Maryland Court of Appeals calls for more detail in zoning decision

The Prince George's County Planning Board must provide a more thorough explanation as to why it approved a residential community in the county's southeastern "rural tier," the Court of Appeals has held in affirming lower court rulings.

Judge Glenn T. Harrell Jr., writing for the unanimous court Wednesday, took the planning board to task for not addressing in greater detail how the proposed subdivision fits into the county's master plan, including its residential growth limits. The planning board noted the subdivision "would not be inconsistent" with the county's master plan....

The opinion is the latest marker in the Greater Baden-Aquasco Citizens Association's long-running opposition to the development. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission approved preliminary plans for 20 single-family homes on both sides of Aquasco Road near the Charles County line in December 2005. The proposal was then approved by the planning board, which is part of the commission, in May 2006.

By law, the county's rural tier can contain no more than 1 percent of the county's residential growth, and the planning board's approval did not address how the development would affect the growth limit. A Prince George's County Circuit Court judge remanded the matter back to the board to address that concern, a decision appealed by planning board.