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When a plane taking off from Freeway Airport in Bowie clipped a car聽and crashed聽onto U.S. 50聽last Thursday, it was a reminder of how perilously close the airfield is to a busy commuter thoroughfare.
As it happens, the airport鈥檚 future was the subject of a Prince George鈥檚 County Council public hearing just two days before the crash.
The hearing, on legislation sponsored by Councilman Derrick Leon Davis (D) months ago at the request of the airport鈥檚 owner, would allow for significant聽residential development at the site.
That legislation has generated opposition from Bowie-area residents who worry that a bevy of new homes would generate additional traffic 鈥� particularly on Church Road, which runs perpendicular to U.S. 50.
After hearing from dozens of opponents, Davis said he will retool the measure聽to reduce the number of homes that could be built on the 120-plus acre site.
Despite opposition from the City of Bowie and people who live along Church Road, lawmakers seem inclined to approve a zoning change that would allow for some residential development.
鈥淭he airport is dying, and it鈥檚 been dying since [the] 9/11 [attacks],鈥� said Davis, whose district includes the property. 鈥淚s it time for the airport to go away? Is it the highest and best use now? Yeah, it鈥檚 probably run its course.鈥�
Prince George鈥檚 County Council President Todd Turner (D) agreed the airport鈥檚 days are numbered, but said what follows next is up in the air.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 universal consensus that the time for the airport not to be there anymore is upon us,鈥� said Turner, a former Bowie official聽who represents several nearby communities.
鈥淭he question now is what should go in its place 鈥� and that鈥檚 what the conversation is right now.鈥�
Freeway Airport has been in the Rodenhauser family for decades. With the death of owner Stanley Rodenhauser in July, his daughter Kimberly has been spearheading communications with county officials and the community about what to do next.
At the public hearing last week, she said the only way for the facility to survive economically is to increase business 鈥� probably not the best option for an increasingly dense area 鈥� or to develop the land into what Davis called 鈥渦pscale townhomes.鈥�
鈥淭his property is all we have left,鈥� she testified, according to the聽Capital Gazette.
鈥淭he area has changed from a sleepy agricultural enclave to a suburban residential area,鈥� she added.
Bowie Planning Director Joe Meinert told the County Council that the addition of new homes on the airport site would conflict with the zoning pattern the city has聽established for the area, the聽Capital Gazette听谤别辫辞谤迟别诲.
鈥淓ssentially you鈥檙e changing the rules,鈥� he testified. 鈥淎 lot of people have bought homes in that corridor relying on the zoning rules, so this upsets that entire pattern of densities.鈥�
Residents also noted the death of 14-year-old honors student Kamal Nashid, who was in a crosswalk at the intersection of Church Road and Fairview Vista Drive when he was struck and killed while jogging in June,聽.
Davis, the bill鈥檚 sponsor, recalled serving on the staff of former Councilmember Ronald Russell (D) in the early 1990s, when a plane heading to Potomac Airfield crashed into a home in Fort Washington.
鈥淚 learned more about what they call 鈥榓ccident potential zones鈥� than I ever wanted to know,鈥� he said in an interview.
Davis pushed back against the notion that development would 鈥渙verwhelm the area鈥� if the airport shut down, but after hearing community feedback, he said he will go back, consult with county planners and return with a revised bill later this fall.
鈥淲hat they want to see is a narrowing of the scope of the legislation,鈥� he said.
