintained by an HOA Private center and park maintained by an HOA in central park One or more small private parks or greens maintained by an HOA School site with additional land and recreational facilities in central park School site with additional land and recreational facilities in central park School site with additional land and recreational facilities in central park Expansion and partial conversion of park to a school park site with the adjoining development School site with additional land and recreational facilities A trail head park at the southern end of the Melwood trail/greenway Multipurpose path and greenway buffers using existing road Multipurpose path and greenway buffers using existing road Natural green space owned by abutting HOAs—with future publicly accessible trail A park-like green space with hiker/biker path and fronted with homes and/or businesses Private greenway linked to village square Privately owned and maintained space designed and programmed to host community events Privately owned and managed facility with membership open to the public Privately owned space in main street village area overlooking/linked to greenway 53
Map 14: Key Development Proposals—2007
/Moore Property
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Westphalia Gateway—Provide a gateway feature along Suitland Parkway to serve as a terminus to the national park and a front door to Westphalia, Smith Site, and Cabin Branch Greenway ■■Westphalia Central Park—In the area between the town center core and the mixed-use activity center to the north, develop a park with the following features: • Active and passive recreation facilities, to include a tennis center, an amphitheater, a waterfront activities center, a restaurant with patio, a multistation playground, a skate park, a splash park, sports fields and courts, a dog park, pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian trails, and similar features. • Individual and group picnic grounds on both sides of the creek. • Lawn areas and bandstands suitable for public events and informal sports. • An intersection of the major trail systems possibly with a staffed ranger station/ public bathroom—could be in the recreation center. • The private community HOA club may be located to the western end of this area. • A lake or other water feature as the central feature of the park, with an extensively landscaped edge and paths around its edges at the western end of the site along Suitland Parkway extended is encouraged, as are other shared public/private stormwater facilities.
• Form a multi-agency public/private work group to implement the vision for the Westphalia Central Park on an expedited basis.
Develop the Cabin Branch Village site (Map 14) to include appropriate park amenities to develop the parks system vision for the Westphalia sector plan area:
■■Westphalia Estate Park—Provide an expansion and enhancement of the existing public park next to Westphalia Estates.
■■Dedicate the PMA on-site as public open space with a trail connection from A-66 to the Smith site and to the main trail network in the Cabin Branch Greenway.
Develop the Marlboro Ridge and Woodside Village sites (Map 14) to include appropriate park amenities to develop the parks system vision for the Westphalia sector plan area: ■■Dedicate the main PMA on-site as the Cabin Branch Greenway. ■■Dedicate a community park as an element of the Westphalia central park between the middle/elementary school sites on land suitable for athletic fields.
Develop the D’Arcy site—Michaels Property site (Map 14) to include appropriate park amenities to develop the parks system vision for the Westphalia sector plan area: ■■Expand and enhance the existing Little Washington neighborhood park adjacent to the site entrance on Sansbury Road.
Policy 4—Recreation
Develop the Moore site (Map 14) to include appropriate park amenities to develop the park system vision for the Westphalia sector plan area:
Provide sufficient and adequate public recreation facilities for the Westphalia sector plan that comply with county benchmarks for these types of facilities:
■■Dedicate the PMA on-site as the Cabin Branch Greenway.
A minimum of one ballfield per every 2,750 people A minimum of one basketball court per every 5,687 people A minimum of one tennis court per 4,100 people A minimum of one playground per 3,645 people A minimum of one picnic area per 4,930 people
Develop the Presidential Corporate Center site (Map 14) to include appropriate park amenities to develop the park system vision for the Westphalia sector plan area:
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Dedicate the PMA on-site as the Cabin Branch Greenway. ■■Create and manage a community park/town square. ■■Build a library on or near the square.
Strategy
Provide a minimum of 28 new public recreation facilities in the Westphalia sector plan area: Playgrounds: 6 55
Picnic areas: 5 Baseball fields: 10 Tennis courts: 4 Basketball courts: 3
Policy 5—Design Open spaces should be carefully designed, with connections between developments, park/ community gateway features, and a consistent thematic character and identity throughout.
Strategy
Ensure proper development of the parks and open space elements of the sector plan by adhering to the following design principles: Major greenways and spaces should be visible and accessible to the community and the public rather than hidden behind houses and commercial buildings. Central Park, Cabin Branch Greenway, and abutting parkways should be designed as the primary feature and focus for abutting developments. The north/south spine road and the east/west main street roads in the Westphalia town center core and edge areas should serve as the focus of abutting developments and should feature a linked series of open spaces and wide walkways and greenways along their lengths that are designed for public events and activities and terminate at destinations such as a main square, the central park, and group picnic grounds.
Streets and paths should be aligned along the edges of the PMA that are over 80 feet wide.
Policy 6—Financing
Public and private recreational amenities should be placed in developable pockets along the resulting greenways to create linear parks.
Ensure the proper financing, construction and maintenance of the proposed park system.
Small, village-green style, public or private parks should be designed as the focus of neighborhood clusters.
Develop and finalize a comprehensive public facilities financing plan that includes detailed recommendations for the financing mechanisms, phasing, construction, and maintenance of the proposed park facilities.
Stormwater management facilities should be designed as site amenities and incorporated into the open spaces and greenway areas. Larger, landscaped wet ponds should be designed with paths around their edges, and adjacent development should have views of them.
Strategy
Policy 7—Fill Sites Address phasing and remediation issues associated with rubble fills and Class III fill sites to be converted to active park use.
Strategy
Develop a comprehensive phasing and remediation plan for each rubble fill or Class III fill site prior to conversion to active park uses that, at a minimum, addresses land infill and settling, filtration, and safety.
This photo, taken at “movie night” in a park in California, depicts public use of an open space area. Photo by permission of Laura Hall, CNU, Fisher and Hall Urban Design, Santa Rosa, California.
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
COMMUNITY CHARACTER ELEMENT
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
COMMUNITY CHARACTER ELEMENT Existing Communities Vision
The Westphalia area has a mix of stable neighborhoods that provide a broad range of housing opportunities.
Background
The Westphalia community has an eclectic mixture of suburban neighborhoods and rural home sites located along narrow roadways that traverse the predominantly rural landscape. Single-family housing ranges from very large to very small homes built in small subdivisions or on individual lots. A neighborhood of mobile homes and another of townhomes are located along the west side near the Capital Beltway. New homes in large subdivisions are being constructed in the eastern and southern parts of Westphalia and others are proposed in the central area. Eventually, a network of new neighborhoods intermingled with the old will emerge (See Map 15). Industrial land uses, including mining and land filling activity, have historically been located within or adjacent to the residential neighborhoods in the northern and western parts of Westphalia. While providing a source for local employment, the related heavy truck traffic, noise, and hours of operation are often
incompatible with nearby residential neighborhoods. Some of the landfills have ceased operation or are planned for alternative land uses, but others will remain in operation for an indeterminate period of time (See Map 16). Roads and public facilities serving the existing Westphalia neighborhoods are limited and adequate drainage, road shoulders, street lighting, and curb, gutter and sidewalks are frequently lacking. Main roadways (Westphalia Road, D’Arcy Road, Sansbury Road, and Ritchie Marlboro Road) have heavy industrial truck traffic or cut-through commuter traffic from surrounding areas and the need for road improvements and repairs is apparent in many areas. Three neighborhood parks in Little Washington, Westphalia, and Melwood Park provide outdoor recreation facilities for area residents, but do not yet include community meeting rooms or bathroom facilities. Police and fire services are provided from facilities located outside the community, which is typical of still-rural communities. Arrowhead Elementary School is an older facility in need of modernization or replacement. Existing neighborhoods are generally stable residential areas where many owners have improved older homes with new siding, windows, and landscaping. However, a number
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
of homes in the area are in need of improved property maintenance, rehabilitation, modernization, or even replacement. In some cases, problem properties have persisted for several years. Inappropriate, nonconforming, or potentially illegal uses were noted in several neighborhoods, including roadside dumping, commercial truck storage, and inoperable or abandoned vehicles. Residents have concerns about crime in some neighborhoods. Deliberate steps must be taken to ensure that as new communities are developed, the older neighborhoods are not left behind. Substandard property maintenance, land uses that are incompatible with a neighborhood context, excessive or inappropriate traffic traveling to and through the area, deteriorating roads, and the reality, or perception, of crime can erode stability of neighborhoods, deter further residential investment in older neighborhoods, and lead to isolation from the surrounding communities. Prominent concerns common to the residents of existing neighborhoods in Westphalia include the following: ŒŒ Incompatible land uses within or adjacent to neighborhoods without adequate buffering or mitigation measures, especially rubble and Class III landfills. 59
Map 15: Westphalia Neighborhoods
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Map 16: Mines and Landfills
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Poor home and yard maintenance. The design and compatibility of new subdivisions and infill development with the character of existing neighborhoods. The threat of escalating property assessments for limited income homeowners and their ability to maintain or retain their homes. Heavy truck and commuter traffic traveling along local residential streets and rural roads. Inadequate road capacity and maintenance for existing and future traffic needs.
■■Rezone as necessary to prohibit incompatible land use. ■■Replace incompatible land uses. ■■Enclose, buffer, or otherwise modify incompatible land uses to reduce noise or unattractive views. ■■Promote close working relationships among business owners, residents, and county officials to foster communication and cooperation and to minimize conflicts.
The reclamation or reuse of rubble and Class III landfills upon completion.
Enforce county codes and take corrective action regarding inappropriate neighborhood activities, such as parking of commercial vehicles or illegal commercial operations on residential property, abandoned or inoperable vehicle storage, decrepit structures, or dumping.
Potential displacement of residents by use of eminent domain.
Target distressed and low-value housing for revitalization or redevelopment.
Goal
Schedule joint citizen/public agency tours of the community on an annual basis to identify and address new or unresolved problems.
Adequacy of education, parks, police, fire, and emergency facilities to serve the existing community as well as new development.
Protect, maintain, and enhance older Westphalia neighborhoods.
Policy 1—Neighborhood Character All land uses within or adjacent to residential areas should be physically and visually compatible with the neighborhood character.
Strategies
Mitigate or eliminate activities that adversely impact neighborhoods.
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Policy 2—Property Maintenance Property in residential communities should be maintained in good structural and aesthetic condition.
Strategies
Support programs sponsored by civic associations, preservation organizations, local businesses, or public agencies (such as
the Livable Communities Initiative) that encourage and facilitate regular home maintenance, including, but not limited to: ■■Educational initiatives on such topics as home and yard maintenance, historic renovation, landscaping, and garden design. ■■A tool lending program among homeowners, civic associations, and preservation organizations. ■■Low-income loan or volunteer assistance programs for residents who are physically or financially incapable of maintaining their homes and yards. Establish a cooperative public/private program that returns abandoned or foreclosed properties to active use in a timely and economical manner. Promote activities that instill resident respect and pride in their neighborhood, such as: ■■Volunteer activities that promote high standards of cleanliness and safety. ■■Holiday activities and neighborhood fairs/ block gatherings to meet neighbors and increase awareness of the community’s history, culture, and traditions. ■■Construction of well-designed and landscaped neighborhood entrance markers to bolster identity and a sense of place. ■■Community parks or gardens.
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Policy 3—New Development The design of new or infill development within and adjacent to older communities should be compatible with the established neighborhood scale and character.
Strategies
Design new development to be compatible with the established character of existing neighborhoods, in terms of: ■■Lot size, building orientation, and setback. ■■Building mass, architecture, and design. ■■Construction materials. ■■Street patterns and parking. ■■Buffers, landscaping, and transition areas. Revise zoning ordinance regulations to require limited site plan review for subdivisions or development projects within or adjacent to older neighborhoods to address character and compatibility issues.
Policy 4—Roads and Sidewalks Roads and sidewalks in existing community neighborhoods should be physically and functionally comparable to those in contemporary subdivisions.
Strategies
Construct new roads that provide alternative truck and commuter traffic routes to the regional highway network and avoid established residential neighborhoods.
Implement traffic-calming techniques that discourage nonlocal traffic from using roads in established residential neighborhoods. Identify existing roads and subdivision streets in need of surface or shoulder repair, drainage improvements, or replacement. Prepare a pedestrian circulation plan for older neighborhoods to identify where new sidewalks or trails should be installed. Establish a targeted capital improvement and maintenance program to implement identified improvements.
Policy 5—Facilities and Services All neighborhoods should be provided with modern public facilities and services.
Strategies
As new neighborhoods and public facility structures are built, ensure that services to and facilities in existing neighborhoods are upgraded to contemporary standards. Provide opportunities for homeowners utilizing aging, or potentially failing, septic sanitary disposal systems to convert to the public sewer system as it becomes available. Include older neighborhoods in plans to extend new public utilities into the area, such as natural gas lines and digital or fiberoptic telecommunication lines. Encourage new neighborhood homeowners associations to allow residents of nearby neighborhoods to utilize private recreation and community facilities.
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Policy 6—Displacement Protect existing homeowners and businesses from displacement to the greatest extent possible.
Strategies
Avoid public acquisition of property needed for proposed public improvements by condemnation under the power of eminent domain where it would displace existing residents or businesses. Evaluate the effectiveness of, and consider possible revisions to, the state tax code, such as the Homestead or Homeowners Property Tax Credit programs, to protect existing homeowners from a substantial rise in residential property assessments and taxes resulting from any rapid increase in neighborhood property values.
Policy 7—Safety and Security Enhance the safety and security of residents through design and maintenance of neighborhoods.
Strategies
Incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles in the design and review of all new development, redevelopment of infill sites, and infrastructure improvements. Conduct a joint survey of problem neighborhoods with residents and agency officials from the county’s Police Department, the Department of Environmental Resources, and the Department of Housing and 63
Community Development to identify existing features that may facilitate criminal activity, such as lack of visibility, poor access control, poorly delineated spaces and territorial boundaries, or lack of activity. Recommend corrective actions that can be implemented by residents, businesses, or public agencies. Target police patrols and enforcement programs to address concerns about neighborhood crime as it occurs.
