September is here…Happy Labor Day!
Labor Day was created to pay tribute to American workers who have made contributions and achievements. The pandemic made us all pause and take notice of the essential workers who labor daily for the good of all of us. The Labor Day holiday also marks the end of the summer for many. Families and friends often gather for their last cook out and gatherings, and we transition from summer vacations to back to school.
Some Prince George's County Office buildings have re-opened to the public. For those departments/agencies, click Here
On Wednesday, September 8th, Prince George's County Schools open their doors for the start of the 2021/2022 school year and the Prince George's County Council resume our virtual County Council meetings.
August has been filled with lots of activity and the last two weeks have been full of new beginnings, transition, and proven results of our resiliency. Being at MACo's Summer Conference, connecting with other lawmakers and engaging with District 8 residents, I continue to witness our strength, whether it is through our eyes smiling with our masks on, or conversations of how we continue to move forward and the appreciation of having that opportunity and plans to better our live and our communities.
Read on to see a special District 8 tribute, the excitement happening in District 8 and some areas we have been focused on. In this issue, the following will be covered:
* Special Tribute
* Fox5 Zip Trip National Harbor
* Environmental Meeting and Tour with Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources, Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio
* Zoning Ordinance Countywide Map Amendment
* Tucker Road Ice Rink
* Women's Equality Day - Joint Base Andrews
* District 8 - The Drone Academy - Joint Base Andrews
* Backpack Distribution - 2021-2022 School Year
* Adventist HealthCare Fort Washington Medical Center
* MACo Summer Conference
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I attended the Celebration of Life Services on Tuesday, August 31, 2021 for Mayor Habeeb-Ullah Muhammad, the 14th Mayor of Forest Heights, Maryland and presented a Proclamation on behalf of the Prince George's County Council which declared:
"NOW, THEREFORE, Be It Proclaimed by the Prince George’s County Council that in memory of Mayor Habeeb-Ullah Muhammad, Tuesday, August 31, 2021, is declared “MAYOR HABEEB-ULLAH MUHAMMAD DAY” in Prince George’s County"
Mayor Muhammad was loved by so many and shared alot of wisdom with those she knew. A resident of The Town of Forest Heights for over 40 years, who served two terms on the Town Council of Forest Heights and as Councilmember representing Ward III her community. Her first term as Mayor began in March 2017. We appreciate Mayor Muhammad's service, may she R.I.P.
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What a beautiful day in District 8! Enjoyed sharing with Fox 5’s Steve Chenevey and Jeannette Reyes the uniqueness of District 8 and our focus on community wellness. If you missed this feature today, Click https://bit.ly/3jI3g3l #DistrictGr8
It was nice to see some of the constituents for the first time in eighteen months at the Zip Trip and meet new people. After the ZipTrip, I enjoyed a bike ride on our trails with State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy.
 
On Tuesday, August 31st, Delegate Jay Walker, District 26, initiated a meeting and tour of environmentally sensitive areas in Legislative District 26/Councilmanic District 8 with Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources, Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. The tour included the Fort Washington Marina at Captain’s Cove, which is in the process of being leased by the National Park Service. At the Marina, Delegate Walker addressed the need for dredging with Secretary Haddaway-Riccio and members of the National Park Service.
Walker moved the tour to the proposed K-8 site, then downstream to waterfront properties suffering from silting, resulting from weak stormwater infrastructure and irresponsible development. The last stop was a property in the historic Silesia section of Livingston Road, where they noticed several environmental infractions.
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I was happy to join the tour with Delegate Walker and take Secretary Haddaway-Riccio to the historical St. John Church, where we walked to the Henson Creek and discussed restoration and resiliency. The aged stormwater infrastructure has caused many years of devastation. Since I took office, I have continued to raise the environmental, physical/mental health, and fiscal challenges our constituents and communities have had to endure. The problems continue to exacerbate, especially with the heavy rainfalls we are experiencing. Maryland State Delegate Jay Walker is tackling the issue, by engaging state agencies. We are working together for county and state input as we seek solutions to protect our homes, health, and environment.
The Prince George’s County Council, sitting as the District Council and Prince George’s County Planning Board of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) will hold virtual joint public hearings on September 13 and 14 at 5:00 p.m. to solicit comments from the public on the Countywide Sectional Map Amendment (CMA). The CMA is the second phase of the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite project that will apply the new zoning regulations to properties in the County.
This is important, for you to be aware of, because the County’s Zoning Ordinance institutes the development in our communities. Zoning laws determine what can be built on land in the county, i.e., what (the use/purpose), where (location), and how many businesses or properties can be built. All communities scale of retail, housing and businesses, non-profit entities are included in the zoning laws. The public hearing is part of a process leading to the approval of a new zoning map, thereby implementing the zones contained in the new Zoning Ordinance for Prince George’s County adopted by the Council through Council Bill CB-13-2018 on October 23, 2018.
Background information
2014
The Prince George’s County Council began studying and working on the process of updating the fifty-year-old Zoning Ordinance.
2018
The Prince George’s County Council passed legislation (CB-13-2018) on October 23, 2018, officially initiating steps that would lead to implementing a new zoning map, which is the Countywide Map Amendment.
2019
In July 2019, the Prince George’s County Council authorized the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (N-MCPPC) to prepare a Countywide Map Amendment to implement the zones contained in a new Zoning Ordinance adopted by the Council. This has been an arduous process and was delayed during the pandemic, but is reaching completion.
