Bowie residents object to plans for Route 450 development
Bowie residents opposed to development plans near Sacred Heart Catholic Church made a show of force Monday night at what was supposed to be a simple question-and-answer session.
More than 200 residents showed up, with some standing in the back of the City Council chambers and others watching on TV from the lobby of Bowie City Hall.
Representatives from Elm Street Development, a Northern Virginia firm that hopes to build on three parcels of land along Route 450 east of Race Track Road, gave a presentation on their plans for a 440-home development.
But those in attendance weren't eager to hear what they had to say.
"We do not want you. We want nothing to do with you," a resident shouted at one point.
"You are not the least bit concerned" about current residents, another said.
Several residents expressed concern about adding traffic to an already congested Route 450, which shrinks to a single lane in each direction in front of the land where the new homes would be. Others were worried about the effect development might have on school capacity and the potential loss of green space. The land tracts in question are all heavily wooded areas.
iona Moodie, who lives in the Idlewild subdivision north of Route 450 and east of Race Track Road, said she contacted more than 2,000 households to alert residents about Monday's meeting. The city sent out notices about the meeting to about 300 residents whose homes would be the closest to the proposed development.
"We really simply don't have enough green space left in his community," she said. "You cannot develop, develop, develop without providing the infrastructure behind it. Route 450 is dangerous, and (nearby) Route 301 has accidents that cause fatalities on a regular basis. These are issues that have to be addressed before we can even consider building another house in the area."
Jude Burke, the vice president of Elm Street Development, said he understood that residents are resistant.
"That usually goes with the territory, especially with a rezoning case," he said. "We're accustomed to that. We do our best to work with the community that lives there."
Burke's group has a contract to purchase 154 acres of land from the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, which has owned the property for hundreds of years. The land is part of what locals colloquially refer to as "the Jesuit property," so-called because of the religious order that owns the land.
The group is seeking a zoning change that would allow for greater density on those three tracts of land. The company envisions a 440-home development – of a similar density to the surrounding neighborhoods — that would include both single-family homes and townhouses.
At this point, the county has not yet accepted Elm Street Development's request for a zoning change. Once that application is accepted, it will be reviewed by the city's planning committee, the city council, the county planning board, the zoning hearing examiner and then, potentially, the Prince George's County Council. Council members sit as the District Council when dealing with matters related to planning and zoning.
The Bowie City Council cannot set zoning policy. The council can only make recommendations to the county, although that recommendation usually carries significant weight.
The development could also be stymied by an inability to tie into the city's water and sewer lines. Burke's group has expressed an interest in having the land annexed into the city, thus enabling the developer to tie into the city's water and sewer lines.
However, if city leaders decide to decline that request, it could affect the progress of the development. The developers would have to tie into the closest WSSC line, which is about two miles away.