Economic Development Vision
The Westphalia area is a diverse, educated, culturally enriched, and economically competitive community of neighborhoods anchored by a dynamic town center featuring a vibrant urban environment and abundant job opportunities. The high quality of life attracts people from throughout the region to live, work, shop, and play in this community.
Goals
Successful creation and sustainable growth of the Westphalia town center to include quality commercial development and upper income, high value-added employment opportunities. The attraction, development, and expansion of viable neighborhood, community, and region-serving businesses throughout the Westphalia sector plan area. The development of a diverse, skilled, and educated workforce system that is ready to meet the needs of incoming businesses. 64
Policy 1—Regional Markets Focus on effectively coordinating and organizing county and state economic development efforts toward generating regionally marketed retail and office employment uses in high-density, transitoriented development (TOD) patterns within the Westphalia town center.
Strategies
Increase coordination and build effective partnerships for economic development of the town center: ■■Create a Westphalia Town Center Coordinating Council to increase coordination between federal, state, county, and community stakeholders in moving town center economic development projects forward. ■■Work with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and county economic development officials to meet the current and future needs of Andrews Air Force Base. ■■Consider developing a business improvement district to maintain and improve the town center in which property and business owners elect to make a collective contribution to the maintenance, development and promotion of the Westphalia town center core. ■■Appoint a high-level government official to champion development projects, reduce development obstacles, and facilitate the process of acquiring development approvals.
Study, explore, and consider utilizing various financial incentives for real estate, business, cultural, and workforce development within the town center: ■■A tax increment financing district to finance public infrastructure in a manner that is timely and that adds value and distinction to the town center development. ■■Parking or transportation districts that can subsidize structured parking in the town center. ■■Land write-downs to facilitate contiguous expansion, or single ownership of additional town center land, if needed. ■■County bonds to assist in the construction or maintenance of public infrastructure for the town center. ■■Reduction of development or operating costs through reductions in property taxes or taxes on sales of construction materials. ■■An arts and entertainment district within the Westphalia town center to provide special tax incentives that will benefit artists, art enterprises, and developers who construct spaces for the arts. Strategically target and attract commercial development and businesses to the Westphalia town center: ■■Develop and implement a branding strategy for the town center that capitalizes on the town center’s unique potential and maximizes its recognition.
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■■Identify and attract key employers and commercial development based on preferred industry sectors and established county economic development strategies. ■■Attract economic development through comprehensive marketing tools and programs that include strategies such as direct mail advertising, newsletters, public relations, trade shows, special events, and prospecting trips.
■■Provide comprehensive management, technical assistance, and business training to support growth of small business. Facilitate the rehabilitation and upgrade of existing vacant or underutilized commercial and office buildings: ■■Promote the development and expansion of existing buildings with the use of the Commercial Building Loan Fund offered by the county’s Redevelopment Authority. ■■Create competitive loans or “challenge grant” programs that offer façade/canopy/ streetscape improvement grants.
Policy 2 —Local Business Focus county and state economic development efforts on attracting, retaining, and expanding community and neighborhood-serving nonresidential development throughout the extent of the sector plan area.
Provide Tax Increment Financing on a project by project, or site specific, basis for projects that meet the plan’s goals and strategies.
Strategies
Promote and support small business and entrepreneurial development and expansion: ■■Provide outreach and assistance to existing small businesses through the county’s Small Business Initiative. ■■Promote county-sponsored entrepreneur assistance, business classes, and formal training offered through the county’s Economic Development Commission’s Small Business Initiative. ■■Promote the development and expansion of small technology-based businesses through the use of the county’s Small Technology Business Revolving Loan Fund.
Policy 3—Minority-Owned Business Promote the development and expansion of minority-owned business enterprises.
Strategies
Develop a special initiative to recruit additional prominent, minority-owned businesses to the Westphalia sector plan area. Develop programs that promote the participation, training, employment, and mentoring of locally based minorities and the establishment of new minority-owned business enterprises in all phases of the sector plan area’s business development.
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Establish a model “Minority Participation Initiative” program to encourage participation in the land development and construction business in a way that creates legacy wealth and expands capacity among locally based minorities. Incorporate the following criteria: ■■Minimum goals should be attached to all phases of the development project for minority participation. ■■Minimum requirements for minority participation should be attached to at least two phases of a project: • Predevelopment/entitlement • Development • Vertical construction • Sales and leasing ■■Penalties for projects that fail to meet established minimum goals or requirements. ■■Incentives for projects that meet or exceed the minority participation goals. ■■A variety of methods to achieve targeted percentage ranges including, but not limited to: • Equity participation • Fee equivalent as a percentage of the project • Contracting or subcontracting • Employment, mentoring, training, internships, incubators and scholarships
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■■Additional incentives participation, such as:
for
equity
• Additional credits toward participation goals • Additional credits toward community benefit requirements • Increased public financing • Fee equivalent as a percentage of the project ■■A formal implementation and enforcement mechanism.
Historic Preservation Vision
Historic properties are appreciated and valued as important elements of the sector plan area’s cultural heritage.
Background
Historic resources and sites in the Westphalia sector plan area as listed in the 1992 Prince George’s County Historic Sites and Districts Plan (see Map 17): Historic Resource 78-008, Osborne-Talburtt Cemetery—10907 Westphalia Road, Upper Marlboro. Cemetery contains vaults and gravestones dating from 1834-1894; bounded by an iron fence. Historic Resource 78-009, Talburtt Tobacco Barn—11102 Westphalia Road, Upper Marlboro. An early nineteenth-century tobacco barn built before 1850.
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Historic Resource 78-010, Dunblane Site and Cemetery—10009 Westphalia Road, Upper Marlboro. Site of the oldest Magruder family home in Maryland, which was destroyed by fire in 1969. The cemetery contains the graves of the Magruder and McGregor families. Historic Site 78-013, Blythewood Complex— 4210 Melwood Road, Upper Marlboro (Designated 10/18/06). A large, two-story frame house of Georgian plan built circa 1830 with additions in 1860 and 1920; a unique farmstead complex. Historic Site 78-015, Melwood Park*— 10908 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro. A two-and-one-half-story stuccoed brick house reflecting both colonial and Federal periods, built circa 1750 and 1800. Historic Site 78-000-17, Charles Hill— 11700 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro. A two-story, side-gabled frame house built in two sections, circa 1840s and 1890s, with a family cemetery. Historic Site 78-000-18, The Cottage*— 11904 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro. A large, two-story gable-roofed frame plantation house built in three sections, circa 1846, 1860 and 1880s, with outbuildings and an intact agricultural landscape. * Also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Historic Site 78-000-23, Strawberry Hill— 12601 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro. A two part, two-story, gable-roof frame farmhouse built circa 1869.
Goals
To protect and preserve historic properties in the sector plan area. To identify, evaluate and designate historic resources and historic survey properties that meet the criteria of the Historic Preservation Ordinance. To recognize historic properties for their historical, archeological, and architectural significance to the community and county. To educate property owners about the history of the area and about appropriate maintenance, conservation, and rehabilitation of their properties.
Policy 1—Historic Resources Protect historic resources in the sector plan area through appropriate planning regulation and enforcement measures by ensuring that provisions of the Historic Preservation Ordinance are uniformly implemented.
Strategies
Encourage stewardship and compatible adaptive reuse of Blythewood and outbuildings (Historic Site 78-013) and its setting. Encourage superior quality design of infill development to complement the architectural style of a historic site.
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Map 17: Historic Sites and Resources
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Ensure that planning and zoning regulations encourage retention of historic resource settings and protection from adverse effects of incompatible land uses. Ensure building codes are interpreted with sensitivity through close coordination among the Department of Environmental Resources, Historic Preservation staff, and owners of historic resources throughout the permit process. Integrate historic sites into the fabric of the sector plan area through compatible zoning and development that respects the integrity of these settings.
Policy 2—Cemeteries Prepare a cemetery preservation plan to provide guidelines for property owners and developers in cemetery preservation and maintenance.
Strategy
Develop plans for the protection and interpretation of the following cemetery resources: 78-008, Osborne-Talburtt Cemetery—10907 Westphalia Road 78-010, Dunblane Site and Cemetery—10009 Westphalia Road
Policy 3—Archeology
Policy 5—Resource Inventory
Integrate archeology in all development processes ranging from prehistory to the twentieth century to provide additional context for understanding the archeological record of Prince George’s County’s history.
Provide an updated inventory of historic resources in the Westphalia sector plan area.
Strategy
Strengthen community identity through interpretive markers describing the rich history of individual buildings and communities.
Continue with survey work, as funding permits, of historical and archeological resources, particularly in the Little Washington community.
Scenic and Historic Roads Vision
Policy 4—Public Awareness Increase public awareness and appreciation of the area’s entire cultural heritage, ranging from landmarks of the plantation era, of Charles Hill, The Cottage, Strawberry Hill, Blythewood, and Melwood Park to early twentieth-century African-American communities.
Strategies
Expand educational programming on the importance of preserving historic resources: ■■Modify established curricula within the school system to engage a wider cultural base. Promote contributions made by all ethnic groups and cultures in celebrations of the county’s multicultural heritage. Provide appropriately designed signage along scenic and historic roads to describe the area’s history and significant events that have taken place within the Westphalia sector plan area.
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Strategy
The most scenic features of historic roads and highway corridors are preserved or restored as an integral part of the Westphalia community.
Background
MD 4 serves as an attractive gateway to Prince George’s County. Its inherent scenic quality is a legacy from the 1950s, when the highway’s architects incorporated many principles of parkway design into MD 4. A study of MD 4 prepared for the 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78) identified a scenic corridor of varying width that fluctuates with the rolling topography, generally extending from the highway to nearby ridges or hilltops. Within the MD 4 corridor, the master plan study identified a scenic viewshed as seen by motorists traveling on MD 4. The eastern section of the corridor contains cultivated fields, pastures, tobacco barns, farmhouses, and historic estates that provide visual continuity and maintain the rural character.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
However, the visual appeal of the MD 4 corridor as it approaches the Capital Beltway, and also sections along the Beltway corridor to the north, needs improvement through more effective buffering and landscaping. The 1994 master plan contains a detailed illustration and recommendations intended to preserve and enhance the high-quality views of the area along MD 4. Portions of four roads in the Westphalia sector plan area are designated as scenic and historic roads in the 1992 Historic Sites and Districts Plan and the 1994 Melwood-Westphalia Master Plan. Except for Melwood Road, each of these roads is proposed for improvement to serve anticipated traffic from local development recommended by the approved 1994 master plan: Melwood Road between Westphalia Road and Old Marlboro Pike—Dating from around 1830 after the Berry family established itself at Blythewood and allowed access to Old Marlboro Pike. Old Marlboro Pike between Brown Station Road and MD 223—Dating from the early eighteenth century as part of Road 19 in 1739. It was incorporated into the Washington-Marlborough Turnpike in 1868. Ritchie Marlboro Road between Old Marlboro Pike and White House Road— One of the roads leading into Upper Marlboro which came into use between 1740 and 1762.
Westphalia Road between D’Arcy and Ritchie Marlboro Roads—Dating from the third quarter of the eighteenth century, before 1762.
■■Designed to fit in with the architecture, scale and building materials of adjacent buildings with similar uses to promote harmony in visual relationships.
Policy 1—MD 4 Viewshed
■■Design residential subdivisions along the north side of MD 4, between Melwood Road and Ritchie Marlboro Road, to reflect the low-density characteristics of residential development on the south side of MD 4.
Preserve and enhance the scenic character of the MD 4 corridor viewshed.
Strategies
Implement the MD 4 scenic viewshed recommendations of the 1994 Melwood-Westphalia Master Plan during the development review process or when the highway is improved, as follows: Protect existing woodlands along the MD 4 corridor to act as a visual barrier to the fullest extent possible. Provide intensive natural screening to ensure a visual barrier between manmade structures and natural features along the corridor. Enhance the rural appearance of the highway median and corridor by expanding stands of native trees and vegetation. Encourage structures developed along the corridor to be:
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
■■Positioned on midslopes (to avoid hilltops), in clusters (to avoid sprawl), and into existing landforms (to avoid major grading).
Policy 2—Capitol Beltway Viewshed Establish a green buffer along the Capital Beltway.
Strategies:
Provide buffers and landscaping along the Capital Beltway frontage that exceed the standards of the Landscape Manual. Establish programs for reforestation of properties along the Beltway corridor viewshed that are currently devoid of trees.
Policy 3—Historic and Scenic Roads Preserve and incorporate the most important features of scenic or historic roads in the designs for road improvements and new development.
Strategies:
Maintain the designation of the four existing historic roads in the sector plan area as scenic and historic.
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Amend the application submittal requirements in the Zoning Ordinance to require identification on plans submitted of scenic or historic roads designated in a master or sector plan. Identify the critical elements of the viewshed that are needed to preserve a scenic corridor buffer along scenic and historic Ritchie Marlboro Road prior to submittal of development applications. Design road improvements in accordance with the Department of Public Works and Transportation road design standards for scenic and historic roads. Apply special design criteria for scenic and historic roads in the Westphalia sector plan area that provide for the necessary road improvements without compromising the valuable contribution of these roads to the community character: ■■Avoid excessively wide roadways and limit use of paved shoulders. ■■Adjust road design features (vertical and horizontal alignments, pavement sections, turn lanes) to the extent possible to preserve historic or scenic features and views along the right-of-way.
■■Use vegetated drainage swales instead of raised curbs and gutters where applicable. ■■Preserve existing vegetation in the buffer area and add plantings to screen new development and create a wooded character along the road. ■■Avoid large subdivision entrance features and signs. ■■Limit the number of driveway entrances onto the roadway. ■■Review plans to improve these roads with the M-NCPPC Historic Preservation and Public Facilities Planning Section and the Transportation Planning Section to ensure that all scenic and historic features are properly located and issues addressed.
Realign sections of the trail/lane that are not wooded and outside the Patuxent River primary management area (PMA) to parallel new streets, through parks, and along lakes as needed. Extend trail from Old Marlboro Pike to the central park and up to the intersection of D’Arcy and Westphalia Roads. Feature a trailhead at Old Marlboro Pike on a section of unused right-of-way for planned road A-37. Retain access to preexisting homes as privately maintained ingress/egress easements or county OP (other public) roads at the discretion of the county. ■■Provide an access point at the nearest public road. ■■Locate access to discourage through traffic.
