LANDOVER, Md. – In recent years, townhouse communities have proliferated across Prince George’s County. As a result, local leaders are divided on how to address issues such as overcrowded schools and limited access to fresh food.
The County Council is currently considering a pause on townhouse developments in certain areas. However, some activists and leaders are concerned about the potential impact of this legislation on the local housing market and the long-term fiscal health of Prince George’s County.
“We’re developing sprawl and the sprawl is hurting us,” said Prince George’s County Vice Wala Blegay (D-District 6). “It’s really time that we control our development.”
Sponsored by Blegay and Council President Tom Dernoga, CB-52 would limit townhouse development for two years primarily to high-density areas and areas adjoining transit hubs. The goal of the legislation is limiting housing expansion to areas where growth has not occurred in decades and bringing development to the Blue Line Corridor.
“To bring true economic development to the county will be building in transit-oriented areas because that’s where you’re going to bring the jobs, that’s where the offices are gonna come, that’s where the employers want to be,” Blegay said in an April interview.
County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) worries about losing local investment and the housing crisis.
“Townhomes for first-time homebuyers, for young homebuyers and for many of our homebuyers of color are an entry point,” Alsobrooks explained. “It is because they are affordable for so many of us including me. I started out in a townhome. They are affordable.”
Maryland Building Industry Association Chair Lori Graf said she is concerned about disincentivizing investment in Prince George’s and reducing access to affordable housing.
“They’re already deciding not to do deals in Prince George’s County. People are just very nervous about investing in the county, where there’s just so much uncertainty about if they’re going to be able to move forward,” Graf said. “We have a housing shortage and we need all options to address it. We understand the intent of the sponsor to obtain more transit oriented development (TOD) but it should be done through incentives and working with the industry, not mandates and moratoriums.”
In a recent article, Dan Reed of Greater Greater Washington gave four examples of planned housing developments that would’ve been prevented by this bill. Reed’s family first moved into Prince George’s in 1984, buying a townhome in Suitland before the townhouse boom of the 1980s as Prince George’s became a majority-Black County. Reed explained he believes that this legislation will further raise the price of single-family homes, making it harder to live in Prince George’s and forcing more County residents to move to Charles and Montgomery Counties.
The County Council has implemented county-wide rent stabilization measures and will soon be holding hearings over planned developments at Freeway Airport and Frank’s Nursery, both near Bowie. It is expected that the townhouse pause will pause, as the Chair and Vice Chair are the sponsors of the proposed legislation.
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