Lanham, Seabrook and Glenn Dale residents told the Prince George's County Council and Planning Board at a joint public hearing Tuesday night that they want to see the Lanham-area sector plan better address the Folly Branch watershed, code enforcement and the Glenn Dale Hospital site.

Nearly 30 area residents attended the public hearing on the Lanham, Seabrook and Glenn Dale Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment, and about 10 residents spoke.

The sector plan, which was released in September, updates the 1993 land use plan for the area and makes recommendations for land use, historic preservation, transportation and parks. The process began in July 2008 when the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission began holding community-wide meetings. Resident recommendations and comments on the draft plan may be submitted to the County Council until Oct. 21 and will be incorporated into the updated plan.

The final plan likely will be adopted in March after County Council approval.

Glenwood Park residents David Dyer and Kym Taylor testified, saying they're concerned about the Folly Branch watershed, which abuts their neighborhood, and future development at the nearby Vista Gardens Marketplace.

"I'm in favor of keeping the character and personality of the neighborhood," Taylor said.

The preliminary plan lists the condition of the Folly Branch watershed as "very poor."

Residents want a hydrologic study of the watershed completed as a first step in addressing the problem.

Dyer said the plan lacks environmental focus.

County Councilman Eric Olson (D-Dist. 3) of College Park, who attended many of the sector plan meetings, said that what he heard Tuesday wasn't anything new.

"Those are serious issues that need to be worked out," Olson said of the Folly Branch water table issues.

Seabrook resident Emily Hickey testified and said that a section on code enforcement should be added to the sector plan. Hickey said she hopes codes will better enforce lawn cutting, house painting and trash removal.

"Implementing the sector plan and sectional map amendment without a focus on code enforcement is like planting a beautiful tree and not watering it," Hickey said.

Shannon Guzman, planner for the community planning north division of the M-NCPPC, said the plan reflects the issues and concerns residents raised during the 11 months of community meetings.

"What's come out is that people want to strengthen and protect their neighborhoods — they don't want to see drastic changes," Guzman said. "They're happy with their neighborhoods — we're just enhancing what's there."

Glenn Dale resident Henry Wixon told the County Council that Glenn Dale residents want to see more commitment from the county for the Glenn Dale Hospital Site and a Master Plan developed for the site.

The hospital was a tuberculosis sanitarium in the 1930s and closed around 1982. The hospital, located on Glenn Dale Road north of Annapolis Road, encompasses more than 200 acres of land and 23 buildings.

The preliminary plan recommends an evaluation of the buildings at the Glenn Dale Hospital site for the M-NCPPC's nomination of it for the National Register of Historic Places by the end of the year.

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.

-Written comments on the Lanham, Seabrook and Glenn Dale Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment can be submitted until Oct. 21 to the Clerk of the County Council, County Administration Building, at 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772.

-To read the plan online, visit: www.pgplanning.org/Resources

/Publications/Glenn_Dale

_Seabrook_Lanham.htm