Policy 4—Melwood Road Preserve designated segments of Melwood Road as an integral part of the community’s trail and greenway network.
Strategies
Incorporate preserved segments into a north/ south multipurpose path with a green buffer on either side that winds through the center of the community.
■■Encourage development to be set well back from a scenic road.
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
IMPLEMENTATION
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IMPLEMENTATION Comprehensive Rezoning Policies Introduction
The comprehensive rezoning process, also known in Prince George’s County as the sectional map amendment process, allows for the rezoning of a section of the overall county zoning map in order to bring zoning into conformance with approved county plans and policies. This chapter contains the sectional map amendment (SMA) for the Westphalia sector plan area. This SMA is intended to implement the land use recommendations of the approved sector plan for the foreseeable future. The District Council initiated the SMA in 2006 via CR-5-2006, with the expressed intent to process the SMA concurrent with the sector plan. The procedure followed was in accordance with CB-39-2005, which amended the framework for the process whereby the District (County) Council approves the sector plan and SMA simultaneously (originally established in CB-33-1992). Comprehensive rezoning, through the SMA, is a necessary implementation step in the land use planning process. It attempts to ensure that future development will be in conformance with county land use plans and development policies, reflecting the county’s ability to accommodate development in the foreseeable future. Existing
zoning, which hinders such development, may be corrected, and piecemeal rezonings will be reduced through the SMA process. The approval of the zoning pattern recommended by the sector plan and implemented by this SMA brings zoning into greater conformity with county land use goals and policies as they apply to the Westphalia area, thereby enhancing the health, safety and general welfare of all Prince George’s County residents and citizens. The county’s Capital Improvement Program and Ten-Year Water and Sewerage Plan, as well as existing land use and zoning and pending zoning applications, were examined and evaluated in preparation of both the preliminary land use plan and this proposed comprehensive rezoning. Consideration has also been given to the environmental and economic impact of the land use and zoning proposals. The approval of the SMA results in the revision of the official 1"=200' zoning map(s) for this sector area. Future comprehensive examinations of the zoning within these areas will occur in accordance with the procedures established for sectional map amendments. The last comprehensive rezoning for the Westphalia area took place in March 1994 with the approval of the sectional map amendment for Melwood and Westphalia (CR-25-1994).
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Comprehensive Rezoning Implementation Policies
A number of established comprehensive rezoning implementation policies are utilized as necessary guidelines for developing the zoning proposal.
Public Land Policy
The established land policy states that all public land should be placed in the most restrictive and/or dominant adjacent zone, whichever bears the closest relationship to the intended character of the area. Therefore, the zoning of public land, just as private land, should be compatible with surrounding zones. This policy should eliminate any “islands” of inharmonious zoning, while still providing for public use. It should further assure compatibility of any future development or uses if the property is returned to private ownership. A distinction is made where large parcels of land have been set aside specifically for public open space. In those cases the R-O-S (Reserved Open Space) Zone or the O-S (Open Space) Zone is applied as the most appropriate zone, depending on the size of the property. Federal and state government property, which is scattered throughout the county, is not subject to the requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. The intent of the comprehensive rezoning 73
process is to apply a zoning category to all land, including federal and state property, without regard to its unique zoning status. The R-O-S Zone is generally applied to federal and state properties, unless specific uses of the property or intended character of the property and/or area should warrant another zoning category.
Zoning in Public Rights-Of-Way
Policies governing the zoning of public street and railroad rights-of-way (both existing and proposed) are contained in Section 27-111 of the Prince George’s County Zoning Ordinance. This SMA has been prepared in accordance with that section.
Limitations on the Use of Zones
Zoning classifications proposed in the SMA are limited only by the range of zones within the Ordinance at the time of final action by the District Council. However, there are certain restrictions on when these may be applied to properties (Section 27-223 of the Zoning Ordinance). Reclassification of an existing zone to a less-intense zone, also known as downzoning, is prohibited where: (g)(1) “The property has been rezoned by Zoning Map Amendment within five (5) years prior to the initiation of the Sectional Map Amendment or during the period between initiation and transmittal to the District Council, and the property owner has not consented in writing to such rezoning;” or
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“Based on existing physical development at the time of adoption of the Sectional Map Amendment, the rezoning would create a nonconforming use. This rezoning may be approved, however, if there is a significant public benefit to be served by the rezoning based on facts peculiar to the subject property and the immediate neighborhood. In recommending the rezoning, the Planning Board shall identify these properties and provide written justification supporting the rezoning at the time of transmittal. The failure of either the Planning Board or property owner to identify these properties, or a failure of the Planning Board to provide the written justification, shall not invalidate any Council action in the approval of the Sectional Map Amendment.” Finally, in order to clarify the extent to which a given parcel of land is protected from less intensive rezoning by virtue of physical development, the Zoning Ordinance states in Section 27-223(h) that: “The area of the ‘property,’ as the word is used in Subsection (g)(2), above, is the minimum required by the Zoning Ordinance which makes the use legally existing when the Sectional Map Amendment is approved.”
Conditional Zoning
The inclusion of safeguards, requirements, and conditions beyond the normal provisions of the Zoning Ordinance that can be attached to individual zoning map amendments via
“conditional zoning” cannot be utilized in SMAs. In the piecemeal rezoning process, conditions are used to (1) protect surrounding properties from potential adverse effects that might accrue from a specific zoning map amendment; and/or (2) to enhance coordinated, harmonious, and systematic development of the Regional District. When approved by the District Council and accepted by the zoning applicant, “conditions” become part of the county zoning map requirements applicable to a specific property and are as binding as any provision of the county Zoning Ordinance. (See Conditional Zoning Procedures, Section 27-157(b)). In theory, zoning actions taken as part of the comprehensive rezoning (SMA) process should be compatible with other land uses without the use of conditions. However, it is not the intent of an SMA to repeal the additional requirements determined via “conditional” zoning cases that have been approved prior to the initiation of a sectional map amendment. As such, it is appropriate that, when special conditions to development of specific properties have been publicly agreed upon and have become part of the existing zoning map applicable to the site, those same conditions shall be brought forward in the SMA. This is accomplished by continuing the approved zoning with “conditions” and showing the zoning application number on the newly adopted zoning map. This would take place only when it is found that the existing zoning is compatible with the intended zoning pattern or when ordinance limitations preclude
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a rezoning. Similarly, findings contained in previously approved SMAs shall be brought forward in the SMA where the previous zoning category has been maintained.
Comprehensive Design Zones
Comprehensive Design Zones (CDZ) may be included in a sectional map amendment. Normally, the flexible nature of these zones requires a basic plan of development to be submitted through the zoning application process (zoning map amendment) in order to evaluate the comprehensive design proposal. It is only through approval of a basic plan, which identifies land use types, quantities, and relationships, that a CDZ can be recognized. Under this process, an application must be filed, including a basic plan; and the Planning Board must have considered and made a recommendation on the zoning application in order for the CDZ to be included within the SMA. During the comprehensive rezoning, prior to the submission of such proposals, property must be classified in a conventional zone that provides an appropriate “base density” for development. In theory, the base density zone allows for an acceptable level of alternative development should the owner choose not to pursue full development potential indicated by the sector plan. Under limited circumstances, which include the Westphalia Sector Plan and SMA, CDZs may be approved in a sectional map amendment without the filing of a formal rezoning application by an applicant. The recommendations of the sector plan and the
SMA zoning change, including any design guidelines or standards, may constitute the basic plan for development. In these cases, overall land use types, quantities and relationships for the recommended development concept should be described in the SMA text and be subject to further adjustment during the second phase of review, the comprehensive design plan, as more detailed information becomes available. (See CB-76-2006, CB-77-2006, and Sections 27223(b); 27-225(a)(5), Section 27-225(b)(1); 27226(a)(2); Section 27-226(f)(4), 27-478(a)(1), 27-480(g), and 27-521(a)(1) of the Zoning Ordinance.)” The Village Zones (V-L and V-M) are comprehensive design zones that are intended to provide an opportunity for low-density development on a human scale with a strong sense of community identity through the creation of traditional mixed-use villages and hamlets surrounded by open space. The Village Zones provide an alternative to conventional subdivision development by allowing a mixture of uses, dwelling types, and lot sizes at appropriate locations. Unlike other CDZs, the Village Zone may be approved in an SMA with just the property owners’ written permission (Section 223(b)).
Mixed-Use Zoning Recommendations
Implementation of the long-range land use recommendations of the Westphalia sector plan for mixed-use, pedestrian and transit-oriented development in the town center, the MD 4 corridor, and at designated mixed-use activity
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
centers requires application of mixed-use zoning techniques and possible incorporation of a form-based code. To effectively and efficiently implement the mixed-use, pedestrian- and transit-oriented development patterns recommended by the 2002 General Plan and recent small area plans, including the Westphalia sector plan, it is recommended that an appropriate set of mixeduse, form-based zoning categories or techniques be prepared (or existing zones modified), so that there is an effective set of regulations to fully achieve the vision for the Westphalia town center. A new mixed-use zoning tool is being prepared in FY 2008 that will implement the policy recommendations of the 2002 General plan and recent master and sector plans, streamline and standardize regulations and development review procedures, and supplement or replace existing mixed-use zones and overlay zones. Upon approval of a new mixed-use zoning tool or set of mixed-use zones, consideration should be given to rezoning of areas recommended for mixed-use development in this plan.
Council Bill CB-78-2006
On October 31, 2006, the County Council, sitting as the District Council, adopted CB-78-2006. This ordinance amends the M-X-T (Mixed Use-Transportation Oriented) Zone to provide a more direct link between the M-X-T Zone and recommendations in the approved General Plan, master plans, and sector plans to create compact, mixed-use, walkable communities 75
enhanced by a mix of residential, commercial, recreational, open space, employment, and institutional uses. CB-78-2006 also adds language that helps ensure the timely provision of adequate public facilities recommended in a plan, allows the requirement for mixed-use development in the M-X-T Zone to be satisfied on other property within a comprehensively planned General Plan center consistent with the recommendations of a master plan or sector plan, and establishes plan recommendations as the guide to defining regulations for development in the review of subsequent conceptual site plan and detailed site plan applications. The plan vision, policies, strategies, and design guidelines shall provide guidance for the development regulations to be incorporated into the conceptual site plan for any property placed in the M-X-T Zone by this sectional map amendment or through a subsequent zoning map amendment intended to implement the land use recommendations of the sector plan. Applicants should consult the revised provisions for the M-X-T Zone (as specified in CB-782006) for additional detail, criteria, and required findings. Until a new mixed-use zoning tool or set of mixed-use zones is approved, the M-X-T Zone serves as an adequate zoning technique to implement the recommendations of the sector plan for higher intensity, mixed-use development concentrated in and around the Westphalia town center and at some neighborhood-serving, mixed-use activity centers designated by the plan. To be most 76
effective, it is recommended that the land use recommendations of the sector plan be viewed comprehensively and that review of site plan applications in the M-X-T Zone be flexible. Rather than requiring a mix of uses for each application, there should be a concentrated effort to ensure that the Westphalia community develops with the cohesive, horizontal, and vertical mix of uses described by the sector plan as a whole. Development should also be phased so that certain levels of development trigger requirements meant to ensure conformance to the sector plan. For example, once a given number of dwelling units have been approved, there could be a focus on retail or commercial space, and residential building permits could be placed on hold until specific levels of office or retail space have been achieved.
Zoning Requests
Zoning applications pending during the SMA process are shown on Map 18 and described in Table 3. Requests for rezoning that were submitted by the public following initiation of the sectional map amendment are shown on Map 19 and described in Table 4. The pending applications and requests for rezoning were reviewed in the context of the proposed sector plan land use policies.
Comprehensive Rezoning Changes
To implement the sector plan policies and land use recommendations contained in the preceding chapters, many parcels of land must be rezoned to bring the zoning into conformance with the
sector plan. The comprehensive rezoning process (via the SMA) provides the most appropriate mechanism for the public sector to achieve this. As such, the SMA is approved as an amendment to the official zoning map(s) concurrently with approval of the sector plan. The approved SMA includes 25 recommended zoning changes based on the land use and development policies described in the previous chapters of this sector plan. The location of approved changes is shown on Map 20 and they are described in Table 5. These zoning changes result in a new zoning inventory for the area (Table 2). The approved zoning pattern for the Westphalia sector plan area is shown on Map 21. These maps are included for illustrative purposes only. The official zoning map is available from the Prince George’s County Planning Department’s Planning Information Services Office, County Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.
Governmental Coordination Stakeholder meeting groups and public/private partnership initiatives were formed during the plan review and approval process to evaluate and refine recommendations in the Westphalia Sector Plan and SMA and promote plan implementation. These efforts resulted in: Greater participation and transparency in the plan review and public decision making process. Better communication and coordination between public agency staff, developers and the public.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
New legislation that amended the zoning ordinance to:
Sectional Map Amendment
■■Streamline the implementation of plan land use recommendations through rezoning and development review. ■■Encourage creative approaches, including public/private partnerships, for funding needed public facilities concurrent with the pace of development. More detailed analysis of public facility and existing community needs, funding gaps and financing strategies. Recognition of the importance of providing public facilities and transportation improvements concurrent with new development to ensure balanced growth. Following approval of this sector plan and SMA, stakeholder workshops involving developers, public agencies, and interested citizens should be continued to facilitate efficient implementation of plan recommendations. The intent of a continuing, deliberate coordination effort is to maintain a focus in both the private and public sectors on implementing the plan, to promote economic development and the concurrent provision of public facilities and infrastructure, and to ensure that existing communities are enhanced as new development takes place. Ideally, a project ombudsman would be identified to promote public and private coordination and community awareness, maintain momentum, and troubleshoot issues for this assemblage of development projects that are identified as a priority in the county.
