Buckingham at Belair Subdivision "Deemed Approval"

The much debated proposed subdivision in Buckingham at Belair was “deemed approved” on Thursday after the Prince George’s County Planning Board was unable to reach a consensus on the application.

Though various motions were made at times during the hearing to deny, approve, only approve one more lot, or to have a continuance, the planning board was unable to break the 2-2 tie. When the planning board is unable to come to a consensus, the decision defaults to the applicant. Because of the tie, the approval was granted without any conditions.

“I’m absolutely speechless,” Bowie Councilwoman Diane Polangin (District 2) said. “I’ve never seen anything handled like that in my life.”

The planning board’s decision grants Bowie resident Sean Yerby the right to move forward with his plans to subdivide his 32,494 square-foot lot in Buckingham at Belair into three parcels. The property sits on a corner lot with frontages on Belair Drive, Beaverdale Lane and Bartlett Lane.

This approval comes over the objections of the Bowie City Council and the Bowie Advisory Planning Board, who found that the proposed subdivision subdivision was not in keeping with the 2006 Bowie Master Plan. Some residents also objected to the proposal, saying it was not keeping with the character of the neighborhood and would increase density and traffic in the community.

Planning board staff did not agree with the city of Bowie, saying in their report to the planning board that they found the subdivision did conform to the 2006 Bowie Master Plan. 

Planning Board Chair Elizabeth Hewlett and Vice Chair Dorothy Bailey voted in support of the subdivision and Commissioners Manuel Geraldo and John Schoaff opposed the application.

“Clearly I’m not happy with the decision or the ramifications,” Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinson said.

Robinson hopes this decision will “shine a bright light” on the fact that only in Prince George’s County can a city the size of Bowie not make any decisions regarding land use.

“If this were Rockville or Gaithersburg, this would not have happened,” Robinson said.

Robinson, Polangin and other city council officials plan to meet with city staff and attorneys today and discuss next steps. The city does have 30 days to appeal the planning board’s decision in district court, though neither Robinson nor Polangin were certain the city would take that action.

“The court is very unlikely to overturn an administrative board when they are acting with the scope of their duties,” Robinson said, though he said the fact that the decision was split might work in the city’s favor.

Polangin was also concerned with the potential costs of a legal appeal.