Countdown to Spring Projects
As we anticipate spring, my staff is gearing up for the heavy permit season, when County residents and business partners will begin securing permits for projects they will complete during the warm weather months. See the project checklist below for information about things you can do to facilitate the process, whether you are adding to your home or building a commercial structure. You will also learn about our solar permitting process in this issue. Visit the DPIE website and YouTube channel for helpful educational materials. Our priorities at DPIE include making sure everything that is built in the County is safe and that construction is environmentally responsible.
Enjoy your project planning!
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DPIE and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) held three listening sessions recently to hear input on the Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act of 2024 (PRSA). The PRSA was enacted by the County Council in October 2024 to protect renters from excessive rent increases while ensuring landlords can maintain their properties. Currently, the County is drafting regulations and creating policies and procedures to implement the law.
Upon enactment of the law, the limitation on rent increases — 3.3 percent annually for age-restricted properties and 6 percent for other properties — became effective immediately. A new rent increase allowance will take effect on July 1, 2025. The County is required to publish the new rent increase allowance no later than May 1, 2025, so that property owners and tenants have time to implement the new limit. Other provisions will take effect on Feb. 1, 2026.
For more information, visit the Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act of 2024 webpage or YouTube video. For questions or comments, contact PGC311 by calling 311 or 301-883-4748 (outside the County) or email PRSA@co.pg.md.us.
DPIE is already seeing an uptick in permit applications as residents and County business partners begin preparing for projects they will complete this spring and summer.
Permit Center Manager Clarence Moseley offers the following advice to facilitate securing your permits:
- Check the DPIE website to determine if you need a permit for your project.
- Research the permitting process for your project.
- Familiarize yourself with the Momentum online system.
- Check to see if your residential project is eligible for the Virtual Permit Center.
- Once your project is in the review process, make sure to keep track of the reviewers’ comments and respond to the questions to keep the process moving.
- Check the zoning regulations on the M–NCPPC website to determine if your property is zoned for your proposed project.
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Vet your contractors to ensure they are licensed and check references.
Before buying a property, we suggest you research the following issues.
Permit History by Address: To search for permits by property address or permit history, visit Permit Search. If a property is listed with a feature with no permit, watch out for unpermitted construction.
LookSee — Property Explorer: To research permits and properties in Prince George's County, use LookSee. The portal allows you to view information related to permits, licenses, inspections, and property maintenance code violations back one year by entering the property address.
Data Prince George's: Data Prince George's provides data on communities, County government, finance, public safety, urban planning, education, health and the environment.
Drainage and Flooding Info: To learn about filing drainage complaints for new homes and County drainage/flooding issues, visit DPIE's Drainage and Flooding page.
M–NCPPC Planning Information Services: Check the zoning regulations on the property on the M–NCPPC website.
PGAtlas: View property information such as geographic map layers and aerial imagery on the PGAtlas website.
MPIA Requests: Request information about code violations past one year, liens, rental licenses, site plans and other documents using the Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) Request Form.
DPIE will implement fee changes beginning March 2, 2025, to help fund the issuance of permits and licenses. The new fees were to be implemented on February 17, 2025; however, the date has been extended to March 2, 2025. The new fees will apply to permits applied for on or after March 2. Fees for permits applied for before March 2, 2025, will be based on the previous fee structure. The County Council approved the updated fee schedule in November 2024 in CR-087-2024.
Under the new formula, fees will increase 20 percent, with a 10 percent technology fee. The increase means that an applicable fee which costs $50 under the previous fee schedule will increase to $60, plus a 10% technology fee. The new fees are posted in the 2025 DPIE Fee Schedule. To view the legislation, visit the Prince George’s County Legislative/Zoning Information System (LZIS), CR-087-2024.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, DPIE implemented the new "Site/Road Construction Price List" per Techno-gram 002-2024. The construction price list is utilized to estimate construction costs, bonds, and permit fees for all Site/Road Permits applied for on or after the effective date. The 2025 price list replaced the old list published in the 2012 Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPW&T) Specifications manual.
Watch the DPIE website for changes to the County’s ePlan system for plan review. The pending changes will lead to more efficient processing for customers, including:
- Easier access to pending tasks
- How-to videos at the point of processing
- More efficient navigation
- Review comments in one convenient location
- New "Ask a Question" feature
- New status page for easy-to-view tracking of your project
DPIE is offering a public demonstration of the new system in March. Watch for details, including the date and meeting link, on the DPIE website main page, in an upcoming DPIE Developments bulletin and in an email to customers who are registered in ePlan.
  DPIE issues permits for solar farms such as these located in Upper Marlboro.
As more Prince Georgians search for ways to power their homes and businesses with clean energy, DPIE permits for solar farms and rooftop solar panels have increased.
DPIE issued the first permits for solar farms, also called solar parks, in 2016. Since then, more than 65 such permits have been issued. Each farm has thousands of solar panels. A solar farm on Mill Branch Road in Bowie, for example, has more than 5,000 panels.
From July 2023 to December 2024, DPIE issued 4,578 permits for rooftop solar to be added to homes. Panels on homes typically range from two to 20. Solar panels have been proven to significantly reduce electricity consumption.
Read more about DPIE Issues Solar Permits to Increase Clean Power Options here.
Email
DPIE Permit Staff and Momentum System Praised by Customer
Congratulations to members of the permitting team for receiving recent kudos from customer Sheila Bickel, who also praised upgrades to the Momentum online permit system that made it more user friendly for builders.
“I wanted to take a minute and give well-deserved recognition to some of the employees whose quality of work this past year was outstanding, she said, adding “Momentum is ending the year manageable and successful for permit applications” because of the work of staffers Clarence Moseley, Anthony Morris, Alex Espartinas, Demetrius Jones, Jaelyn Seals and Shanti Williams (Permitting and Licensing); Tez Lemma and Minsoo Ha (Building Plan Review); Mariwan Abdullah, Irfanullah Irvan, Gideon Adamu and Jiregna Yadeta (Site/Road Plan Review); and administrators Karen Spears (Permitting and Licensing) and Yvette Gayles and Bosa Ugo (IT).
“This group understands the importance of good customer service combined with hard work,” Bickel said.
(Read more about Momentum on the DPIE website.)
Sheila Bickel
Permit Coordinator, Stanley Martin Homes
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