Table 2: Approved Zoning Inventory (in Acres) Zone
R-O-S (Reserve Open Space) O-S (Open Space) R-A (Residential Agricultural) R-E (Residential Estate) R-R (Rural Residential) R-T (Residential Townhouse) R-18 (Multifamily Medium-Density Residential) R-18C (Multifamily Medium-Density Residential Condominium) M-X-T (Mixed Use-Transportation Oriented) R-M-H (Planned Mobile Home Community) R-S (Residential Suburban Development) R-M (Residential Medium Development) L-A-C (Local Activity Center) C-O (Commercial Office) C-A (Ancillary Commercial) C-S-C (Commercial Shopping Center) C-M (Commercial Miscellaneous) I-1 (Light Industrial) I-2 (Heavy Industrial) I-3 (Planned Industrial/Employment Park) Subtotal Right-of-Way Total
Prior Zoning
Net Change
47.31 38.43 1996.84 178.32 1728.50 45.06 38.43 0 99.12 39.23 112.79 727.00 34.06 3.04 2.67 0 0.86 449.22 5.65 158.68 5705.21 361.90 6067.11
--+13.41 -1238.73 +116.76 -2.69 --+3.49 28.09 +696.24 ----+607.95 40 ---2.67 3.93 -0.86 -186.41 ---78.51 0
Approved Zoning 47.31 51.84 758.11 295.08 1725.81 45.06 41.92 28.09 795.36 39.23 112.79 1334.95 74.06 3.04 0 3.93 0 262.81 5.65 80.17 5705.21 361.90 6067.11
Source: M-NCPPC, February 2007
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
77
Map 18: Pending Zoning Applications (See Also Table 3)
78
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 3: Pending Zoning Applications (See Also Map 18)
Application Information A-9965 Date Filed: 11/29/2004 Acreage: 727 A-9966 Date Filed: 11/29/2004 Acreage: 30 A-9973 Date Filed: 10/11/2005 Acreage: 370.30 A-9976 Date Filed: 1/20/2006 Acreage: 23.60
Name, Owner, or Organization
Project/Location of Property
DASC
Smith Home Farm—South side of Westphalia Road, approximately 3,000 feet east of Pennsylvania Avenue and south of Melwood Road.
DASC
Smith Home Farm—South side of Westphalia Road, approximately 3,000 feet east of Pennsylvania Avenue and south of Melwood Road.
Toll Brothers, Inc.
Woodside Village—South side of Westphalia Road across from Matapeake Drive.
VP, LLC
Vogel Property(Cabin Branch Village)—Northwest corner of Armstrong Lane and Ryon Road.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Prior Zoning
R-A
R-A
R-A
R-R
Zone Requested
Approved SMA Zone
R-M
Existing Zoning: R-M Zone approved by District Council 3/9/06
L-A-C
Existing Zoning: L-A-C Zone approved by District Council 3/9/06
R-M
R-M Zone per Approved SMA Rezoning Change 6B (See Table 5)
R-U
M-X-T Zone per Approved SMA Rezoning Change 22 (See Table 5)
79
Map 19: Public Rezoning Requests (See Also Table 4)
80
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 4: Public Rezoning Requests (See Also Map 19)
Property 1. Addison Commercial 2. Presidential Corporate Center
Acreage 8.9
Requestor Forks of the Road, LLC.
Prior Zone
Requested Zone
Approved Zone
R-R
M-X-T
M-X-T
476.51
Norman Rivera or Heather Pike, with Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver, LLC
I-1, I-3, R-A and M-X-T
M-X-T
M-X-T
45
Norman Rivera or Heather Pike with Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver, LLC
R-A
M-X-T, or M-U-I
M-X-T
4. German Orphan Farm
68.7
Norman Rivera or Heather Pike with Rifkin, Livingston, Levitan and Silver, LLC
R-A
M-X-T, or M-U-I
M-X-T
5. Mason Property
.062
William Mason
R-18
“Residential zone”
R-18
6. Keenan and Bachmeier Properties
14.26
E. Dale Keenan, K. Elaine Keenan and Alfred J. Bachmeier
R-R
R-T, C-S-C, or mixed-use
R-R
7. Cedar Fences, Inc. Property
1.39
Donald M. Snider
R-R
“Industrial”
Outside SMA area
8. Rock Creek Baptist Church
77.86
Rock Creek Baptist Church
R-A
M-X-T or a zone that allows a mix of uses by right within a “rural hamlet”
R-M L-A-C
9. Washington Property
79.82
Rollie J. and Dorothy A. Washington
R-A
M-X-T or a zone that allows a mix of uses by right within a “rural hamlet”
R-M L-A-C
10. Bean Property
66.01
Thomas R. and Aleen G. Bean
R-A
M-X-T or a zone that allows a mix of uses by right within a “rural hamlet”
R-M L-A-C
3. Moore Farm Property
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
81
Property
Prior Zone
Requested Zone
Approved Zone
Toll Brothers, Inc.
R-A
R-M (3.8-4.0 du/ac)
R-M
I-1
M-X-T
M-X-T
R-R and R-A
M-X-T
M-X-T
Acreage
Requestor
11. Woodside Village
370.30
12. Armstrong Lane Property
4.64
8911 Armstrong Lane, LLC
13. Beall/PB&J Properties
24.91
Beall/PB&J Properties
14. Vogel Property
23.62
VP, LLC
R-R
M-X-T
M-X-T
15. Diaz Property
5.7
Land and Compass, Inc.
R-A
R-R
R-R
Melwood Civic Association
R-A
R-A
R-A
16. McCreary Property
5
17. Russel Property
5.24
Daley C. and Sandra A. Russell
R-A
R-A
R-A
18. Nargi Property
3.4
Robert M. Nargi
R-R
R-18
R-18
19. Sansbury Park
28.1
Sansbury Park Development, LLC
I-1
R-18
R-18C
20. PJ Associates Property
49.6
PJ Associates, LLC
R-A
R-18C
M-X-T R-M
Ritchie Land Rec. Ltd. Partnership
R-A
R-A
21. Ritchie Land Reclamation Property
82
80
Not located in sector plan area
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Map 20: Approved Zoning Changes and Readopted Existing Zoning per CR-2-2007 (DR-2) (See Also Table 5)
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
83
Map 21: Approved SMA Zoning Pattern
84
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (See Also Map 20)
Change Number 1
Zoning Change
Area of Change
R-A to M-X-T I-3 to M-X-T
389.61 acres 78.51 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R Requests 2, 3, 4
200’ Scale Index Maps 206SE08 206SE09 207SE09
Use and Location: A farm, institutional use and mostly vacant wooded land located north of Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) and on either side of Moore’s Way and Melwood Road. (Tax Map 90, Grids E4, F3 and F4, Parcels 11, 161, 162, 164, 168, and 170; Tax Map 91, Grid A4, Parcels 8 and 10; Tax Map 100, Grid A1, Parcel 16; Tax Map 99, Grids E1 and F1, Parcels 101, 119, and 130.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved to promote implementation of the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use development within the Westphalia town center area. This zone allows a high-density, urban, pedestrian-oriented character within the center core and edge with supportive development in the fringe area. Sector Plan Development Concept 1 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these Westphalia town center properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 44 (see Appendix 2) illustrates a development concept that was proposed during the plan review process and generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for that area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews in the Westphalia town center area and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies among sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the public record exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
85
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
2
I-1 to M-X-T
64.64 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
Requests 2, 12
206SE08
Use and Location: An office park, single-family homes and vacant land located on either side of Presidential Parkway, east of Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4). (Tax Map 90, Grids C3, C4, D3 and D4, Parcels 139, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146, 155, 192 and 200; Presidential Corporate Park Subdivision, Plat 15151008, Lot 3; Plat 15150027, Lot 4; Plat 15209031, Lots 6 and 7; and Plat 15128070, Lot 1, Outlots A, B and abandoned Presidential Parkway.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved to promote implementation of the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use development within the Westphalia town center area. This zone allows a high-density, urban, pedestrian-oriented character within the center core and edge with supportive development in the fringe area. Sector Plan Development Concept 1 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these Westphalia town center properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 44 (see Appendix 2) illustrates a development concept that was proposed during the plan review process and generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for that area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews in the Westphalia town center area and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies among sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the public record exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan.
86
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
3
R-R to M-X-T
22.62 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
A-9976 Request 14
206SE08
Use and Location: Four single-family dwellings and vacant land located on the north side of Armstrong Lane, approximately 950 feet east of Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4). (Tax Map 90, Grids C3, D2 and D3, Parcels 173, 147, 148, 149, 172 and 199.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved to promote implementation of the sector plan recommendation for predominantly medium-density residential development on this site. This zone allows a great deal of flexibility to design the recommended residential development of this site as an integral component of the mixed-commercial development recommended for adjacent properties in the Westphalia town center fringe area. Sector Plan Development Concept 2 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 40 illustrates a development concept that was proposed during the plan review process and generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for that area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies among sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the public record exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
87
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
4
I-1 to M-X-T
Area of Change 22.98 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 206SE08
Use and Location: Single-family dwellings and farm/industrial buildings located at the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) and Armstrong Lane. (Tax Map 90, Grids C2 and C3, Parcels 119, 135, and 136. Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use development in the Westphalia town center fringe area. Fringe areas along Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) should be designed as a destination for employment with a corporate character with service and retail uses located within office and residential structures, and the potential for hotels in this area. 5
I-1 to M-X-T
0.96 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
206SE08
Use and Location: A gas station at the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) and Presidential Parkway. (Tax Map 90, Grid C3, Presidential Parkway Exxon Subdivision, Plat 15182047, Parcel A.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use development in the Westphalia town center fringe area. Fringe areas along Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4) should be designed as a destination for employment with a corporate character with service and retail uses located within office and residential structures, and the potential for hotels in this area. This property is also located within the right-of-way for a proposed interchange improvement at Suitland Parkway and MD 4 and may be acquired for construction at some point in the future.
88
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
6A 6B
Zoning Change
Area of Change
R-A to R-M R-A to R-M
370.30 acres 11.65 acres Total: 381.95 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
A-9973 Request 11
205SE09
Use and Location: An auto-related use and vacant land located on the south side of Westphalia Road, approximately 2,000 feet west of Ritchie Marlboro Road. (Tax Map 82, Grid F4, Parcel 19; Tax Map 83, Grid A4, Parcel 5; Tax Map 91, Grids A1, A2, and B1, Parcels 13, 14, and 42.) Discussion: The R-M Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential development integrated with open space. The basic plan (A-9973) for development, as amended and approved by CR-2-2007 (DR-2), SMA Amendment 12 (pp. 18-26) and Public Record Exhibit 41, establish the land use types, quantities, relationships, and review criteria for development of this site. Sector Plan Development Concept 3 (see Appendix 1) portrays the land use concept and includes the land use types,
quantities, relationships, and comprehensive design plan requirements and considerations approved as the basic plan for application A-9973. See Appendix 5 for the condition of approval from CR-2-2007 (DR-2). 7
R-A to R-R
0.59 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
205SE09
Use and Location: A Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission pumping station located approximately 2,200 feet south of Westphalia Road and 6,700 feet west of the intersection of Westphalia Road and Ritchie Marlboro Road, adjoining the western boundary of the proposed Woodside Village development (see SMA Change Number 6A). (Tax Map 90, Grid F1, Parcel 213.) Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential development and is consistent with the density of the neighborhood to the north in the R-R Zone and the R-M Zone approved for the properties to the east and west.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
89
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
8
R-A to R-R
0.8 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 205SE09
Use and Location: One single-family dwelling and vacant land located south of Westphalia Road, approximately 3,300 feet west of Ritchie Marlboro Road. (Tax Map 83, Grid A4, Parcel 38.) Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential development, and is consistent with the density of the R-M Zone approved for property to the west, south, and east. The R-R Zone also provides an appropriate base density zone for consideration of a future comprehensive design zone (CDZ) application that is compatible with the proposed R-M Zone on the adjacent property.
90
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
9
R-A to R-M R-A to L-A-C
183.5 acres 40.0 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number Date PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R Requests 8, 9, 10
200’ Scale Index Maps 204SE09
Use and Location: Farms and vacant land located at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Ritchie Marlboro Road and Westphalia Road. (Tax Map 83, Grids B2, B4 and C4, Parcels 16, 25, 26, 71, and 95.) Discussion: The R-M (Residential Medium) and L-A-C (Local Activity Center) comprehensive design zones implement the sector plan recommendation for low- to moderate-density residential, neighborhood-oriented commercial and institutional land uses on these three properties. Public Record Exhibit 58 contains an illustration for a comprehensively planned mix of civic, residential, commercial, and open space uses as the basic plan (as amended by CR-2-2007 (DR-2) below) for these comprehensive design zones per Section 27-478 of the Zoning Ordinance. The land use relationships illustrated in Exhibit 58 are represented in SMA Rezoning Development Concept 4 (see Appendix 1). The land use types and quantities approved for the Rock Creek Baptist Church, Washington, and Bean properties are defined by CR-22007 (DR-2), SMA Amendment 3 as follows: • Land Use Types: All uses allowed in the R-S and L-A-C Zones. • Land Use Quantities (to be determined at CDP, based on Exhibit 58): R-M (3.6) Zone—Approximately 183.5 acres, capped at 4.0 DU/acre Residential—712 units Age-Restricted Community—160 units Public/Quasi-Public Use—Church, school and recreation amenities L-A-C (Neighborhood) Zone: Approximately 40 acres Residential—Approximately 12 acres Residential—320 units Commercial/Retail (including live/work)—25,000 square feet GFA Country Inn—40,000 square feet GFA Comprehensive Design Plan Review Considerations: MC-631 is located on the subject property and should connect directly to the portion of MC-631 located on the Woodside Village property at a four-way intersection with Westphalia Road.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
91
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
10
R-A to R-E
24.39 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 204SE10
Use and Location: Single-family dwellings and vacant land located west of Ritchie Marlboro Road, approximately 1,500 feet north of its intersection with Westphalia Road. (Tax Map 83, Grids B3 and C3, Parcels 17, 19, 39, 45, 66 and 72.) Discussion: The R-E Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendations for low-density residential development and the preservation of the rural character along Ritchie Marlboro Road, and provides a transition between the higher-density R-M zoning to the west, and the low-density R-E Zone on the east side of Ritchie Marlboro Road. Applications for an appropriate comprehensive design zone to further implement recommendations of this sector plan are encouraged. 11
R-A to R-E
92.37 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
205SE10
Use and Location: A farm located at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of Ritchie Marlboro Road and Westphalia Road. (Tax Map 83, Grid C4, Parcel 27; Tax Map 91, Grid D1, Parcel 16.) Discussion: The R-E Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendations for low-density residential development and the preservation of the rural character along Ritchie Marlboro Road, and provides a transition between the higher-density R-M zoning to the west, and the low-density R-E Zone on the east side of Ritchie Marlboro Road. Applications for an appropriate comprehensive design zone to further implement recommendations of this sector plan are encouraged.
