Bowie Council Disapproves Buckingham Subdivision, 6-0

Subdividing his property just got a little more difficult for one Bowie resident after the Bowie City Council voted unanimously last night to disapprove his preliminary plan of subdivision.

Sean Yerby, who lives in the 2700 block of Bartlett Ln., asked the council to approve a plan that would divide his 32,494 square-foot lot into three three parcels.

The reason for the subdivision is financial hardship, according to Yerby’s engineer Greg Benefiel. Yerby intends being to build single family homes on the lot to sell at a profit.

The lot where the current home sits would be 8,882 sqft., and the two new proposed lots where new homes could be built would be 9,457 sqft. and 14,155 sqft., respectively.

The property sits on a corner lot with frontages on Belair Drive, Beaverdale Lane and Bartlett Lane.

City planning staff recommended disapproval of the plan, stating in its report that:

...the proposal to create three new residential lots meets the Adequate Public Facilities test, it does not meet the recommendations of the 2006 Bowie and Vicinity Master Plan and the County Subdivision Regulations in terms of protecting the existing neighborhood character: by proposing the create lots that will not conform with the area Master Plan text and, by not preserving environmentally sensitive areas, such as the steep slopes found on the site.

The Bowie Advisory Planning Board recommended disapproval of the plan last week, stating it did not comply with the 2006 Master Plan for the city. Benefiel said the planning board had not taken Yerby’s rights as a community member into consideration.

“He has a right to develop his property,” Benefiel said.

Several area residents attended Monday’s public hearing to speak in opposition to the project.

“We are very concerned about the precedent being set to divide a residential property in Buckingham at Belair,” said Charlie Rogers, who lives at Belhurst Lane.

Bowie is a Levitt planned community, said Rogers, and should not be further divided.

Cherlyn Hester of Saber Lane also raised concerns over dividing the lot and the aesthetics increasing housing density.

“I just don’t think original planners or planners of the city intended on additional subdivision of the lots,” Hester said, who added the dividing Yerby’s lot could have far reaching implications on the city.

Ralph Staub echoed Hester's concerns, saying Levitt got it right the first time.

"If we wanted to live in a high density area, we'd move to Montgomery County,” Staub said.

Testimony continued in that vein, with residents raising concerns about increased traffic, decreased visibility on the corner where the property is located, interference with the aesthetics of the community, and increased density.

Yerby and his engineer disagreed, saying that two more homes would not increase traffic significantly, and that there had been newer homes built in Levitt Bowie in the past 30 years that had not impacted the aesthetic of the neighborhood.

The council ultimately sided against Yerby and Benefiel, largely agreeing that dividing the lot would not be in keeping character of Bowie and was not in compliance with the master plan. They voted unanimously to disapprove the subdivisions, 6-0.

The preliminary plans will be heard by the Prince George’s County Planning Board on July 20. Though the disapproval of the city council will have some weight, the decision lies with the planning board.

Although city planning staff did recommend disapproval of Yerby's current plan, they did say that subdividing the property into two lots may be possible if he were able to meet the conditions outlined in the staff report. Such a plan was not considered at Monday's meeting.