City Reaches Compromise on Buckingham at Belair Subdivision

After several months of debate and city and county hearings, the City of Bowie and resident Sean Yerby have reached a compromise in the much debated Buckingham at Bowie subdivision: Yerby will be permitted to subdivide his lot into two parcels, as opposed to the three on his initial application.

Yerby's property sits on a corner lot with frontages on Belair Drive, Beaverdale Lane and Bartlett Lane.

In an email to her constituents last week, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Polangin (Ward 2) thanked residents for voicing their opinions on the subdivision. 

"Had this gone to litigation, we would not have been able to win this case, so the best thing to do was to work out a compromise with Mr. Yerby," Polangin wrote. "Is it perfect? No. However, it is the best of a bad situation."

Yerby initially sought to subdivide his 32,494 square-foot lot in Buckingham at Belair into three parcels. This city council and staff opposed this subdivision, as they did not think it kept with the character of the neighborhood. However, city staff did say that they did say that subdividing the property into two lots may be possible if he were able to meet the conditions outlined in a staff report on the matter.

This compromise comes after the Prince George's County Planning Board was unable to come to a consensus on the proposed subdivision in June, Yerby's preliminary plans were "deemed approval."

However, according to Roberts Rules, because the planning board did not reach a decision, the matter was eligible to be reheard. The second hearing was scheduled for Sept. 26. It was at this hearing that both parties informed the planning board they had reached a compromise. 

One resident of the Buckingham at Belair community, Linda Followell, spoke at the planning board meeting on behalf of other residents present. According to Polangin, Followell said the neighbors were not happy with the compromise, but they did accept it. 

The board unanimously approved the two lot subdivision, with the conditions in the staff report as amended.