92
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
12
R-R to M-X-T
8.98 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
Request 1
207SE11
Use and Location: Vacant land located at the northwestern quadrant of the intersection of Ritchie Marlboro Road and Old Marlboro Pike. (Tax Map 101, Grid B1, Marlboro Riding Subdivision, Plat 15208020, Parcel P.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for mixed commercial and residential uses in areas identified as mixed-use neighborhood centers, designed to emulate traditional main streets in Maryland’s local villages and towns. Sector Plan Development Concept 9 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 20 illustrates the development concept that generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for this area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies between sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan. 13A 13B 13C 13D
R-A to R-R R-A to R-R R-A to R-R R-A to R-R
3.82 acres 4.73 acres 2.04 acres 0.52 acres Total: 11.11 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA PA 77, 78 SMA PA 77, 78 SMA PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94 3/22/94 3/22/94 3/22/94
205SE08
Use and Location: Vacant, wooded land generally located on either side of Melwood Road, approximately 500 to 1,500 feet south of Westphalia Road. Proposed change number 13A is located on the south side of Westphalia Road, approximately 800 feet west of Melwood Road. (Tax Map 90, Grids D1 and E1, Parcels 105, 113, 115, 156, 171, and 183 and Mellwood Knolls Subdivision, Plat 06172073, Lots 1, 2 and Outlot A,) Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential development and reconciles the zoning to the size of the properties. The R-R Zone is compatible with property in the R-R Zone located to the north and the R-M Zone located to the south (see A-9965, Smith Home Farm).
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
93
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
14
R-A to R-R
20.36 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
Request 15
204SE08 205SE08
Use and Location: Ten single-family dwellings and vacant, wooded land located on both sides of Westphalia Road just east of its intersection with Melwood Road. (Tax Map 82, Grid E4, Parcels 48, 213, 214, 215, 216, 249, 267, and 339, and Westphalia Manor Subdivision, Plat A15-8312, Lot 1, and West Darcy Subdivision, Plat 15123091, part of Lot 2.) Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential land use. The R-R Zone is compatible with the R-R Zone and the R-M Zone (see A-9965, Smith Home Farm) on adjacent properties. 15
R-A to R-R
19.70 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
205SE08
Use and Location: A trade school/carpenter training center and vacant land located on the south side of Westphalia Road, approximately 60 feet west of its intersection with Melwood Road. (Tax Map 90, Grid D1, Carpenters District Council Subdivision, Plat A06-6406, Parcel A, and Plat A06-7522, Parcel B and Plat A06-8826, Parcel A.) Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential development on this property. The portion of the property that is classified in the C-O Zone is not part of this zoning change and is retained in recognition of the existing trade school operation (the balance of which is permitted by special exception in residential zones). Applications for an appropriate comprehensive design zone to further implement recommendations of this sector plan are encouraged.
94
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
16A
C-A to C-S-C R-A to C-S-C
1.07 acres 2.86 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 205SE08
Use and Location: A former commercial building advertised to become a church, a nonconforming single-family dwelling located on the west side of Melwood Road, and an unimproved lot on the east side of Melwood Road, south of Westphalia Road. (Tax Map 90, Grid D1, Parcel 67 and Tax Map 82, Grid E4, Parcel 211.) Discussion: The C-S-C Zone is approved in accordance with Council finding (a) of CR-2-2007 (DR-2), (p. 5, line 12), which states: “The Spirit of God Deliverance Church properties (Tax Map 90, Parcel 67 and Tax Map 82, Parcel 211) located on the south side of Westphalia Road, east and west of Melwood Road, should be classified in a commercial zoning category to allow institutional and limited commercial land uses, provided that site plan review by the Planning Board is obtained prior to issuance of a building permit for any new construction on the site. The purpose of site plan review is to ensure that any proposed commercial or institutional use on this property has high quality architectural design, landscaping and construction materials and effective on-site buffering for existing or future residential or institutional land uses in the area. It is not intended that commercial or institutional activities on these properties will establish a precedent to justify further commercial expansion along these roads.” 16B
C-M to R-R
0.86 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
205SE08
Use and Location: Single-family dwelling located on the west side of Melwood Road, south of Westphalia Road. (Tax Map 80, Grid D1, Parcel 112). Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential land use and to recognize the existing use on the property.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
95
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
17
R-R to O-S
3.99 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 205SE08
Use and Location: Westphalia Neighborhood Playground located at the end of Squire Road approximately 500 feet south of Westphalia Road. Discussion: The O-S Zone is approved in accordance with the comprehensive rezoning public land policy to recognize the existing M-NCPPC public park.
18
I-1 to R-18C
28.09 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Request 19
204SE08
Use and Location: Vacant land on the east side of Sansbury Road, approximately 1,500 feet northeast of its intersection with D’Arcy Road. (Tax Map 82, Grids E2 and E3, Sansbury Park Subdivision, Plat 15167042, Lots 1 through 19, and Parcel A.) Discussion: The R-18C Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for medium-density residential development and to limit industrial development in residential neighborhoods. A mix of residential condominium product types is intended for this property. Sector Plan Development Concept 5 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 34 illustrates the development concept that generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for this area. This exhibit provides a starting point for more formal site plan reviews and is not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies between sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the exhibit occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan.
96
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
19
I-1 to R-R
0.84 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 204SE08
Use and Location: One small residential building, a garage, and undeveloped lots located on the west side of Sansbury Road, approximately 1,500 feet northeast of its intersection with D’Arcy Road. (Tax Map 82, Grids D2 and E2, Little Washington Subdivision, Plat A15-6085, Block E, Lots 4, 5, and 6). Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for low-density residential development. An existing auto repair business on Lot 3, Plat A15-1486 (in the same ownership) is retained in the I-1 Zone in accordance with Council Finding (b), CR-2-2007 (DR-2) (p. 5, line 22) for site plan review prior to issuance of a permit for another use: “The Fletcher property located on the west side of Sansbury Road, south of Little Washington Neighborhood Park, should retain the existing industrial zoning category for the one lot (Lot 3, Block E, Plat A15-1486) upon which an ongoing business has been legally established, provided that site plan review by the Planning Board is obtained prior to building permit issuance for any other use on the property. The purpose of site plan review is to ensure that any proposed new commercial or industrial use on this property has high quality architectural design, landscaping and construction materials and effective on-site buffering for existing or future residential or institutional land uses in the area.” 20
R-R to R-18
3.49 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Request 18
204SE08
Use and Location: A single-family dwelling and vacant land located on the west side of D’Arcy Road, approximately 750 feet southeast of its intersection with the Capital Beltway (I-495/I-95). (Tax Map 82, Grid D3, Parcel 115.) Discussion: The R-18 Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for medium-density residential development, and provides an opportunity for a mix of residential uses and densities compatible with the regulations of the R-18 and R-T Zones, as permitted in the R-R Zone on the adjacent D’Arcy Park properties per CB-37-2005.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
97
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
21
R-R to O-S
9.42 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 203SE08 204SE08
Use and Location: Little Washington Community Park, located on the west side of Sansbury Road approximately 1,900 feet northeast of its intersection with D’Arcy Road. (Tax Map 82, Grid E2, Little Washington Subdivision, Plat A15-8965, Local Park Parcel A and Sansbury Park Subdivision, Plat 15167042, Outlot B.) Discussion: The O-S Zone is approved in accordance with the comprehensive rezoning public land policy to recognize the existing M-NCPPC public park. 22
C-A to R-R
1.60 acres
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
203SE08
Use and Location: Undeveloped land located on the west side of Sansbury Road, approximately 2,400 feet southwest of its intersection with Ritchie Marlboro Road, north of the driveway to Fernwood Mobile Home Park. (Tax Map 82, Grid E1, Farmwood Subdivision, Plat A15-9329, Parcel A) Discussion: The R-R Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for residential development in this area. A mixed-use activity center located to the north of this property, at the intersection of Ritchie Marlboro Road and Sansbury Road, will serve local commercial needs for this area.
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
23A
R-R to M-X-T R-A to M-X-T
21.20 acres 4.48 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
P/O Request 13
203SE09
Use and Location: Six single-family dwellings and vacant land located on both sides of Sansbury Road, south of Ritchie Marlboro Road and east of its intersection with the Capital Beltway (I-495/I-95). (Tax Map 74, Grids E4 and F4, Parcels 81, 82, 83, 84, 121, 148, 149, and 150, part of Parcels 48, 122, 123, 141, and 197, Roy F. Bealls Subdivision.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use commercial areas known as mixed-use activity centers, designed to emulate traditional main streets in Maryland’s local villages and towns. These properties are within one of two recommended mixed-use activity centers, placed at convenient locations to serve the residential areas of the Westphalia sector plan area. Sector Plan Development Concept 6 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 19 illustrates the development concept that generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for this area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies between sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
99
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
23B
R-A to M-X-T
6.26 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number PA 77, 78 SMA
Date 3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
P/O Request 13
203SE09
Use and Location: A church, one single-family dwelling, and vacant land located east of Sansbury Road and south of Ritchie Marlboro Road. (Tax Map 82, Grid E1, Parcel 195, and Roy F. Bealls Subdivision, Plat A15-4383, Parcel A.) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use commercial areas known as mixed-use activity centers, designed to emulate traditional main streets in Maryland’s local villages and towns. These properties are within one of three recommended mixed-use activity centers, placed at convenient locations to serve the residential areas of the Westphalia sector plan area. Sector Plan Development Concept 6 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 19 illustrates the development concept that generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for this area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies between sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan. (Note: This property was formerly referred to as part of the PB&J property in Public Zoning Request 13 (and Public Record Exhibit 19), but is corrected in Public Record Exhibit 52 as owned by the Trustees of the Ritchie Baptist Church, Inc.)
100
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
24A
R-A to R-R
11.15 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps 203SE09
Use and Location: Three single-family dwellings and vacant land located on the east side of Sansbury Road and the south of Ritchie Marlboro Road. Change 24A-1: Tax Map 74F4, Parcels 200, 85, and part of Parcels 200 and 313 (Approximately 4.0 acres) Change 24A-2: Tax Map 74F4, Parcel 251 (Approximately 3.0 acres) Change 24A-3: Tax Map 74F4, Parcel 193 (Approximately 2.05 acres) Change 24A-4: Tax Map 74F4, Parcel 198 (Approximately 2.1 acres) Discussion: The sector plan recommends medium-density residential land use for property in this area with a mix of commercial and residential development for the northwest portion as part of the mixed-use activity center proposed along Ritchie Marlboro Road between the Capital Beltway and White House Road. The R-R Zone is approved as the base density zone to allow smaller lot, single-family residential development or for an application requesting an appropriate comprehensive design or mixed-use zone in the future, depending on location and sector plan recommendations.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
101
Table 5: Approved Zoning Changes (Continued) Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
24B
R-A to M-X-T R-A to R-M
7.1 acres 42.5 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
Request 20
203SE09
Use and Location: Several farm buildings and vacant land located east of Sansbury Road and south of Ritchie Marlboro Road. (Tax Map 82, Grid F1, Parcels 194, 199, and 250,) Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for mixed-use activity centers designed to emulate traditional main streets in Maryland’s local villages and towns. The northeast portion of this property is located within the mixed-use activity center area located south of Ritchie Marlboro Road between the Capital Beltway and White House Road. The R-M (Residential Medium) Comprehensive Design Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendation for medium-density residential land use for the southern portion of these properties located along the proposed relocation of Sansbury Road (MC-634) east of existing Sansbury Road to White House Road Public Record Exhibit 66 contains an illustration for a comprehensively planned mix of civic, residential, commercial, and open space uses as the Basic Plan (as amended by CR-2-2007 (DR-2) below) for the R-M Comprehensive Design Zone per Section 27-478 of the Zoning Ordinance. The land use relationships illustrated in Exhibit 66 are represented in SMA Rezoning Development Concept 7 (see Appendix 1). The land use types and quantities approved for the Scales property (formerly referenced as the PJ Associates, Inc. property) are defined by CR-2-2007 (DR-2), SMA Amendment 9 as follows: Land Use Types: All uses allowed in the R-M Zone Land Use Quantities (to be determined at comprehensive design plan based on Exhibit 66): Residential development up to the maximum density allowed in the R-M (5.8-7.9) Zone or up to approximately 335 units. Other Information: The R-M portion of the property shall be located southeast of the proposed centerline for MC-634 (Sansbury Road Relocated), with the M-X-T portion to be located northwest of the proposed centerline for MC-634, as illustrated in Exhibit 66).
102
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Change Number
Zoning Change
Area of Change
25
I-1 to M-X-T
68.9 acres
Approved ZAPS/SE Number
Date
PA 77, 78 SMA
3/22/94
Pending ZAP/R
200’ Scale Index Maps
Request 20
206SE09
Use and Location: Large industrial building and wooded undeveloped land located on south side of Westphalia Road across from Chester Grove Road. (Tax Map 90, Grid C-1, Penn-East Business Park Resubdivision, Plat 06 191-023, Parcel C. Discussion: The M-X-T Zone is approved in accordance with the sector plan recommendations for mixed commercial and residential land use at this location. Sector Plan Development Concept 8 (see Appendix 1) portrays the basic land use types and relationships envisioned for these properties at the time the sector plan was approved and is intended to serve as the basis for review of subsequent site plan applications. Public Record Exhibit 31 illustrates the development concept that generally reflects the intended land use and design character approved for this area. These exhibits provide a starting point for more formal site plan reviews and are not to be considered as an approved site plan. When inconsistencies between sector plan development concepts, design principles, and the exhibits occur, they should be resolved in ways that best achieve the development goals and policies of the sector plan.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
103
104
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
APPENDICES Appendix 1. Development Concepts
Sector Plan Development Concept 1: Westphalia Town Center Sectional Map Amendment Changes 1 and 2
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Sector Plan Development Concept 2: Cabin Branch Village Sectional Map Amendment Change 3
105
Appendix 1. Development Concepts (Cont’d)
Sector Plan Development Concept 3: Woodside Village Sectional Map Amendment Change 6A & 6B (See CR-2-2007 (DR-2), SMA 12, and conditions of approval for Basic Plan A-9973.)
