Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee Meeting - July 6, 2026
Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee Meeting - July 6, 2026
The Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee of the Prince George's County Council met on Monday, July 6, 2026, at 11:30 AM in Committee Room 2027. The meeting was called to order with all five members present: Chair Thomas Dernoga, Vice Chair Eric Olson, Council Members Sydney Harrison, Danielle Hunter, and Timothy Adams. The committee considered two related pieces of legislation—CB-067-2026 and CR-062-2026—aimed at consolidating and updating the permitting fee schedule for the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE). Both items were unanimously recommended favorably.
Discussion Items
CB-067-2026 – AN ACT CONCERNING PERMITTING FEES This bill amends provisions of the County Code to consolidate all permitting fees and charges into one comprehensive Table of Fees. It allows a technology and administrative fee to be assessed for permit fees, clarifies refund parameters, adds new permit fee categories, corrects fees and fines, and permits certain fees for site sediment and erosion control applications to be set by the Prince George's County Soil Conservation District.
- Committee Director J. Kenneth Battle, Jr. summarized the legislation, explaining that CB-067 removes specific fee language from various code sections and replaces it with references to the fee table, making fees easier to find. CR-062 is the procedural resolution required to adopt changes to the fee schedule.
- Laurie Parris, DPIE Chief of Staff, noted this cleanup is similar to one done in 2021 but that several older fee provisions were missed. She stated the goal is to put all fees in one place for customer transparency. Parris explained that fee increases have been incremental: a 10% increase in 2021, a 20% increase in 2023, and another adjustment in 2024, bringing DPIE fees closer to those of surrounding jurisdictions, though some jurisdictions remain significantly higher.
- Council Member Adams asked about the refund process and whether the changes would slow DPIE operations. Parris responded that the refund process has improved through coordination with the Office of Finance, and consolidating fees in one place will speed up updates to the Momentum system and increase transparency.
- Council Member Harrison asked about the projected financial benefit. Parris stated that DPIE had not yet calculated the exact number but could provide it by the public hearing. Committee Director Battle noted that OMB was still calculating the figure.
- Council Member Hunter clarified that the bill updates some fees that were over 15 years old. Where the technology fee was previously 5%, the new fee schedule will apply a 10% technology fee on top of the base fee plus a $69 administrative fee. Parris confirmed that this is consistent with the changes made in the last fee update.
CR-062-2026 – A RESOLUTION CONCERNING DEPARTMENT OF PERMITTING, INSPECTIONS AND ENFORCEMENT - FEE INCREASE This resolution amends the Table of Fees adopted by Council Resolution 87-2024, which authorized a 20% increase of all fees along with a 10% Technology Fee. The resolution requires council approval after notice and public hearing.
- Steven Darcy, Executive Director of the Soil Conservation District, explained that his district sets its own fees independently. The language in CB-067 clarifies that the Soil Conservation District sets its own fees for sediment and erosion control application reviews, removing them from the county code. Darcy noted that the district has not raised its fees in 20 years and currently sees no need to do so, but will monitor costs.
- John Tarr, also from the Soil Conservation District, added that the district uses a three-year approval cycle for erosion and sediment control plans (increased from two years to encourage development). He noted that from a manpower perspective, the district is “in the red” due to increased engagement, training, and handholding with applicants, though the fees themselves cover non-salary expenses. Darcy emphasized that the district focuses on providing value first and would bring any future fee increases to the council.
- Council Member Adams asked about forecasting long-term fees for large projects. Darcy explained that the district bills only for the acreage brought to the table at the time of application. The committee discussed the need to ensure the district has adequate tools and technology to keep processes timely.
Key Outcomes
- CB-067-2026: A motion by Vice Chair Olson, seconded by Council Member Hunter, to recommend a favorable vote passed unanimously (5-0).
- CR-062-2026: A motion by Vice Chair Olson, seconded by Council Member Hunter, to recommend a favorable vote passed unanimously (5-0).
- The meeting adjourned at 12:01 PM. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good morning, everyone. This is the uh Transportation Infrastructure Energy and Environment Committee. Today is Monday, July 6, 2026. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Chair Dinoga. Present. Vice Chair Olson. Here. Councilmember Hunter? Here. Councilmember Harrison. I'm present. Councilmember Adams. Present. Five members present at roll call. Okay, so we have two items today a bill and a resolution dealing with permitting fees. Um we have uh folks from the sewer conservation and DePy here. So we will turn to Mr. Battle and he will get us oriented. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh members of the committee. Uh for as a brief summary, CB67, 2026, and CR62 uh 2026 uh in combination will uh update the uh fee schedule uh for fees that are uh implemented and and charged by the department of public, I mean permits inspections and enforcement. Um and so CB67 amends various sections of the county code by replacing specific fee languages with references to the fee table. So one of the goals here is to consolidate all of the fees and put it in the fee table so that it's easier to um find these fees and identify them. Um so what CB67 does goes through several uh sections of the county code that uh refer to specific fees and take that language out and simply make references to the fee table. The the resolution um is basically what's required procedurally um that the council has to adopt um changes to the fee schedule by resolution. Now the folks that we have here, Miss Laurie Parris here for chief of staff from DeepI. We also have Mr. Steven Darcy here, who is the executive director of the soil conservation district and is joined by Mr. John Tarr from the uh conservation district as well. Now, one of the changes that's happening here is specifically uh specifying that the soil conservation district gets to uh implement the fees that are charged for sediment and erosion control applications. So um the um staff are here to um answer any specific questions you have. Uh Ms. Paris can go into some of the um updates to the fee schedule, which include uh the uh technology fee that is being specifically put in. I believe it's um it will be 10 percent now, and that so what you have in both situations, the resolution and the bill, there's an attachment A, which is the current fee schedule, and attachment B, which is the proposed fee schedule that would be in place after the changes. So, Mr. Chair, that's my um summary, and we're ready to answer any questions you have. Any questions of Mr. Uh Battle? No. Ms. Uh Paris, would you like to address the bill? Good morning, council. Um, thank you for the opportunity to be heard today. I think actually, Mr. Battle explained everything uh very clearly. The only thing I would just add is that um this clean this cleanup is similar to the cleanup we did in 2021 with um I believe some of you were on the council at the time, where we had several um code provisions actually in the text of the code and not in the fee table. So when we did that major uh rewrite in 2021, we took as we fought everything out of the code provisions and put it into the fee table. Um we realized that there were several um ones that we missed, and we realized that as a result of a project.
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