Development projects can now move forward in Prince George's County, with the signing into law of storm-water legislation by County Executive Rushern Baker III July 22.
The legislation was passed by the County Council July 19.
The new law spells out the rules commercial and residential developers will have to comply with in terms of storm-water runoff.
New developments and renovation projects — such as Laurel Mall's face-lift — have been on hold since last year as county officials tried to agree on regulations for the amount of rainwater developers will have to capture and filter before it flows off their project's property. At issue was the task of coming up with legislation that would not hurt the county in terms of attracting developers but at the same time would also benefit the environment.
"This bill … addresses the interests of the business community and provides them with certainty in terms of storm-water management regulations, quality development and environmental protection," said Baker.
"I'm excited to have this legislation. Both sides had things they wanted in the bill so what we have is a compromise." Baker said. "Implementation of this legislation will significantly impact the quality of Prince George's County's rivers and streams."
The storm-water runoff rules will be effective within 45 days, bringing the county in compliance with state regulations that required all counties to develop tougher storm-water management regulations that reflected the state's stricter rules.
Under the just-passed law, new development projects will be subjected to current state regulations that require developers to capture and filter 100 percent of the first inch of rainwater before it runs off a site. Renovation projects would have to capture and filter 50 percent of the first half-inch of rainfall, but that requirement would increase to 75 percent of the first inch of rainwater in 2016 and to 100 percent of the first inch by 2019.
The good news for developers of Laurel Mall's renovation project is that they and others who had their storm-water management plans submitted to the county before May 4, 2010, will be grandfathered-in under the older regulations, which only required that 20 percent of the first inch of rainwater be captured and filtered.
However, if a project's plans are altered to the point where impervious surfaces, such as parking lots and roofs, are increased by more than 25 percent, the developer's plans will have to be resubmitted and subjected to the new stricter storm-water management guidelines.
"That matters to Laurel Mall if the new developer (Greenberg Gibbons Commercial) plans to change the plans," Lehman said in reference to the developer's statements that they will scrap the former renovation plans for the mall that the city approved and start from scratch. A few months ago, Greenberg Gibbons unveiled a new name for the mall, Laurel Towne Centre, along with preliminary conceptual plans for an open air, mixed-use development.
"They can change (impervious surfaces) up to 25 percent without losing their grandfather status," Lehman said.
Moving mall renovation forward
Brian Gibbons, owner and president of Greenberg Gibbons, became a part owner of the mall earlier this year. Greenberg Gibbons has developed malls throughout the state, including the Annapolis Towne. When they took over the mall project, they announced that instead of an enclosed structure, they would tear the mall down and build a pedestrian-friendly, open-air, mixed-use complex. Gibbons said he is prepared to meet the requirements of the legislation the council passed and move forward with their plans.
"We are grandfathered in, and I have directed our engineers to design plans that meet the new law," Gibbons said. "The most important thing from a developer's perspective is knowing the requirements. So as long as there are clear directions as to what needs to happen, we will meet them."
The restrictions on impervious surfaces is important to environmentalists because the rainfall that flows from parking lots and roofs into waterways is unfiltered, and often contains oil, metals and other pollutants. Prior to last Tuesday's vote, the stipulation placed on solid surfaces was 15 percent. An amendment to the legislation increased it to 25 percent.
"I opposed the increase, but we needed five votes to pass the storm-water bill (and) (District 8 County Council member Obie) Patterson, who sponsored the amendment, said he wouldn't vote for the storm-water bill without the amendment," Lehman said. "He said his constituents needed that flexibility and I didn't want to risk losing his vote on the final passage, so I was flexible on that."
City officials are optimistic that the mall and other projects in Laurel that were stalled will move forward this year, now that storm-water rules are in place. Gibbons said the plans for an open-air town center at the Laurel Mall site are evolving, and that they hope to have them completed and ready for construction to begin by the end of the year. So do city officials.
"The mayor is hopeful that we should see revised plans in the next couple of months (for the mall)," said Karl Brendle, the city's economic development director.
The mall is in a revitalization overlay area that requires approval from City Council members and the city's Planning Commission for any changes Greenberg Gibbons makes on the original plans approved for the mall's renovation a few years ago.
"Our processes are thorough but expeditious," Brendle said. "Mayor (Craig) Moe and the City Council, as well as the citizens of Laurel, have been waiting a long time for this project to come to fruition. With a complete concept, we can move quickly and process the changes in 30 to 60 days."
Other projects expected
The mall is not the only project in Laurel that has been stalled as county officials hammered out storm-water regulations. The owners of Fred Frederick Chrysler are planning a new building on Route 1, and a Walgreen's is in the works to be built on a lot at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 198. In addition, St. Mary of the Mills school officials have been waiting for the county rules to be decided so they can build a 36,000-square-foot community center at 800 Main St.
"We were in limbo, not knowing which direction the county would go on the rules, so now we can make plans for the center, and get our engineers and architects together on the project," said Don Kutzera project manager for the school. "Our students will use it for P.E. in the day, basketball games, and it will have meeting rooms that can be rented out by the public for wedding receptions and other events."
Kutzera said like the mall's owners, they met the May deadline and will be grandfathered-in under the less stringent storm-water management regulations. The center will be built at the former site of St. Mildred Hall, which was razed in December.
"When we tore it down, we were under the assumption that we could move forward, but had we known we were going to be delayed by the (storm-water) legislation, we would have waited to tear it down," Kutzera said.
Other projects, such as the Hawthorne Place mixed-use development planned for Marshall Street, are expected to crop up in the city now that developers are clear on the rules they will have to adhere to for storm-water runoff.
"Hawthorne Place had a level of concept approval already, so hopefully will begin their initial phase soon," Brendle said. "The best news is that the county now has formal storm-water regulations, so projects can go through the process."