106
Sector Plan Development Concept 4: The Villages at Westphalia Sectional Map Amendment Change 6
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Sansbury Road
Appendix 1. Development Concepts (Cont’d)
Sector Plan Development Concept 5 Sectional Map Amendment Change 18
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Sector Plan Development Concept 6: Westphalia Row/PB&J Sectional Map Amendment Change 23A&B
107
Sansbury Road
Appendix 1. Development Concepts (Cont’d)
Sector Plan Development Concept 7: Scales Property Sectional Map Amendment Change 24B
108
Sector Plan Development Concept 8: Minant Property Sectional Map Amendment Change 25
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Appendix 1. Development Concepts (Cont’d)
Mixed Commercial or Mixed Residential/Commercial
D OA
OR
OR
LB AR IE M CH RIT
OLD MARLBORO PIKE
NORTH
Sector Plan Development Concept 9: Addison Property Sectional Map Amendment Change 12
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
109
Appendix 2. Public Record Exhibit 44
Note: This illustration portrays a long-range development scenario for the Westphalia town center as proposed in Public Record Exhibit 44. Some of the road alignments and the location and design of proposed interchanges along MD 4 are illustrative of preliminary concepts and do not correspond to those finally approved in the plan. Nonetheless, the illustration is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
110
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Appendix 2. Public Record Exhibit 44 (Cont’d)
Note: This illustration portrays a long-range development scenario for the Westphalia town center as proposed in Public Record Exhibit 44. Some of the road alignments and the location and design of proposed interchanges along MD 4 are illustrative of preliminary concepts and do not correspond to those finally approved in the plan. Nonetheless, the illustration is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
111
Appendix 2. Public Record Exhibit 44 (Cont’d)
Note: This illustration portrays a long-range development scenario for the Westphalia town center as proposed in Public Record Exhibit 44. Some of the road alignments and the location and design of proposed interchanges along MD 4 are illustrative of preliminary concepts and do not correspond to those finally approved in the plan. Nonetheless, the illustration is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Appendix 2. Public Record Exhibit 44 (Cont’d)
Note: This illustration portrays a long-range development scenario for the Westphalia town center as proposed in Public Record Exhibit 44. Some of the road alignments and the location and design of proposed interchanges along MD 4 are illustrative of preliminary concepts and do not correspond to those finally approved in the plan. Nonetheless, the illustration is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
113
Appendix 2. Public Record Exhibit 44 (Cont’d)
Note: This illustration portrays a long-range development scenario for the Westphalia town center as proposed in Public Record Exhibit 44. Some of the road alignments and the location and design of proposed interchanges along MD 4 are illustrative of preliminary concepts and do not correspond to those finally approved in the plan. Nonetheless, the illustration is representative of the urban development patterns that could result from implementation of recommended land use concepts for the Westphalia center. It is likely that variations will occur as development takes place that also conform to the planning principles and urban development concepts recommended for this area.
114
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Appendix 3. Public Facilities Cost Public Facilities
The cost of public facilities proposed by the 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan are estimated in a report entitled the Westphalia Sector Plan Public Facilities Financing Program (PFFP), dated January 18, 2007, that was prepared by Economics Research Associates (ERA) as a part of the sector plan preparation and review process. In addition to estimating the costs for each facility, the report identifies potential sources of revenue and financing strategies that might be considered in the future to finance facility construction (see report for details). The following tables from that report identify the anticipated costs for the public facilities recommended in the sector plan to support development in Westphalia when fully built.
Table A: Westphalia Sector Facilities Funding Needs
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 7), prepared by ERA.
Summary of Costs
Public facilities costs for the Westphalia sector area include public safety facilities, schools, a library, road and trail gaps, parks and existing neighborhood revitalization. The most significant costs are for the Grand Central Park, the roadway links, and schools, as summarized in Table A. More detailed cost breakdowns by type of facility can be found in the following sections.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
115
Schools
Schools are one of the most critical elements of the proposed sector development, since they will directly affect the future marketability of the residential units, and therefore their value. The projected school facilities needed and their estimated costs are shown in Table B. The costs include construction and site preparation.
Table B: Westphalia School Needs
Parks
Several of the proposed developments within the sector include substantial private recreational amenities. While these may not be directly available to residents outside of these developments, they will reduce the need to provide public facilities to the residents of these subdivisions—in essence providing a substitute for public recreational facilities.
Facilities
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 8), prepared by ERA.
Table C: Park Facilities Needs
Table C lists the required park facilities that would typically be required for the number of residential units being planned for the Westphalia sector area.
Police and Fire
The planned development in the sector will require new police and fire facilities in the town center, with costs as noted in the table below.
Table D: Police and Fire Cost
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 13), prepared by ERA.
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 18), prepared by ERA. 116
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Table E: Westphalia Trails/Bikeways Missing Links Analysis
Library
The sector will require an additional library at a cost of $6,500,000. (Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report, page 18, prepared by ERA.)
Trails
Many of the proposed trails within the sector area will be within the proposed developments, and therefore the developers’ responsibility. However, there are numerous gaps that would remain within the proposed trail network. These gaps in the trail network are identified in Table E.
Trail Costs Excluding Rubble Fill Park Trails
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 19), prepared by ERA.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
117
Neighborhood Revitalization
The existing neighborhoods contain roadways and storm water management systems in need of upgrading. The estimated costs from DPW&T for these improvements are summarized in Table F.
Table F: Little Washington and Westphalia Neighborhood Costs
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 20), prepared by ERA.
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Roadways
The roadway improvements include both those within the sector and those at the perimeter on state highways. The sections below detail the needs within each of these categories.
Figure 1: Roadway Gap Analysis Map A-36
Roadway Links within Westphalia Sector Plan
A-
C-626
A-
37
7
62 C-
MC -63
4
Many of the roadway sections that are planned for within the Westphalia sector plan area will be within development sites, and therefore developer funded, with some negotiation to be completed regarding extra roadway widths. Therefore, within the Westphalia sector area, the primary funding need is for the “missing links� in the roadway network to connect the new and improved roadways on the development sites. Table G provides a summary of the gaps in the roadway network that will need to be closed and the costs for the improvements, as well as the improvements in existing neighborhoods.
C-63 0
39
A-3
9
04
C-6
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 21), prepared by ERA.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
119
Table G: Westphalia Roadway Network Link and Gap Analysis Roadway Gaps A-36 (Whitehouse Road) A-37 (Westphalia Road) C-626 (Westphalia Road) A-39 (Ritchie-Marlboro Road) C-604 (Marlboro Pike) C-637 (D’Arcy Road) C-630 (Sansbury Road) MC-634 Subtotal
Construction $ 7,420,489 $ 1,005,687 $ 4,860,550 $14,811,136 $ 5,636,886 $ 2,089,437 $ 1,052,714 $ 8,867,029 $45,543,928
Revitalization (See Table F for details) Melwood Road Chester Grove Little Washington Westphalia Estates Subtotal Total Roadway Costs
Utilities 660,000
ROW $11,200,000 $ 1,600,000
Total $19,280,489 $ 2,605,687
$ 1,476,000 $ 2,676,000 $1,824,000 $ 576,000 $ 504,000
$ 3,700,000 $14,200,000 $ 5,500,000 $ 2,300,000 $ 1,300,000 $ 9,000,000 $48,800,000
$10,036,550 $31,687,136 $12,960,886 $ 4,965,437 $ 2,856,714 $17,667,029 $102,059,928
$
$ 7,716,000
Total $2,252,627 $1,901,480 $2,484,625 $2,533,160 $9,171,892 $111,231,820
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 22), prepared by ERA.
Table H: State Highway Improvements State Roadway Improvements
The State Highway Administration has recommended the improvements to state highways adjacent to the Westphalia sector area as shown in Table H.
Source: The January 2007 Westphalia Sector Plan PFFP report (page 24), prepared by ERA.
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Appendix 4. Road Sections—Public Record Exhibit 65
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
121
Appendix 4. Road Sections—Public Record Exhibit 65 (Cont’d) TYP.STD.100.03A
TYP.STD.100.03B
A
B
TYP.STD.100.06
TYP.STD.100.06A
C
D
122
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Appendix 4. Road Sections—Public Record Exhibit 65 (Cont’d) TYP.STD.100.07
E
TYP.STD.100.07A
F
TYP.STD.100.07B
TYP.STD.ALLEY
G
H
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
123
Appendix 5: Approval Condition from CR-2-2007 (DR-2) for SMA Change 6 Be it further resolved that the Basic Plan for A-9973, Woodside Village, is hereby approved with amendments, including the addition of the 11.65-acre Toll Brothers, Inc. property (see SMA 12 above), and the subject property is rezoned from the R-A Zone to the R-M Zone, with the Basic Plan as amended, and with the following limitations and conditions as contained in the recommendation of the Zoning Hearing Examiner dated July 13, 2006: 1. The following development data and conditions of approval serve as limitations on the land use types, densities, and intensities, and shall become a part of the approved Basic Plan: Total area Land in the 100 year floodplain* Adjusted gross area: (381.95 less half the floodplain)* Density permitted under the R-M (Residential Medium Zone) Base residential density (3.6 du/ac)* Maximum residential density (5.8 du/ac)* Approved Land Use Types and Quantities: Residential: 374.15 adjusted gross acres @ 3.8-4.0 du/ac* Number of the units above the base density: Permanent open space: (31 percent of original site area)* Public active open space: (parkland and school sites)*
Private open space (homeowner association and other)
381.95 acres 15.69 acres 374.15 acres 3.6–5.8 dwellings/acre 1,347 dwellings 2,170 dwellings 1,422-1,497 dwellings 75-150 dwellings 116 acres 26.0 acres minimum parkland 10 acres minimum elementary school 20 acres minimum middle school 60 acres
* To be validated during the review of a CDP to account for the addition of the 11.65-acre Toll Brothers, Inc. property. 2. Prior to approval of the Basic Plan the Applicant shall revise the Basic Plan to provide the following: a. Eliminate the cul-de-sac streets on the Case property that stretch out of the subject site boundary into the Smith Home Farms property, and terminate the cul-de-sac within the subject property. b. Show one (1) primary street connection between the subject property and the adjacent W. Bean property to the east. 3. The following shall be required as part of the comprehensive design plan (CDP) submittal package: 124
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a. The Transportation Planning staff shall make Master Plan transportation facility recommendations consistent with the Westphalia Sector Plan. The CDP road alignments shall conform to road alignments in all other adjacent approved subdivisions. b. The Transportation Planning staff shall review the list of significant internal access points as proposed by the Applicant along Master Plan roadways, including intersections of those roadways within the site. This list of intersections shall receive detailed adequacy study at the time of Preliminary Plan of Subdivision. The adequacy study shall consider appropriate traffic control as well as the need for exclusive turn lanes at each location. c. The Transportation Planning staff shall review minor street connections between the subject site and adjacent properties. All minor street connections shown on the comprehensive design plan shall conform to all other adjacent approved subdivisions. d. The Applicant shall build the MD 4/Westphalia Road interchange with the development of the subject property and this may be accomplished by means of a public/private partnership with the State Highway Administration and with other developers in the area. This partnership may be further specified at the time of Preliminary Plan of Subdivision, and the timing of the provision of this improvement shall also be determined at the time of Preliminary Plan of Subdivision. e. The CDP shall demonstrate that a majority of lots located along Westphalia Road are single-family detached lots in order to be compatible with the surrounding land use pattern and to preserve a rural character as recommended in the WCCP Study. f. The Applicant shall meet with and obtain written approval from the DPW&T to front and/or provide driveway access to any townhouse units that may be located along C-631. If the townhouses or two-over-two townhouses are to be located along any roadways, which are classified as collector and above, they should be accessed through an alley. g. The Applicant and the Applicant’s heirs, successors, and/or assignees shall provide the following in conformance with the 1994 Master Plan and the WCCP Study: (1) Department of Parks and Recreation coordination and approval. (2) Provide an eight-foot wide sidepath or wide sidewalk along the subject property’s entire frontage of Suitland Parkway extended. (3) Provide a sidepath (Class II Trail) along the subject site’s entire road frontage of Westphalia Road. (4) Provide the internal HOA trails and sidepaths as conceptually shown on the submitted hiker and biker trail plan. h. Submit a design package that includes an image board and general design guidelines that establish review parameters, including design, material and color, for architectural, signage, entrance features and landscaping for the entire site. i. Provide a description of the type, amount, and general location of the recreation facilities on the dedicated parkland and elsewhere on the site, including provision of private open space and recreation facilities to serve development on all portions of the subject property. j. The Applicant, and the Applicant’s heirs, successors and/or assignees shall agree to make a monetary contribution or provide in-kind services for the development, operation and maintenance of the central park. The recreational facilities packages shall be reviewed and approved by DPR prior to comprehensive design plan (CDP) approval. The total value of the monetary contribution (or in-kind services) for the development, operation and maintenance of the central park shall be $3,500 per dwelling unit in 2006 dollars. The Applicant may make a contribution into Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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the “park club” or provide an equivalent amount of recreational facilities. The value of the recreational facilities shall be reviewed and approved by DPR staff. Monetary contributions may be used for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the recreational facilities in the central park and/or the other parks that will serve the Westphalia Study Area. The park club shall be established and administered by DPR. k. The Applicant shall submit a scope of services from a qualified urban park design consultant for development of a Comprehensive Concept Plan for the portion of central park in the project area. The Comprehensive Concept Plan shall be prepared by a qualified urban park design consultant working in cooperation with a design team from DPR and Urban Design Section. Urban Design Section and DPR staff shall review credentials and approve the design consultant prior to development of a Comprehensive Concept Plan. The Comprehensive Concept Plan shall be approved by DPR prior to approval of the comprehensive design plan (CDP). l. The public recreational facilities shall be constructed in accordance with the standards outlined in the Parks and Recreation Facilities Guidelines. The concept plan for the development of the parks shall be shown on the comprehensive design plan. m. Provide a multiuse stream valley trail along the subject site’s portion of Cabin Branch, in conformance with the latest Department of Parks and Recreation guidelines and standards. Connector trails should be provided from the stream valley to adjacent residential development and recreational uses. n. Provide the site location and timing or propose a contribution for the pro-rata share of funding for the following public facilities to be reviewed and approved by the appropriate agencies and the Countywide Planning Division: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Fire station Library Police facility Middle school Elementary school
