Prince George's County Council Legislative Day 37 — October 27, 2026

The Prince George's County Council met at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the County Hearing Room of the Wayne K. Curry Administration Building in Largo, Maryland, for Legislative Day No. 37. Chair Krystal Oriadha presided. The Council approved routine items, took extensive public testimony, enacted numerous land-use and housing bills, and completed the National Harbor "Sphere" financing package. Votes are shown as yes-no-abstaining where the transcript provided a tally.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the October 20, 2026 County Council minutes (9-0).
• Authorized the chair's signature on a letter to PGCPS Superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph supporting the FY 2026 Final Financial Review and Transfer Request, which reallocates $32,949,683 among Board of Education appropriation categories (motion carried 10-0).
• Later approved a joint FY 2028 capital-improvement priorities letter to the Maryland Interagency Commission on School Construction (11-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Greg Smith, speaking in the general public comment period, urged the Council to take climate change seriously, citing European Union projections of 3 degrees Celsius warming and 50,000 European heat-related deaths, and said resolutions and summits alone are insufficient.
• Data-center bill CB-019 drew broad support from Janet Gringle, Beth Landry (CCAN Action Fund), Greg Smith, Henry Wixon (Glendale Citizens Association), Taylor Frazier-McCollum, and Kevin, a District 2 resident. Speakers called for detailed site-plan review, no grandfathering, clean energy, and stronger comprehensive data-center rules; Taylor Frazier-McCollum cited a 25,000-signature petition opposing the Landover data center. Alexander Austin (Prince George's Chamber of Commerce) opposed CB-019, saying a two-year moratorium already exists and the bill is regulatory overreach.
• Tenant-protection bills CB-113, CB-114, and CB-115 were supported by Martin Michaels (We Are Casa) and Lisa Saro (Community Legal Services). They emphasized that tenants need relocation-rights notices at lease signing, plain-language multilingual resources, and timely access to inspection reports and enforcement information.
• CB-111, the Sphere special-obligation bond bill, drew opposition from Christopher Goans, who called the economic analysis's construction-job numbers misleading, and from Dan Smith, who associated himself with Greater Capital Heights Improvement Corporation testimony questioning the use of public financing at National Harbor while transit-oriented corridors remain incomplete.
• CB-076, CB-084, and CB-090 were opposed by Henry Wixon (Glendale Citizens Association), Greg Smith, and Dan Smith, who argued shortened appeal timelines and simultaneous approvals would erode due process, public participation, and the legal functions of sequential reviews.
• CB-077 was opposed by Greg Smith for being too broad. CB-081 drew support from Edward Gibbs (Judah Temple AME Zion Church), Jacqueline Smith, Kelly Shim Andrews, Vincent Lizaire, and Dr. Aku Tabeta, and opposition from Henry Wixon and Greg Smith, who called it spot zoning. CB-082 was supported by Taylor Frazier-McCollum as overdue implementation of state cannabis law.
• CB-083 drew extensive opposition from convenience-store owners, franchisees, wholesalers, and the Prince George's Chamber of Commerce. Speakers said tobacco sales account for 20-30% of revenue at some stores, would push sales to neighboring jurisdictions, and could close community stores. Bruce Barriano argued the bill is unconstitutional and preempted by state law. Greg Smith supported the bill's public-health intent; Taylor Frazier-McCollum opposed it as ineffective and harmful to food access.
• CB-112 drew supportive testimony from Dan Smith, a former Fair Election Fund Commission member, who urged steady future funding for public campaign financing.

Discussion Items

• CB-019-2026 (qualified data centers): Councilmember Fisher offered a last-minute amendment to create an interim council-review process for data-center applications. Council staff and the Office of Law advised that the amendment was substantive and would require another public hearing; Councilmember Adams-Stafford said she had not been given time to review it. The amendment was not voted on after the second was withdrawn, and the clean bill was enacted.
• Sphere/National Harbor package: The Council approved a supplier-diversity letter amendment requiring concurrence from the director and purchasing agent of the Office of Procurement before any construction-package threshold falls below $130 million. It then enacted CB-111-2026 authorizing up to $215 million in special obligation bonds for the immersive entertainment venue and refunding of the Series 2022 National Harbor bonds; enacted CB-132-2026 creating the Sphere Community Impact Fund for communities within six miles; adopted CR-121-2026 approving the TIF proposal and certifications; and adopted CR-090-2026 amending the National Harbor Development District formation resolution and dissolving the National Harbor Special Taxing District.
• CB-077-2026 (community service and commercial uses in RSF-A zones) initially failed on a 5-0-2 vote. Vice Chair Olson moved reconsideration, and the Council then enacted it 8-0-2.
• CB-083-2026 (convenience store tobacco sales): An amendment exempting establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages passed 7-0-3; the bill as amended was enacted 6-3-2, with members citing legal concerns about state preemption.
• CB-084-2026 and CB-090-2026 (streamlining site plan and subdivision review) were amended in committee; the Council enacted them 8-0-2 and 9-0-1 respectively after members noted simultaneous reviews were already common practice and the bills had been narrowed.
• CR-098-2026 (energy infrastructure planning) was substituted with a draft that removes the planning department as administrator of an energy-district framework, adds consultation with the Maryland Energy Administration, and requires recommendations through the Plan 2050 update; the substitute, amendment, and final adoption all carried, with final adoption 11-0.
• CR-107-2026 and CR-108-2026 (Subregion 5 master plan and sectional map amendment) were added to the agenda by a 7-2-1 vote, but later motions to suspend the rules failed, so the Council did not adopt them.
• CB-076-2026 had a public hearing with opposition testimony, but no final roll-call vote appears in the transcript; the Council moved to other agenda items.

Key Outcomes

• Enacted CB-019-2026, CB-035-2026, CB-082-2026, CB-084-2026, CB-090-2026, CB-112-2026, CB-113-2026, CB-114-2026, CB-115-2026, CB-116-2026, CB-118-2026, CB-121-2026, CB-122-2026, CB-123-2026, CB-124-2026, CB-125-2026, CB-126-2026, CB-127-2026, CB-128-2026, CB-129-2026, CB-130-2026, CB-132-2026, and, after reconsideration, CB-077-2026. CB-083-2026 was enacted as amended.
• Enacted CB-130-2026, authorizing $788,587,000 in general obligation bonds, $161,463,000 in stormwater management bonds, and up to $950,050,000 in bond anticipation notes for FY 2027 capital projects.
• Authorized up to $38,500,000 in MWIFA loan revenue obligations for stormwater and watershed projects (CB-116-2026).
• Adopted resolutions CR-080-2026 (Social Housing Task Force), CR-082-2026 (Universal Design fees), CR-090-2026 (National Harbor TIF and formation amendment), CR-097-2026 (Water and Sewer Plan amendments), CR-098-2026 (energy infrastructure planning), CR-100-2026 (State's Attorney salary schedule), CR-101-2026 (climate action leadership), CR-103-2026 (Local Impact Grant multiyear plan), CR-104-2026 and CR-105-2026 (Flats at Glenridge Station surcharge waivers), CR-115-2026 (county-owned grocery store implementation plan), CR-116-2026 (WSSC refunding plan), CR-117-2026, CR-118-2026, CR-119-2026, CR-120-2026 (Subregion 1 and Central Branch Avenue plan/SMA approvals), and CR-122-2026 (grant-making transparency task force).
• Authorized a letter to the County Executive and Police Chief regarding Flock safety cameras and similar surveillance technologies (11-0).
• Approved an executive session under Maryland Code General Provisions Article §3-305(b)(7)-(8) regarding pending litigation (11-0), then adjourned.