Category: Maryland
RISE Prince George’s 5/18/21 event with Angie Rodgers
On May 18, 2021, RISE Prince George’s convened a virtual event to discuss the future of housing & economic development in the County. The talk was titled: “We can’t have quality economic development without affordable housing: so how do we get it all?” with:
Angie Rodgers, Prince George’s Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic Development, and Scott Nordheimer, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, Urban Atlantic (lead developer at the New Carrollton Metro Station)
View the recording of the event on Youtube.
Take the survey: Please answer this brief survey to let us know more about what you want from RISE Prince George’s.
RISE Prince George’s event with Angie Rodgers – Materials
RISE Prince George’s PPT discussion of mission statement and advocacy theme
New Carrollton Station vision https://greaterwashingtonpartnership.com/capital-region-rail-vision/
Housing Opportunities for All Work Group https://pgccouncil.us/628/Housing-Opportunities-For-All-Work-Group
Housing Indicator Tool: A Dashboard for Measuring Progress Towards Meeting Regional Housing Needs
Missing Middle Housing study: to begin in FY22
RISE Prince George’s
RISE Prince George’s Platform 2022
On December 13, 2021, we launched our RISE Prince George’s election platform to educate candidates and the public about how to build a better Prince George’s. We will be working with constituents and allies to reaching out to candidates targeted County Council and General Assembly races to build support with our future elected officials to build a more sustainable, prosperous and inclusive County.
Mission Statement: RISE Prince George’s is a group of County residents and allies advocating for policies and practices that build shared, sustainable prosperity in Prince George’s County by creating safe, walkable, inclusive and transit-oriented communities.
Vision: We seek to build a prosperous, equitable and sustainable future Prince George’s that contains:
- Multiple thriving transit-focused downtowns (North, Central, and Southern parts of the County)
- Inclusive, safe, and connected neighborhoods and municipalities
- Preserved open spaces and natural areas
Assumptions: With 15 Metro stations, another 11 Purple Line stations on the way, and 8 MARC stations, the County’s transit assets are THE competitive advantage – for promoting future job growth, local economic development, and generating needed increases in the County’s tax base. Prince George’s also has the benefit of planning for a future which currently forecasts increased job growth, demand to live near transit, and the need for more homes near jobs and transit.
Objective: Through developing a strategy for shared prosperity and equitable development that is generated from and advocated by and for Prince Georgians (and their allies), we can create a virtuous cycle of economic growth which retains homegrown talent and businesses, attracts new investment, and improves both people and places – especially those historically excluded from wealth and opportunity.
Equitable economic development through transit-oriented development (TOD) will create the base of public and private resources that are necessary to support high-performing schools, community-oriented public safety services, increasing the amount of high-quality housing for people of all incomes close to jobs and essential services, as well as better employment, entrepreneurship, retail amenities, and wealth-building opportunities for all County residents.
How RISE Prince George’s will accomplish its vision: We will work with our members to educate, engage and mobilize for a policy agenda that reshapes policy and budget priorities to build on the County’s assets – transit, established communities, and the kinds of anchor institutions which drive job creation and economic growth.
We meet regularly (every 4-6 weeks), host programming (both virtual and, eventually, in-person) to educate/engage our members, and, in turn, formulate action plans for specific policy change campaigns.
Summary of potential long-term policy agenda:
- Win equitable placemaking and transit-oriented development projects that begin to demonstrate what an inclusive walkable urban and smart growth future in Prince George’s could look like
- Win land use and housing policy changes to sustainably grow the economy, livability, community benefits and equity of opportunity among residents
- Win key transportation investments and policies to greatly improve the quality, safety, affordability and reliability of public transportation and access to daily needs, especially for low income people and communities
We embrace the Prince George’s Rising proposed county-wide Alliance for Equity and Prosperity, and see our group contributing to it, specifically focused on the TOD organizing strategy for equity.
CSG Testimony Re: DC-Baltimore Maglev
May 4, 2021
House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials
2167 Rayburn House Office Building
45 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20515
Hearing: “When Unlimited Potential Meets Limited Resources: The Benefits and Challenges of High-Speed Rail and Emerging Rail Technologies”
Testimony for May 5, 2021
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager
Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization in the Washington, DC region advocating for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way to grow and provide opportunities for all. We have strong partnerships with business, conservation, and affordable housing organizations, and received the 2017 Regional Partnership Award from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
We have been strong supporters of major rail improvements in the Northeast corridor, but are convinced that the proposed Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation (SCMAGLEV) project is the wrong technology and design for the Washington-Baltimore corridor and the NE Corridor as a whole. Therefore, we urge you to not provide federal financial support to this project. Instead, we urge significant investments in both the Amtrak and commuter rail improvement programs.
The project would have a negative impact on racial and social equity. Construction would plow through majority Black Prince George’s County, but the residents of Prince George’s County would not be able to take advantage of the project, since the technology and design speed are such that there will only be stops in DC, at BWI Airport, and at Penn Station in Baltimore. Environmental Justice (EJ) communities would be disproportionately impacted, with 80 percent of impacted parcels located in EJ communities.
Furthermore, the high projected cost of a one-way ticket sends a signal that this project is for the wealthiest white-collar commuters, not those who will suffer from the damage wrought by the project or those who need more accessible, frequent, and affordable transit. A $60 ticket for the SCMAGLEV would be about seven times more than an existing MARC commuter rail ticket for the same trip ($8) or existing Amtrak Acela ticket ($46).
