Prince George's County Zoning Hearing Examiner ZMA-2025-004 Edelen Property Rezone, October 28, 2026

On October 28, 2026, Zoning Hearing Examiner Maureen McNeil held a hybrid public hearing on ZMA-2025-004, an application by DRB Group Mid Atlantic LLC, contract purchaser of the 254.14-acre Edelen Property at 10755 Piscataway Road in Clinton, Maryland. The applicant requested rezoning from the RE (Residential Estate) Zone to the R-PD (Residential Planned Development) Zone to permit approximately 530 single-family detached dwellings. The applicant emphasized that the proposed density is below the Subregion 5 Master Plan's recommended residential-low density of 3.5 units per acre. The Prince George's County Planning Board recommended approval. No opposition appeared in the room or online.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public testified in opposition, and no public comment session was requested. At the start of the hearing, the examiner asked for opponents in the room or online; none were identified.

Discussion Items

• Preliminary matters: Applicant's attorney Thomas Haller requested the record be held open to submit a formal application form because the county's DARTS filing system does not collect all information required by Section 27-3602 A5. He also substituted a signed boundary survey, marked as revised Exhibit 54, for the unsigned version transmitted by planning staff.
• DRB acquisition witness: Keita Sinyapanya, DRB Homes director of land acquisitions, testified that DRB is the contract purchaser and is in good standing. He said Prince George's County accounts for about 45% of DRB's closings, with about 201 closings anticipated there in 2026. He stated that the R-PD zone allows the project to preserve environmental features, concentrate homes in previously cleared areas, and provide public benefits that would not be feasible under the RE zone. He said the community consistently opposed additional townhouses and wanted traffic improvements, so the application is exclusively single-family detached homes. He agreed to all Planning Board conditions, including the revised 60% maximum lot coverage condition.
• Site planning and trails: Daniel Schlegel of Dewberry Engineers described the property's constraints, including Tinkers Creek, stream valleys, steep slopes, about 103 wooded acres, and a previously mined 37-acre area. The basic plan shows 530 lots on a 216.45-acre net tract, a density of 2.44 dwelling units per acre, with the actual yield expected to be below 500 units. He described public benefits including a 30-acre stream-valley dedication, an approximately one-acre public trailhead off Piscataway Road, enhanced stormwater facilities, a doubled historic buffer along Piscataway Road, and trail connections. Revised trail costs were $171,000 for 3,700 linear feet in the dedication, $351,000 for 7,600 linear feet of neighborhood connectors, and $69,000 for a 2,300-linear-foot shared-use path along C518. The applicant also agreed to a $39,000 improvement at Clearwater Nature Center after staff did not initially credit the stream-valley dedication as a public benefit.
• Civil engineering: Adam Blau, a Maryland licensed professional engineer with Dewberry, testified that the R-PD clustering allows development to avoid floodplain, wetlands, steep slopes, and Marlborough clay soils. The property is in mixed water/sewer categories, with a portion in Category 5 requiring a future legislative amendment. He stated the rezoning would not adversely affect surrounding properties and that stormwater management would be designed to prevent adverse impacts. He identified one requested modification: three residential gateway signs instead of the one normally allowed, at the three project access points.
• Traffic and transportation: Mike Lenhart, accepted as an expert in traffic engineering and transportation planning, testified that development under the existing RE zone would yield about 255 units, while the proposed R-PD would yield about 530 units; the additional density would not require any additional roadway improvements beyond those already needed. He quantified transportation public benefits: construction of a second southbound lane on MD-223 from north of Temple Hill Road to Glenview Drive, estimated at about $1.8 million and roughly $150,000 above the CIP contribution; a substituted $520,000 off-site improvement in lieu of accelerated Brandywine Road/MD-223 CIP funding; $225,000 in bike lanes; $69,000 for the C518 shared-use path; and $479,000 for off-site improvements at DeLancey Street. He explained the applicant will still satisfy road adequacy through CIP payments at preliminary plan.
• Land use planning: Mark Ferguson, accepted as an expert in land use planning, testified the project is consistent with the Subregion 5 Master Plan, which recommends residential-low density and has already found this land use compatible with the surrounding area. He said the single-family detached layout creates a transition from denser Hyde Landing development to existing suburban subdivisions to the south. He identified deficiencies in the basic plan: it should list permitted principal, accessory, and temporary uses; include the accessory dimensional standards requested by staff; and reconcile the stated density, since the basic plan says 2.50 units per acre while other documents use 2.45. He also suggested the 60% lot-coverage condition could be 68% once driveways are counted, but noted the applicant had agreed to 60%.

Key Outcomes

• The hearing was not closed; the examiner held the record open for the applicant to submit: a completed application form; revised Exhibit 6 reflecting corrected trail footage and costs; revised basic plan/open-space sheets updating trail alignments and showing the owner's proposed residential lot; a list of permitted principal, accessory, and temporary uses on the basic plan; accessory dimensional standards; and an illustrative example of an entrance sign size.
• The signed boundary survey was substituted into the record as revised Exhibit 54.
• The applicant affirmed agreement with all Planning Board conditions, including the 60% maximum lot coverage and the accessory-use dimensional standards.
• No opposition was presented, and no vote was taken by the hearing examiner. The examiner stated a decision would be issued shortly after the record closes.