Adelphi Road UMGC-UMD Purple Line Station Area Sector Plan

The Prince George’s County Planning Board and the Prince George’s County Council are in the process of developing the Adelphi Road-UMGC-UMD Purple Line Station Area Sector Plan. The Sector Plan proposes the development of “a new neighborhood surrounding the Adelphi Road-UMGC-UMD Purple Line Station.” This 102-acre area lies between the University Hills/College Heights Estates neighborhoods and the University of Maryland. It stretches from the Duck Pond and Graduate Hills Apartments to the Hope Lutheran Church, along Campus Drive and Mowatt Lane. (See map below.) 

However, the planning process up to now has failed to  effectively engage key stakeholders or to take community input into account.  Moreover, the current draft plan has been poorly conceived. It is entirely out of step with 21st-century sustainable planning and fails to appropriately integrate environmental preservation with transit-associated development. In particular, the Sector Plan is a direct threat to the future of Guilford Woods and Guilford Run stream.  The planning process must be paused to make sure that community voices are heard. You can find additional information here.

What's wrong with the current plan?

Environmental Concerns

• The current plan is discordant with the emerging Prince George’s County Climate Action Plan. It preserves only 4 out of 102 acres as reserved open space. Instead, the Plan supports zoning that could result in the future destruction of Guilford Woods (>1,000 trees) at a time when it is critically important to preserve and expand our urban forests to help adapt to ongoing climate change.

• The current Plan does not adequately acknowledge the Guilford Run watershed as part of the Countywide Green Infrastructure Network.

• The current plan ignores the recent University of Maryland “pause” of the Western Gateway Project (which would have destroyed Guilford Woods). This project was paused due to an outpouring of community opposition that highlighted the environmental and human health benefits of this urban forest as well as related stream and wildlife habitat.

Planning Concerns

• The current plan area omits areas north of Campus Drive (including the University of Maryland Global Campus and UMD Lot 1) , although development of both sides of a street is fundamental to good planning.

• The plan drastically increases the zoning density of the entire area without regard to the preservation of Guilford Woods. 72.75 acres of the total 102.12 acres within the plan boundary are up-zoned (reclassified to allow for denser development and/or taller buildings). This represents 71% of the plan area. The maximum total dwelling units that the plan would allow would be 4,716 dwelling units based upon the zoning designations proposed.

• Instead of up-zoning the parcels along Mowatt Lane and the State-owned land comprising Guilford Woods, a far more reasonable plan would be to up-zone only the parcels of land along Adelphi Road and Campus Drive up to the Domain apartment complex (at the corner of Campus Drive and Mowatt Lane). This would protect Guilford Woods and Guilford Run stream while still allowing for a significant amount of additional higher-density housing proximate to the Purple Line Station.

Stormwater Management Concerns

• The draft plan fails to include adequate provisions for stormwater management

• Concrete proposals for addressing the increased risk of flooding due to climate change must be included

•  The failure to include U-Md's Lot 1 in the Sector Plan area is a major oversight in terms of stormwater management planning, as runoff from Lot 1 is a major cause of flooding in the area.

• The existing forest canopy is a critical component to stormwater management and yet is completely disregarded in the Plan

Process Concerns

• Community input was sought virtually at the height of the ongoing pandemic (between 12/9/20 and 1/8/21 and on 4/15/21) when community members were largely unaware of this proposal to transform our community.

• The community input that was solicited was completely ignored.

• Major stakeholders have not been included in the planning process.

Take Action

Join us in opposing the current draft of the Adelphi Rd Sector Plan. Urge the Prince George's Planning Board and the Prince George's County Council to pause the planning process for one year to allow for a truly stakeholder-engaged approach that meets the climate urgency of our time and allows for meaningful community input. Let the Planning Board and the County Council know that you want genuinely sustainable development for our community that preserves Guilford Woods and our existing forest canopy. 

• • • Find out more about the draft plan and why it is problematic.

    • Sign our online petition.

    • Sign up with our campaign to get more information.

    • The window for submitting public testimony on the current draft of the Adelphi Rd Sector Plan has closed. You can see some examples of oral testimony given at the Public hearing on January 18, 2022 here. We will continue to track developments on the planning process and monitor decisions made by the Prince George's Planning Board and the Prince George's County Council. In the meantime,  you can find some other ways to take action here.