As we head into the last part of winter, we ask you to consider any home improvement projects you plan to undertake this year and begin to prepare. Many home improvement projects require a permit and inspections, which can take some time to maneuver. This month’s DPIE Third-Thursday Community Information Session – Remember to PYP – Permit Your Project! – will highlight projects that require permits and explain the processes for obtaining them. See the meeting announcement below.
We wish you good luck with your projects and look forward to working with you to ensure they are built to be safe and enjoyable additions to your home!
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DPIE will be launching our new permit and inspections module of Momentum on March 13, 2023. We have successfully launched several modules over the past two years: business licensing, rental licensing, health licensing and permits, as well as our enforcement module. The new module features several upgrades:
- It provides a one-time registration process that allows customers to view all business from the dashboard.
- It allows several people in a company to apply for permits and licenses.
- It directs customers to the correct permit type.
- It allows case names, as well as a system-generated number, to assist with project lookup.
- It auto-generates permit expiration notices.
- It gives users the ability to download permits and licenses from the dashboard.
- It provides greater transparency into the process.
DPIE hosts monthly virtual Third-Thursday Community Information Sessions to allow the public to interact directly with agency leadership and staff. Each session focuses on a particular topic and includes a brief presentation, comments by DPIE experts and a Q&A period.
Sessions take place from 11 a.m.–12 noon on the third Thursday of each month. Topics vary. Sessions are announced in the DPIE Under Construction newsletter, on the DPIE website and on our social media.
Participants may register at https://bit.ly/3RztGlc and submit questions in advance to dpiepio@co.pg.md.us. A Zoom link will be provided to those who register. Call 240-508-9723 for more information.
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 Mobile food truck vending businesses are no longer restricted to operating in a food truck hub in Prince George’s County. Food trucks may operate in certain areas where they have permission from a person authorized to enter into an agreement. Food trucks may park in certain office and business parks; industrial areas; commercial areas and shopping centers; and more. Food trucks may not vend from the side of public roadways or in unapproved locations.
Remember the County Department of Health still requires licensure. For questions regarding FOOD SERVICE applications, including food trucks, contact 301-883-7690 or FoodProtectionProgram@co.pg.md.us.
 Residents had been complaining for months about cars parked haphazardly on the auto repair shop’s lot on Marlboro Pike in Capitol Heights. Others reported the shop’s staff parking cars on nearby streets, clogging neighborhood roads.
Enter the Nuisance Abatement Board (NAB), which recently determined that activity at the business was causing a public nuisance. The seven-member board ordered the owners/management to “desist all nuisance activities,” pay a $1,000 fine and close the business until violations were abated.
Under Prince George’s County Code, businesses are required to be maintained in a safe and secure manner that will not adversely affect the public. DPIE responds to dozens of complaints about businesses in violation each week. Violations include property maintenance issues, operating in violation of a Use and Occupancy Permit (U&O), unlicensed sales and failing to address illegal activity on the premises.
The auto repair shop is one of several non-compliant County businesses that have been padlocked by DPIE in the last year. Others include a convenience store in the 3400 block of Walters Lane and a gas station in the 3200 block of Walters Lane in District Heights. Both businesses were closed by the NAB until all violations were abated and inspections were conducted by the Health Department, Fire Department and DPIE’s Enforcement Division Zoning section. Like the auto shop, both businesses were the subject of multiple complaints before their NAB hearings.
Enforcement Division Associate Director Val Cary said a court order or an administrative order from the NAB are required to padlock a business. Zoning section inspectors, accompanied by police, work with contractors to perform the act of padlocking the doors.
“The doors stay padlocked for a predetermined amount of time or until the property is brought into compliance,” Cary said.
Call PGC311 to report violations at businesses.
BEFORE
 AFTER
Program: Clean It and Lien It!
Property: Single-family home in the southern area of Prince George’s County with open storage and trash and debris violations
Resolution: Violations abated with open storage and trash and debris removal
Purpose: To address eyesores and properties in violation by cleaning the property
How it works: After repeated attempts to get the property owner to address property maintenance violations, an order is sought to allow the County to correct violations on the property. A contractor is hired to make necessary fixes. DPIE monitors the clean. The property owner is required to reimburse the County for the expense.
Benefits of program: Properties with code violations frustrate neighbors, detract from the beauty of communities and negatively impact property values. Removing violations from properties brings them into compliance, beautifies communities and protects neighborhoods from becoming blighted.
Visit the Enforcement page at dpie.mypgc.us for more information about property maintenance.
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Please let us know how we are doing by completing the short, confidential DPIE Customer Satisfaction Survey at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DPIECSS21-22. The survey will help us improve our customer service and service delivery. |
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 DPIE is holding a monthly contest where we share a photo that contains a property violation of Prince George's County Code. The first person to respond with the correct answer will win one of DPIE's large (13"x10"x15") insulated grocery tote bags with a zipper closure, and your name in next month's Under Construction newsletter.*
*DPIE employees and their family members are not eligible to enter in this promotion.
Carefully study QUIZ PHOTO # 2 below and "Name that Violation" by emailing your best guess to DPIEpio@co.pg.md.us.
DPIE Congratulates
Leigh Dukatt
for correctly identifying the violation
in photo number 1 (shown at right)
in last month's issue of Under Construction.
The answer is shown in the image below.
(DPIE added the ordinance from County Code.)
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