o. Submit a signed Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) with the comprehensive design plan. All subsequent plan submittals shall clearly show the Patuxent River Primary Management Area (PMA) as defined in Section 24-101(b)(10), and as shown on the signed NRI. p. Demonstrate that the PMA has been preserved to the fullest extent possible. Impacts to the PMA shall be minimized by making all necessary road crossings perpendicular to the streams and by using existing road crossings to the extent possible. q. Submit a required Type I Tree Conservation Plan (TCPI). The TCPI shall: (1) Focus on the creation and/or conservation/preservation of contiguous woodland (2) Concentrate priority areas for tree preservation in areas within the framework of the approved Green Infrastructure Master Plan, such as stream valleys. Reflect a 25 percent Woodland Conservation Threshold (WCT) and meet the WCT requirements on-site. (3) Mitigate woodland cleared within the PMA’s Preservation Area on-site at a ratio of 1:1, with the exception of impacts caused by Master Plan roads which shall be mitigated 1:25. This note shall also be placed on all Tree Conservation Plans. 126
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(4) Focus afforestation in currently open areas within the PMA and areas adjacent to them. Tree planting should be concentrated in areas of wetland buffers and stream buffers, which are priority areas for afforestation and the creation of contiguous woodland. (5) Prohibit woodland conservation on all residential lots. r. Submit an exhibit showing areas where Marlboro Clay occurs on-site. s. Submit a plan that addresses how housing will be provided for all income groups in accordance with Section 27-487 and the Master Plan recommendations for the planned community. t. Present all roadway improvement plans for Westphalia Road to the Historic Preservation and Transportation Planning staff for review and comment to ensure that all scenic and historic features associated with this historic road are properly evaluated and preserved as necessary. u. Complete a Phase I archeological investigation report and submit to the Historic Preservation staff for approval. 4. At the time of Preliminary Plan of Subdivision and/or prior to the first plat of Subdivision, the Applicant shall: a. Show proposed dedication area for a non-CIP-sized sewer extension approximately 2,400 feet long to serve the eastern portion of the property and connect to the 24-inch diameter sewer in the Cabin Branch stream valley, or other alternative as required by WSSC. b. Submit Hydraulic Planning Analysis to WSSC to address access to adequate water storage facilities and water service to be approved by the WSSC to support the fire flow demands required to serve all site development. c. Submit a letter of justification for all proposed PMA impacts, in the event disturbances are unavoidable. d. Submit a plan, prior to Planning Board approval of a Preliminary Plan of Subdivision, that shall provide for: (1) Either the evaluation of any significant archaeological resources existing in the project area at the Phase II level, or (2) Avoiding and preserving the resource in place. e. The Applicant shall dedicate 56 developable acres of public open space to the M-NCPPC for a park/school. The portion of the parkland needed for school construction shall be conveyed to the Board of Education when funding for construction is in place and conveyance of the property is requested by the Board of Education. The final determination of location of the land to be dedicated for park/school sites shall be determined at the time of CDP Plan approval. The land to be conveyed to the M-NCPPC shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) An original, special warranty deed for the property to be conveyed, (signed by the WSSC Assessment Supervisor), shall be submitted to the Subdivision Section of the Development Review Division, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), along with the final plats. (2) M-NCPPC shall be held harmless for the cost of public improvements associated with land to be conveyed, including but not limited to, sewer extensions, adjacent road improvements, drains, sidewalls, curbs and gutters, and front-foot benefit charges prior to and subsequent to Final Plat. (3) The boundaries and acreage of land to be conveyed to M-NCPPC shall be indicated on all development plans and permits, which include such property. Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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(4) The land to be conveyed shall not be disturbed or filled in any way without the prior written consent of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). If the land is to be disturbed, DPR shall require that a performance bond be posted to warrant restoration, repair or improvements made necessary or required by M-NCPPC development approval process. The bond or other suitable financial guarantee (suitability to be judged by the General Counsel’s Office, M-NCPPC) shall be submitted to DPR within two weeks prior to applying for grading permits. (5) Stormdrain outfalls shall be designed to avoid adverse impacts on land to be conveyed to or owned by M-NCPPC. If the outfalls require drainage improvements on adjacent land to be conveyed to or owned by M-NCPPC, DPR shall review and approve the location and design of these facilities. DPR may require a performance bond and easement agreement prior to issuance of grading permits. (6) All waste matter of any kind shall be removed from the property to be conveyed. All wells shall be filled and underground structures shall be removed. DPR shall inspect the site and verify that land is in acceptable condition for conveyance, prior to dedication. (7) All existing structures shall be removed from the property to be conveyed, unless the Applicant obtains the written consent of the DPR. (8) The Applicant shall terminate any leasehold interests on property to be conveyed to the Commission. (9) No stormwater management facilities, or tree conservation or utility easements shall be proposed on land owned by or to be conveyed to M-NCPPC without the prior written consent of DPR. DPR shall review and approve the location and/or design of these features. If such proposals are approved by DPR, a performance bond, maintenance and easement agreements shall be required prior to the issuance of grading permits. f. Enter into an agreement with the DPR, prior to the first Final Plat of Subdivision, that shall establish a mechanism for payment of fees into an account administered by the M-NCPPC. The agreement shall note that the value of the in-kind services shall be determined at the sole discretion of DPR. g. Submit three original, executed agreements for participation in the park club to DPR for their review and approval, eight weeks prior to a submission of a final plat of subdivision. Upon approval by DPR, the agreement shall be recorded among the Land Records of Prince George’s County, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. 5. Prior to submittal of any grading or building permits, the Applicant shall demonstrate that the Dunblane (Magruder family) Cemetery shall be preserved and protected in accordance with Section 24-135-02 of the Subdivision regulations, including: a. An inventory of existing cemetery elements. b. Measures to protect the cemetery during development. c. Provision of a permanent wall or fence to delineate the cemetery boundaries, and placement of an interpretive marker at a location close to or attached to the cemetery fence/wall. The Applicant shall submit for review and approval by the Historic Preservation staff, the design of the wall and design and proposed text for the marker at the Dunblane (Magruder family) cemetery. d. Preparation of a perpetual maintenance easement to be attached to the legal deed (i.e., the lot delineated to include the cemetery). Evidence of this easement shall be presented to and approved by the Planning Board or its designee prior to final plat. 128
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Appendix 6. Guide to Zoning Categories1 RESIDENTIAL ZONES
R-O-S: Reserved Open Space—Provides for permanent maintenance of certain areas of land in an undeveloped state, with the consent of the property owners; encourages preservation of large areas of trees and open space; designed to protect scenic and environmentally-sensitive areas and ensure retention of land for nonintensive active or passive recreational uses; provides for very low density residential development and a limited range of public, recreational, and agricultural uses. Minimum lot size
20 acres*
Maximum dwelling units per net acre
0.05
*Except for public recreational uses, for which no minimum area is required. O-S: Open Space—Provides for areas of low-intensity residential (5 acre) development; promotes the economic use and conservation of land for agriculture, natural resource use, large-lot residential estates, nonintensive recreational use. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
5 acres 0.20
R-A: Residential-Agricultural—Provides for large-lot (2 acre) residential uses while encouraging the retention of agriculture as a primary land use. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
2 acres 0.50
R-E: Residential-Estate—Permits large-lot estate subdivisions containing lots approximately one acre or larger. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre Estimated average dwelling units per acre
40,000 sq. ft. 1.08 0.85
Definitions— Minimum or standard lot size: The current minimum net contiguous land area required for a lot. Average dwelling units per acre: The number of dwelling units that may be built on a tract—including the typical mix of streets, public facilities sites, and areas within the 100-year floodplain—expressed as a per-acre average. 1
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R-R: Rural Residential—Permits approximately one-half-acre residential lots; subdivision lot sizes depend on date of recordation; allows a number of nonresidential special exception uses. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre Estimated average dwelling units per acre
20,000 sq. ft. 15,000 sq. ft. if recorded prior to February 1, 1970 10,000 sq. ft. if recorded prior to July 1, 1967 2.17 1.85
R-80: One-Family Detached Residential—Provides for variation in the size, shape, and width of subdivision lots to better utilize the natural terrain and to facilitate planning of single-family developments with lots and dwellings of various sizes and styles. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre Estimated average dwelling units per acre
9,500 sq. ft. 4.5 3.4
R-55: One-Family Detached Residential—Permits small-lot residential subdivisions; promotes high density, single-family detached dwellings. Standard lot sizes Maximum dwelling units per net acre Estimated average dwelling units per acre
6,500 sq. ft. 6.70 4.2
R-35: One-Family Semidetached, and Two-Family Detached, Residential—Provides generally for single-family attached development; allows twofamily detached; detailed site plan approval required for lots served by private rights-of-way. Standard lot sizes Maximum dwelling units per net acre Estimated average dwelling units per acre
3,500 sq. ft. for one-family, semidetached 7,000 sq. ft. for two-family, detached 12.44 8.5
R-T: Townhouse—Permits one-family detached and attached, two-family, and three-family dwellings; promotes the maximum amount of freedom in the design of attached dwellings and their grouping and layout; detailed site plan approval required for attached dwellings. Standard lot size per attached dwelling Maximum dwelling units per net acre Minimum area for development
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1,800 sq. ft. Three-family dwellings—9 Two-family dwellings—8 Other attached dwellings—6 2 acres
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R-20: One-Family Triple-Attached Residential—Permits single-family detached, semidetached and triple-attached and townhouse development. Detailed site plan approval required for townhouses. Standard lot sizes Maximum triple-attached dwellings per net acre Maximum townhouses per net acre Estimated average triple-attached dwelling units per net acre
3,200 sq. ft. for end lots 2,000 sq. ft. for interior townhouse lots 16.33 6.0 (same as R-T) 11
R-30: Multifamily Low Density Residential—Provides for low density garden apartments; single-family detached; single-family attached, two-family and three-family dwellings in accordance with R-T Zone provisions; detailed site plan approval required for multifamily and attached dwellings. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
Garden apartments—14,000 sq. ft. Two-family dwellings—1,500 sq. ft. Other attached dwellings—1,800 sq. ft. Garden apartments—10 Three-family dwellings—9 Two-family dwellings—8 Other attached dwellings—6
R-30C: Multifamily Low Density Residential-Condominium—Same as R-30 above except ownership must be condominium, or development in accordance with the R-T Zone; detailed site plan approval required for multifamily and attached dwellings. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
Garden apartments—14,000 sq. ft. Two-family dwellings—1,500 sq. ft. Other attached dwellings—1,800 sq. ft. Garden apartments—12 Three-family dwellings—9 Two-family dwellings—8 Other attached dwellings—6
R-18: Multifamily Medium Density Residential—Provides for multiple family (apartment) development of moderate density; single-family detached; single-family attached, two-family and three-family dwellings in accordance with R-T Zone provisions; detailed site plan approval required for multifamily and attached dwellings. Standard lot size
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Apartments—16,000 sq. ft. Two-family dwellings—1,500 sq. ft. Other attached dwellings—1,800 sq. ft.
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Maximum dwelling units per net acre
Garden apartments and three-family dwellings—12 Mid-rise apartments (4 or more stories with elevator)—20 Three-family dwellings—9 Two-family dwellings—8 Other attached dwellings—6
R-18C: Multifamily Medium Density Residential-Condominium—Same as above except ownership must be condominium, or development in accordance with the R-T Zone; detailed site plan approval required for multifamily and attached dwellings. Standard lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
Apartments—1 acre Two-family dwellings—1,500 sq. ft. Other attached dwellings—1,800 sq. ft. Garden apartments—14 Mid rise apartments (4 or more stories with elevator)—20 Three-family dwellings—9 Two-family dwellings—8 Other attached dwellings—6
R-H: Multifamily High-Rise Residential—Provides for suitable sites for high density, vertical residential development; also permits single-family detached dwellings; detailed site plan approval required for multifamily dwellings. Minimum lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
5 acres 48.4
R-10: Multifamily High Density Residential—Provides for suitable sites for high density residential in proximity to commercial and cultural centers; also permits single-family detached dwellings. Detailed site plan approval required for buildings 110 feet in height or less; special exception required for buildings over 110 feet in height. Minimum lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
20,000 sq. ft. 48
R-10A: Multifamily, High Density Residential-Efficiency—Provides for a multifamily zone designed for the elderly, singles, and small family groups. Detailed site plan approval required for buildings 110 feet in height or less; special exception required for buildings over 110 feet in height. Minimum lot size Maximum dwelling units per net acre
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2 acres 48 plus one for each 1,000 sq. ft. of indoor common area for social, recreational, or educational purposes.
