The study area’s current land uses date back to the 1950s, when farmland first was subdivided for commercial and industrial uses. Five decades of commercial and industrial development in typical mid- and late twentieth-century suburban forms has resulted in a small, defined industrial center operating adjacent to an arterial roadway lined with retail, service, and restaurant uses. Today, however, the community is witnessing the unintended outcomes of past practices, as aesthetic, operational, and environmental impacts now affect area businesses and limit prospects for new investment along St. Barnabas Road and within the industrial area. Over the past few years, the Prince George’s County Department of Environmental Resources (DER) and The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) have identified a number of properties within the study area as having code violations, including businesses operating without valid Use and Occupancy permits (U&Os), violations of approved site plans, activities inconsistent with the issued U&O, accumulated debris/dumping, inadequate screening and landscaping, and illegal signage. These violations have created a landscape of disorder that also affects area neighborhoods and diminishes future economic prospects for the area.
Study Background and Purpose
T
he St. Barnabas-Beech Road Industrial Study and Action Plan focuses on a commercial and industrial district located between Branch Avenue (MD 5), St. Barnabas Road, Temple Hill Road, and the Capital Beltway near the Branch Avenue Metro Station (see Map 1). Bisected by Beech Road, this area is home to a range of light industrial and commercial uses, including auto sales and storage, auto parts sales, limited warehousing, and personal services.
Given the area’s history as an industrial center and the current outcomes of late twentieth-century development patterns, new approaches are needed to ensure the viability of existing businesses, encourage private owners to reinvest in their properties, and attract new commercial and industrial operations. A single, regulatory-based strategy, such as rezoning, will not suffice. This study makes a set of coordinated recommendations that will support area goals and promote cooperation between the public and private sectors to create a better business environment in the St. Barnabas-Beech Road area.
Study Background and Goals In 2009, the Prince George’s County Council approved the Branch Avenue Corridor Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment, which focuses on Branch Avenue, an older commercial corridor that runs just north of the St. Barnabas-Beech Road study area. This sector plan also proposes a number of recommendations for revitalization of the St. Barnabas Road corridor. County decision makers and planning staff recognized the impact that the St. Barnabas-Beech Road industrial area could have on the success of the Branch Avenue sector plan’s revitalization strategies,
st. barnabas–beech road industrial study and action plan
9