Prince George's County district council directs staff to prepare approval order for Oakwood Preserve after contested hearing

The Prince George's County district council on Sept. 29 voted to direct staff to prepare an order of approval with conditions for Oakwood Preserve (SDP2025014), a proposed 112-lot single-family detached subdivision in Council District 6.

Park and Planning staffer Meng San opened the hearing with an orientation of the specific design plan, explaining that “this specific, design plan, SDP 2025014, is for Oakwood Preserve” and outlining the site's constraints — including streams, wetlands, moderate to steep slopes and 100-year floodplain — and the planning board's recommendation to approve with conditions. Nearby residents and opponents told the council they feared approving the project would worsen flooding and that the administrative record before the planning board and the public was incomplete. “I'm here today to urge very strongly that this council reverse the planning board's approval,” said Jeffrey Collins, a person of record living roughly a half-mile from the site, who also raised concerns about missing tree conservation and floodplain studies in the record.

Applicant counsel Robert Antonetti urged the council to affirm the planning board, arguing the opponents lacked standing under state law and that the full administrative record had been transmitted to the council. “All the opponents lack standing under state law to request review of this planning board decision,” Antonetti said, describing the site's long entitlement history and saying required documents appear in the record submitted to the council.

The council debated statutory standing rules, record-posting practices and planning board procedures; Stan Brown of the People's Zoning Council advised members that, although public posting practices should improve, the administrative defects raised were not necessarily fatal to the applicant's case. After discussion, Councilmember Hunter moved to direct staff to prepare an approval order with conditions. The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call, recorded as 6-0. The council did not adopt the order that day; preparing the order starts the process for the formal written disposition.