We are also concerned about the project’s negative effect on existing taxpayer investments in transit. The project is already diverting attention from repairing and improving our existing MARC and Amtrak infrastructure. If public funding is required for the Maglev, it could divert hundreds of millions of dollars in addition to fare revenue lost due to reduced ridership on Amtrak and MARC.
The Maglev is a potential public-private partnership, and recent experience with P3s in Maryland and other states suggests that public funding will be required. Given that Maglev is a multi-billion dollar technology yet to be implemented anywhere in the U.S., this project could require significant public funding.
The limited time savings is also not worth the cost and risk. The Acela Express between DC and Baltimore currently takes 30 minutes. While Maglev would cut time spent on the train in half, it doesn’t account for time spent getting to the station. The average total trip would go from 90 minutes to 75 minutes, which is not worth the risk, nor the costs to equity and environmental quality.
Investing in the Maryland MARC and Amtrak NE Corridor expansion plans would more effectively serve the transit needs of our region and the NE Corridor. Upgrades to the existing rail system could also more easily be extended to other destinations like New York and Boston, than would be the case with Maglev which would need entirely new right-of-way through the very densely developed Northeast. Existing rail stations are located in more central and well-established transit hubs, like DC’s Union Station. A much more cost-effective solution would be to invest in improving our existing infrastructure and upgrade over time to high-speed rail standards.
In conclusion, we urge you to pursue upgrades to the nation’s existing rail infrastructure, including high-speed rail, in lieu of the SCMAGLEV. Thank you for your time.
CSG Comments on Prince George’s Climate Action Plan
Recommended Transportation & Land Use GHG Mitigation Strategies, April 2021
We Won! Prince George’s to move ahead with long overdue zoning rewrite
Great news: the Maryland General Assembly voted to pass HB 980, and enable Prince George’s County to implement its new zoning regulations!
HB 980 amends an existing state ethics law unique to Prince George’s. Like other jurisdictions, the County needed to repeal and replace its entire zoning map to implement its new zoning regulations. But this action ran into a potential conflict with its unique zoning ethics law that does not apply to any other jurisdiction.
To address this, the Prince George’s House Delegation introduced HB 980 and helped advance the bill from the House to the state Senate. In the Senate, under the leadership of Senator Paul Pinsky, the bill was amended to address concerns and ensure broad support. The legislation was retitled: Prince George’s County – Public Ethics – Application Payments and Transfer and Zone Intensification Requests. Most significantly, the amended bill offers an extra safeguard by prohibiting the County Council from approving zoning intensification (to build more on a site) requests that differ substantially from the zoning category already adopted in 2019.
In addition to Senator Pinsky, we are also grateful to Senator Malcolm Augustine, Delegate Erek Barron, and Delegate Joseline A. Pena-Melnyk for their thoughtful engagement to create this successful outcome.
The zoning rewrite is important because it helps the County better guide transit-oriented development and create more walk- and bike-friendly designs. This not only benefits Prince George’s but all of Maryland by focusing more of the region’s growth around transit stations and close-in communities. More transit-oriented development reduces how much people in our growing region need to drive, and gives us more opportunities to walk, bicycle and ride transit for more of our trips. This all reduces greenhouse gas emissions and pressure to build on greenfields. A modern zoning code also means thriving places and a stronger economy.
We are grateful to al those who took taking action to ensure Prince George’s can use the tools it needs to guide a more sustainable and prosperous future.
CSG Brief
Prince George’s County Climate Action Plan
Recommended Transportation & Land Use GHG Mitigation Strategies
Take Action: Don’t let the MD General Assembly kill Prince George’s zoning rewrite
No matter where you live in Maryland, join us in supporting Prince George’s County. Montgomery County and the City of Baltimore recently updated their zoning codes but the General Assembly could in effect block Prince George’s from doing so.
The Prince George’s House delegation is sponsoring a bill (HB 980), on behalf of County Executive Alsobrooks, the County Council and the Planning Commission. This bill will allow the County to finalize and vote to approve the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment. This singular action is needed to repeal and replace the county’s outdated zoning code. The bill is advancing through the Maryland General Assembly but needs to get all its final votes by the end of the session on April 12, 2021.
Take action now: email your Maryland legislators!
Here’s the issue:
Prince George’s County has worked for six years and spent millions of dollars to painstakingly modernize its outdated zoning code to better support transit-oriented development, and walk- and bike-friendly communities. The zoning rewrite also makes it easier to understand; and sets time-limits on development approvals which today can last forever. But a state ethics law, which only applies to Prince George’s County, would prevent councilmembers who have received a campaign donation from any affected property owner in the County (approximately 300,000 different properties and 250,000 different owners) from voting on the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment that implements the new zoning. No other jurisdiction in the state has this very restrictive law.
The proposed legislation is limited to enabling the County Council to vote for the Countywide Zoning Map Amendment – the total repeal and replacement of old zones with the new, updated zones. The County Council and Planning Commission have established, by local legislation and approvals, a decision process that will take public feedback, evaluate all properties and make recommendations on designations to place all properties in the County into one of the new zones most equivalent to its existing zone (i.e. Residential, Commercial, Industrial or Mixed-Use zones).
It does not affect any other zoning decision and this does not apply to everyday, individual zoning and development review matters that come before the Council currently or in the future.
Email your state legislators today!
Without this legislation, Prince George’s will be stuck with outdated zoning, frustrating efforts to make zoning more understandable and preventing the county from shaping a more sustainable and competitive future.
The fate of years of work to bring Prince George’s zoning into the modern era hangs in the balance. Please email today!
Thanks for all you do,
Cheryl Cort
Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth
P.S. Click here to view our testimony and get more of the details.