Copies of the proposed zoning map are available free of charge at the following locations: Hillcrest Heights Community Center, 2300 Oxon Run Drive, Oxon Hill, MD 20745, Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex, 7007 Bock Road, Fort Washington, MD 20770, Wayne K. Curry Sports & Learning Center, 8001 Sheriff Road, Landover, MD 20785, the County Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center, 7120 Contee Road, Laurel, MD 20707, and the project web page at http://zoningPGC.pgplanning.com
PUBLIC HEARING - MUST REGISTER BEFORE 3:00 PM on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
Persons who wish to speak at the public hearing must register in advance before 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 9, 2021 at https://pgccouncil.us/458/Public-Hearing-Notices-Sign-Up-to-Speak (scroll to bottom of page)
Written testimony will be accepted in electronic format, rather than by U.S. mail and may be submitted through the online portal, emailed to clerkofthecouncil@co.pg.md.us or faxed to (301) 952-5178.
Written comments may be submitted through the close of business on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 when the record of public hearing testimony will close.
For more information on the Zoning Ordinance for Prince George’s County and CMA, visit zoningpgc.pgplanning.com , call 301-952-4944 or email zoningpgc@ppd.mncppc.org
Council Member Monique Anderson-Walker was honored to be invited as the only civilian panelist for the 2021 Women's Equality Day (8/26/21) hosted by Colonel Tyler Schaff at Joint Base Andrews. The other women panelists were Chief Master Sergeant Peterson, Joint Base Anacostia Bolling Command Chief, Captain Jenkins, a Phoenix Horizon C-37 pilot and special projects OIC, 99th Airlift Squadron, Joint Base Andrews and Junior enlisted member, Airman First Class Stevens, a Squadron Aviation Resource Manager at the 1st helicopter squadron.
The socially distance event was well attended by Commanders, Chiefs, First Sergeant and the men and women across Joint Base Andrews and Prince George's County and was live streamed virtually on Facebook. A few questions were posed to the panel, before the moderator opened the session up for the sessions attendees to ask questions.
The discussion was very transparent, and attendees shared personal stories with emphasis on the need for more equality for women in the armed forces. While some of the women attendees, who have served for years, attested things are changing, they acknowledged there is still much work to be done. Council Member Anderson-Walker stressed the importance of self-care and managing your life, by staying positive and moving towards your goals. Council Member Anderson-Walker also raised the equity issue vs. equality, stating establishing an even playing field is a vital first step before addressing equality.
Having these open forums and providing safe spaces to communicate are important. The leadership who hosted the event, agreed with the panelists and the attendees, affirming the need for safe place forums to continue addressing the equality concerns, and most importantly, actions being taken to meet the equality goals.
To view the session, Click https://fb.watch/7POu7Iy9uu/
We continue to appreciate our meaningful partnerships with District 8 - Joint Base Andrews!
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Our second Drone Education Workshop with our partner, Global Air Drone Academy (GADA), was hosted at Joint Base Andrews in the space that houses the World Renown SparkX Center, which is the Force's newly minted Tech Incubator. We were excited with our 30 registrants for our two week camp the last two Saturdays in August. |
Our students participated in an hour tour of the facility with demonstrations of modeling everything from airplane part fabrications to metal 3D printers used to create drones in-house. The smaller groups were able to also test there recently acquired flying skills in the GADA provided flight zones in the space used for training.
Continuing to build exposure experiences for our youth with unique STEAM approaches to learning, enabling them to balance creativity and their critical thinking skills.
Enthusiasm was in the air! You could see it and feel it, by all present, at the Saturday, 8/28 Re-Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the Tucker Road Ice Rink. Thanks to Elizabeth M. Hewlett, Chairman, Prince George’s County Planning Board and The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the M-NCPPC team, Bill Tyler, Department of Parks and Recreation, State delegates, and Alexandria Briggs-Blake and Yvette McAdams, Tucker Road Ice Rink Stakeholder Group Members and everyone who contributed to this state-of-the-art facility.
The ice rink consists of 48,869 square feet for indoor community, ice skating, figure skating and ice hockey, with a National Hockey League sized ice rink with seating for 300-35O spectators
The building also has flexible classroom/party room, a vending cafe snack bar, dance studio, a skate rental space, 6 locker rooms, 2 officials’ changing rooms and a family restroom/changing area.
Lessons are available to learn to play hockey and for toddlers, youth, and adult to learn how to skate.
Take time to go see this spectacular District 8 community gem that is back in operation, allowing more generations to be introduced and enjoy getting on the ice!
 
 
Back to School Backpack Distribution - Wednesday, September 8th is the first day of school for Prince George's County School. This past Saturday, after the Tucker Road Ice Rink re-opening, we partnered with District 7 Police Station to give away 150 backpacks with supplies. Additionally, D-8 was honored to received 50 donated stuffed backpacks from the Silver Hill Fire Department to give out to students.
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Attended the ribbon cutting to the new lobby and entrance area of Adventist HealthCare Fort Washington Medical Center on Monday, August 30, 2021.
This is just the beginning of many expansion plans Adventist HealthCare FWMC has for its patients in southern Prince George's County.
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Enjoyed a productive Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) summer conference in Ocean City with Maryland lawmakers. The conference theme was “Resilient, Responsive…..Ready. I reconnected with my colleagues from around the state, in-person and work collectively on promoting and implementing best practices in healthcare, utilization of ARP funds, housing, infrastructure, equity and public safety.
I was honored MACo invited me to moderate a session addressing distracted driving, "Eyes on the Road: Vehicles and Vision Zero". I opened with the pertinent message of my initiative #DrivingItHome that we must change our driving culture to protect ourselves, other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and people on other modes of transportation. It was a very informative, well attended session with an excellent panel, Ragina Ali, AAA, Christine Nizer, MVA/MDOT, Mark Etzbach, Acusensus, and Capt. Jim Brown, MOCO police.
Thanks to MACo, MACo Executive Director Mark Sanderson, and your team and MACo's leadership for a great conference!
Enjoy the beautiful weather over this holiday weekend! Please be safe.
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