Bill to expedite transit-oriented development raises concerns

Prince George's County, Maryland, has missed out on much of the DC area's transit-oriented development (TOD) — despite having 13 Metro stations. A county bill sponsored by councilmember Mel Franklin would exempt development projects within a half mile of Metro stations from public meetings and site plan review. This is raising controversy in the majority African-American suburb, according to the blog Greater Greater Washington. The bill is tied to "form-based" coding requirements, according to Bradley Heard, an attorney and citizen activist. However, it does not address the crucial "regulating plan" step that determines which set of requirements — like building envelope and setback, street types, and other details — apply to a given area, Heard says. "Franklin's stated goal in introducing CB-79 is to streamline the development review process, thereby making it more attractive to the private sector and luring developers away from sprawl and toward transit. But many community and smart growth activists believe the legislation would encourage shoddy, suburban-style, non-pedestrian- and non-transit-oriented development," writes Heard. Franklin defends his approach in a comment that is worth reading. Bottom line: It's not easy to reform codes and planning processes to make it easier for developers to do the right thing.

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