Business & Tech

Proposed Bowie Walmart Hits Planning Board Bump

Prince George's County Planning Board staff recommended disapproval of the retailer's application for a special exception to build a Supercenter within city limits.

The proposal for a new Walmart Supercenter in Bowie hit another road block Thursday when the Prince George's County Planning Board staff recommended disapproval of the retail giant's application for a special exception to build the 186,000 square foot store.

In their report, planning board staff said they had "serious misgivings" about the plans' lack of conformance with the 2006 Bowie and Vicinity Master Plan. 

"...the application does not conform to the master plan policies, strategies, and guidelines pertaining to the type of commercial building and uses, which specifically discourages 'big-box' commercial uses," reads the staff report.

A few weeks ago, the Bowie City Council recommended approval of the special exception—which is required in Prince George's County for any retailer building a store larger than 125,000 square feet—based on the city planning staff's report on the project.

In their report, city staff concluded a Walmart Supercenter would not "substantially impair the master plan." 

A week prior, the Bowie Advisory Planning Board came to the opposite conclusion, and recommended that the council not support the special exception

Currently, there is a 20-year-old Walmart on Route 301 in Collington Plaza. Walmart proposed to replace that store with a new and updated Supercenter that would be located roughly across the street. The proposal for this store is part of the company's plan to increase its presence in Prince George's County

The proposed store—which, if approved, would be located at intersection of northbound Rt. 301 and Mill Branch Road—would employ about 80 more people than the current store, and have a significant grocery component. 

The planning board staff's disapproval of the special exception to build the store does not shut down the project completely. 

The planning board did not hear Walmart's application for special exception Thursday, but instead remanded it to the county's Zoning Hearing Examiner's Office for a public hearing, reported the Gazette. The zoning examiners hold public hearings on various zoning matters in Prince George's County, and have the authority to approve or deny applications, such as the the one submitted by Walmart. 

The decision of the zoning hearing examiners can be appealed to the Prince George's County District Council, which is made of the Prince George's County Council Members. 

Walmart remains optimistic about building a new store in Bowie. 

"We look forward to providing the community and our customers in the Bowie area with more convenient shopping options that include both affordable food and a wide assortment of general merchandise," Amanda Henneberg, a spokesperson for Walmart, said to Patch in an email. 


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