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A Prince George's County Circuit Court judge has shot down motions filed by a community group to stop progress on the Subregion 5 and 6 master plans that pave the way for development in the county's rural tier.

The Accokeek, Mattawoman, Piscataway Creeks Communities Council fears the highly contested master plans — approved in September by the county's District Council — will spur overdevelopment and burden roads and resources in the southeastern part of the county.

In a hearing Wednesday in Upper Marlboro, Judge Michelle D. Hotten ruled progress on the plans will continue, even as the AMP council pursues further litigation to throw out the plans entirely on the basis of an alleged ethics violation. A hearing on the alleged violation is scheduled for March.

On Wednesday, the judge also denied the District Council's motion to merge several petitions filed against the master plan into one case, as well as a motion by the AMP Council for Hotten to remove herself from the case. The council's attorney suggested Hotten could be biased because she previously served as a zoning attorney for the county during the last update to the subregion master plans in 1993.

The case stems from the Prince George's County District Council's 6-3 approval Sept. 9 of an amended master plan that rezones thousands of acres of land for commercial use in subregions 5 and 6.

The revisions, put forth in July by then-Council Chairwoman Marilynn Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton, allow for the construction of a strip mall in Accokeek and the rezoning of Hyde Field Airport in Clinton for 2,000 residential units, as well as retail and office space.

During the summer, residents protested outside the County Council building against the amendments. Residents spent years battling with developers and the county's Planning Board, urging them to not recommend rezoning in Subregion 5.

The AMP council said continued development and construction on the master plans could be costly to residents and developers counting on current zoning if the plans eventually are overturned. Kelly Canavan, AMP council president, also said some residents whose properties have been "down-zoned" to allow less development will be in limbo until the case is resolved.

At the hearing scheduled for March 18, the judge will rule on whether the District Council violated the Maryland Public Ethics Law, as alleged by the AMP Council. The law requires individuals and businesses seeking denser zoning for their properties to disclose whether they have made campaign contributions in the past 36 months to any member of the County Council, which sits as the District Council to make land-use decisions.

In court Wednesday, J. Carroll Holzer, attorney for the AMP council, argued the District Council failed to file affidavits from these landowners prior to approving the master plans. Holzer argued if the affidavits had been filed, District Council members who received contributions from applicants would have had to recuse themselves before their vote.

"The District Council's actions were unlawful," Holzer said. "The eligibility of its members to vote was not determined."

District Council attorney Steve Gilbert told the judge the AMP council failed to show specific incidents where affidavits were not filed and said it was up to the property owners, not the District Council, to file affidavits.

"Their reading of the public ethics law is completely wrong," he said. "They haven't shown why it's a problem."

E-mail Joshua Garner at jgarner@gazette.net.