Prince George's County Planning Department

How are plans prepared?

Subregion, area, and sector master plans are prepared by the Planning Department staff working in conjunction with the local community. Following a public hearing, plan recommendations are adopted by the Planning Board, which are presented to the District Council. Once approved by the District Council, plan recommendations guide land use decisions that affect the physical growth and development of the area so that consistent and appropriate action may be taken. Adopted and approved plans do not take the place of existing zoning, nor do plans require that rezoning requests be automatically granted or denied. They do, however, provide a basis for comprehensive rezoning consistent with the land use recomendation of the plan. In most instances, immediately following or concurrently with approval of an area plan, the Planning Board initiates comprehensive rezoning, also called a sectional map amendment.