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MIXED USE/PLANNED COMMUNITY ZONES
M-X-T: Mixed Use-Transportation Oriented—Provides for a variety of residential, commercial, and employment uses; mandates at least two out of the following three use categories: (1) Retail businesses; (2) Office/ Research/Industrial; (3) Dwellings, hotel/motel; encourages a 24-hour functional environment; must be located near a major intersection or a major transit stop or station and will provide adequate transportation facilities for the anticipated traffic or at a location for which the applicable Master Plan recommends mixed uses similar to those permitted in the M-X-T Zone. Lot size and dwelling types Maximum floor area ratio
No Restrictions 0.4 without optional method; 8.0 with optional method (provision of amenities)
M-X-C: Mixed Use Community—Provides for a comprehensively planned community with a balanced mix of residential, commercial, light manufacturing, recreational and public uses; includes a multistep review process to assure compatibility of proposed land uses with existing and proposed surrounding land uses, public facilities and public services; mandates that each development include residential uses, community use areas, neighborhood centers and an integrated public street system with a variety of street standards. Minimum tract size Lot size and dwelling types Maximum dwelling units per gross acre Maximum floor area ratio for commercial uses
750 gross acres No Restrictions 2 0.4
M-U-TC: Mixed-Use Town Center—Provides for a mix of commercial and limited residential uses which establish a safe, vibrant, 24-hour environment; designed to promote appropriate redevelopment of, and the preservation and adaptive reuse of selected buildings in, older commercial areas; establishes a flexible regulatory framework, based on community input, to encourage compatible development and redevelopment; mandates approval of a Development Plan at the time of zoning approval, that includes minimum and maximum Development Standards and Guidelines, in both written and graphic form, to guide and promote local revitalization efforts; provides for legally existing buildings to be expanded or altered, and existing uses for which valid permits have been issued to be considered permitted uses, and eliminating nonconforming building and use regulations for same. M-U-I: Mixed-Use Infill—Promotes Smart Growth principles by encouraging the efficient use of land, public facilities and services in areas that are substantially developed. These regulations are intended to create community environments enhanced by a mix of residential, commercial, recreational, open space, employment and institutional uses in accordance with approved plans. The infill zone may only be approved for property located in a Transit District Overlay Zone or a Development District Overlay Zone.
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R-P-C: Planned Community—Provides for a combination of uses permitted in all zones, to promote a large-scale community development with a full range of dwellings providing living space for a minimum of 500 families; encourages recreational, commercial, institutional, and employment facilities within the planned community; requires conformance with an Official Plan identifying zoning subcategories, that has been adopted by the Planning Board following approval of a Final Plan by the District Council at the time of rezoning, and for certain R-P-C Zones, approval of a detailed site plan prior to development. Lot size and dwelling types Maximum dwelling units per gross acre
Varied 8
R-M-H: Planned Mobile Home Community—Provides for suitable sites for planned mobile home communities, including residences and related recreational, commercial, and service facilities, subject to detailed site plan approval. Minimum lot size Maximum mobile homes per acre
4,000 sq. ft. 7
COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN ZONES
(These zones require three-phase development plan review, the first of which is basic plan approval at the time of rezoning that establishes general land use types, land use relationships, and minimum land use quantities. In zones providing for density and intensity ranges, increases in base density and intensity within the limits prescribed are allowed in return for public benefit features provided by the developer.) R-L: Residential Low Development—Provides for low-density residential development in areas recommended by a master plan for alternative lowdensity development techniques. The zone allows a mixture of residential types and lot sizes generally corresponding to single-family development; provides for limited commercial uses necessary to serve the dominant residential uses. Minimum tract size Low .5 Low 1.0
Generally 100 adjoining gross acres Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—.5 Maximum density—.9 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre Base Density (dwelling units per gross acre)—1.0 Maximum density—1.5 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre
R-S: Residential Suburban Development—A mixture of residential types within the suburban density range generally corresponding to low-density single-family development; provides for limited commercial uses necessary to serve the dominant residential uses. Minimum tract size Suburban 1.6 134
Generally 25 adjoining gross acres Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—1.6 Maximum density—2.6 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
Suburban 2.7
Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—2.7 Maximum density—3.5 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre
R-M: Residential Medium Development—A mixture of residential types with a medium-density range; provides for limited commercial uses necessary to serve the dominant residential uses. Minimum tract size Medium 3.6 Medium 5.8
Generally 10 adjoining gross acres Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—3.6 Maximum density—5.7 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—5.8 Maximum density—7.9 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre
R-U: Residential Urban Development—A mixture of residential types generally associated with an urban environment; provides for limited commercial uses necessary to serve the dominant residential uses. Minimum tract size Urban 8.0 Urban 12.0
Generally 5 adjoining gross acres Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—8.0 Maximum density—11.9 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre Base density (dwelling units per gross acre)—12.0 Maximum density—16.9 Maximum mixed retirement development density—8 du/gross acre
L-A-C: Local Activity Center—A mixture of commercial retail and service uses along with complementary residential densities within a hierarchy of centers servicing three distinct service areas: neighborhood, village, and community. Neighborhood Minimum tract size Base residential density Maximum residential density Base commercial intensity Maximum commercial intensity Maximum mixed retirement development density
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4 adjoining gross ac. 8 du/gross resid. ac. 12.1 du/gross resid. ac. 0.16 FAR 0.31 FAR 8 du/gross ac..
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Village Minimum tract size Base residential density Maximum residential density Base commercial intensity Maximum commercial intensity Maximum mixed retirement development density
10 adjoining gross ac. 10 du/gross resid. ac. 15 du/gross resid. ac. 0.2 FAR 0.64 FAR 8 du/gross ac.
Community Minimum tract size Base residential density Maximum residential density Base commercial intensity Maximum commercial intensity Maximum mixed retirement development density
20 adjoining gross ac. 10 du/gross resid. ac. 20 du/gross resid. ac. 0.2 FAR 0.68 FAR 8 du/gross ac.
M-A-C: Major Activity Center—A mixture of uses which serve a regional residential market or provide concentrated employment, arranged to allow easy pedestrian access between uses; two types of functional centers are described: Major Metro and New Town or Corridor City. Minimum tract size
Generally 40 adjoining gross acres
Metro Center Base residential density 48 du/gross resid. ac. Maximum residential density 125 du/gross resid. ac. Base commercial intensity 1.0 FAR/gross commercial ac. Maximum commercial intensity 2.7 FAR/gross commercial ac. Minimum residential floor area 20% of total at time of full development Maximum mixed retirement development density 8 du/gross ac. New Town or City Corridor Center Base residential density Maximum residential density Base commercial intensity Maximum commercial intensity Minimum residential floor area Max. mixed retirement development density
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10 du/gross resid. ac. 47.9 du/gross resid. ac. 0.2 FAR/gross commercial ac. 0.88 FAR/gross commercial ac. 20% of total at time of full development 8 du/gross ac.
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E-I-A: Employment and Institutional Area—A concentration of nonretail employment and institutional uses and services such as medical, manufacturing, office, religious, educational, recreational, and governmental. Minimum tract size Minimum open space improved by landscaping
Generally 5 adjoining gross acres 20% of net lot area
V-L: Village-Low—Provides for a variety of residential, commercial, recreational, and employment uses within a traditional village setting surrounded by open space; mandates the following land use area categories: (1) Village Proper; (2) Village Fringe; (3) Residential Areas; (4) Village Buffer; and (5) Recreational Areas. Land use areas are arranged to allow a sense of community with linkage via a pedestrian network to a core which contains commercial, civic, community, and residential uses; also mandates a mixture of residential types and lot sizes, including affordable housing units; includes detailed design standards and building materials requirements. This zone may be utilized in areas recommended for permanent low density by a master plan. Minimum tract size Maximum density
150 contiguous gross acres 1.3 dwelling units per gross acre
V-M: Village-Medium—Provides for a variety of residential, commercial, recreational, and employment uses within a traditional village setting surrounded by open space; mandates the following land use area categories: (1) Village Proper; (2) Village Fringe; (3) Residential Areas; (4) Village Buffer; and (5) Recreational Areas. Land use areas are arranged to allow a sense of community with linkage via a pedestrian network to a core which contains commercial, civic, community, and residential uses; also mandates a mixture of residential types and lot sizes, including affordable housing units; includes detailed design standards and building materials requirements. This zone may be utilized in areas recommended for permanent low density by a master plan. Minimum tract size Maximum density
300 contiguous gross acres 2.0 dwelling units per gross acre
COMMERCIAL ZONES
C-O: Commercial Office—Uses of a predominantly nonretail commercial nature, such as business, professional and medical offices, or related administrative services. C-A: Ancillary Commercial—Certain small retail commercial uses, physician and dental offices, and similar professional offices that are strictly related to and supply necessities in frequent demand and daily needs of an area with a minimum of consumer travel; maximum size of zone: 3 net acres. C-1: Local Commercial, Existing—All of the uses permitted in the C-S-C Zone. C-2: General Commercial, Existing—All of the uses permitted in the C-S-C Zone, with additions and modifications. C-C: Community Commercial, Existing—All of the uses permitted in the C-S-C Zone. C-G: General Commercial, Existing—All of the uses permitted in the C-S-C Zone.
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C-S-C: Commercial Shopping Center—Retail and service commercial activities generally located within shopping center facilities; size will vary according to trade area. C-H: Highway Commercial, Existing—All of the uses permitted in the C-M Zone. C-M: Commercial Miscellaneous—Varied commercial uses, including office and highway-oriented uses, which may be disruptive to the compactness and homogeneity of retail shopping centers. C-W: Commercial Waterfront—Marine activities related to tourism, vacationing, boating and sports, water-oriented recreation, together with limited employment areas which cater to marine activities along a waterfront. C-R-C: Commercial Regional Center—Provides locations for major regional shopping malls and related uses that are consistent with the concept of an upscale mall. Minimum area for development—one hundred (100) gross continuous acres; maximum FAR—.75; maximum building height—75 ft.; maximum building coverage, excluding parking—50%; detailed site plan approval required.
Industrial Zones
I-1: Light Industrial—Light intensity manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution uses; 10% green area required. I-2: Heavy Industrial—Highly intensive industrial and manufacturing uses; 10% green area required. I-3: Planned Industrial/Employment Park—Uses that will minimize detrimental effects on residential and other adjacent areas; a mixture of industrial, research, and office uses with compatible institutional, recreational, and service uses in a manner that will retain the dominant industrial/employment character of the zone; standard minimum tract size of 25 adjoining gross acres; standard minimum lot size of two acres; conceptual and detailed site plan approval required; 25% green area required; outdoor uses restricted; warehousing and wholesaling uses limited. I-4: Limited Intensity Industrial—Limited intensity (0.3 FAR) commercial, manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution uses; development standards extended to assure limited intensity industrial and commercial development, and compatibility with surrounding zoning and uses; 25% green area required. U-L-I: Urban Light Industrial—Designed to attract and retain a variety of small-scale light industrial uses in older, mostly developed industrial areas located close to established residential communities; establishes a flexible regulatory process with appropriate standards to promote reinvestment in, and redevelopment of, older urban industrial areas as employment centers, in a manner compatible with adjacent residential areas.
OVERLAY ZONES
T-D-O: Transit District Overlay—Intended to ensure that development in a designated district meets the goals established in a Transit District Development Plan. Transit Districts may be designated in the vicinity of Metro stations to maximize transit ridership, serve the economic and social goals of the area, and take advantage of the unique development opportunities which mass transit provides. D-D-O: Development District Overlay—Intended to ensure that development in a designated district meets the goals established in a master plan, master plan amendment or sector plan. Development districts may be designated for town centers, Metro areas, commercial corridors, employment centers, revitalization areas, historic areas and other special areas as identified in approved plans. 138
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
CHESAPEAKE BAY CRITICAL AREA OVERLAY ZONES
I-D-O: Intense Development Overlay—To conserve and enhance fish, wildlife, and plant habitats and improve the quality of runoff that enters the Chesapeake Bay, while accommodating existing residential, commercial, or industrial land uses. To promote new residential, commercial and industrial land uses with development intensity limits. Maximum residential density is the same as the underlying zone. L-D-O: Limited Development Overlay—To maintain and/or improve the quality of runoff entering the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay and to maintain existing areas of natural habitat, while accommodating additional low- or moderate-intensity development. Maximum residential density is the same as the underlying zone, up to 4.0 du/net acre maximum. R-C-O: Resource Conservation Overlay—To provide adequate breeding, feeding and wintering habitats for wildlife, to protect the land and water resources base necessary to support resource-oriented land uses, and to conserve existing woodland and forests for water quality benefits along the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Maximum residential density—.05 du/ gross acre.
REVITALIZATION OVERLAY DISTRICTS
R-O-D: Revitalization Overlay District—Intended to ensure the orderly development or redevelopment of land within a designated district. Revitalization Districts provide a mechanism for the county to delegate full authority to local municipalities to approve departures from parking, landscaping and sign standards. In addition, limited authority is also delegated for the approval of variances from building setbacks, lot coverage, yards and other dimensional requirements of existing zoning.
ARCHITECTURAL OVERLAY DISTRICTS
A-C-O: Architectural Conservation Overlay—Intended to ensure that development and redevelopment efforts preserve and protect the architectural or design character of neighborhoods in accordance with an approved architectural conservation plan. Conservation districts may be designated in areas where the majority of properties have been developed and they exhibit distinct, unifying elements, characteristics, design or other physical features.
Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment
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CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION AND APPROVAL This Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment amends portions of the 1994 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for Melwood-Westphalia (Planning Areas 77 and 78); the 2002 Prince George’s County Approved General Plan for the physical development of the Maryland-Washington Regional District within Prince George’s County, Maryland; the 2005 Countywide Green Infrastructure Functional Master Plan; the 1982 Master Plan of Transportation; the 1983 Functional Master Plan for Public School Sites; the 1990 Public Safety Master Plan; the 1992 Prince George’s County Historic Sites and Districts Plan; and the 1975 Countywide Trails Plan, including the 1985 Equestrian Addendum. The Prince George’s County Planning Board of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission adopted the sector plan and sectional map amendment by PGCPB Resolution No. 06-159 on July 6, 2006, after a duly advertised joint public hearing held on May 23, 2006, in conjunction with the Prince George’s County Council, sitting as the District Council, pursuant to the provisions of Section 27-645 of the County Code of Prince George’s County, Maryland. The Prince George’s County Council, sitting as the District Council, approved the sector plan and sectional map amendment by Resolution No. CR-2-2007 (DR-2) on February 6, 2007, after a duly advertised joint public hearing hearings held on September 19, 2006, and January 17, 2007 THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION
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Samuel J. Parker, Jr., AICP Chairman
Royce Hanson Vice Chairman
__________________________________________ Patricia Colihan Barney Secretary-Treasurer
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Approved Westphalia Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment