Prince George’s County District Council on Monday denied a detailed site plan (DSP 20002) for the Jyok Sun Buddhist Temple in Laurel, ruling the applicant had not complied with a prior remand and that the planning board lacked a new record to act upon.

The council’s 8-0 roll-call vote followed presentations by county planning staff, the applicant’s attorney and congregation representatives, and a procedural statement from council counsel and planning staff explaining that the planning board could not meet the remand’s 60-day timeline because the applicant had not submitted the required materials.

The decision matters because the council had remanded the case for four specific items: (1) whether the proposal is exempt from preliminary plan of subdivision approval, (2) whether an approved stormwater management concept plan should be required at certification, (3) whether the DSP improperly included land of an adjoining property owner, and (4) whether the applicant had demonstrated arrangements for overflow parking for larger special events. Those four points framed the hearing and the council’s review.

Jill Kozak, an urban design staffer with the county planning division, summarized the site and the remand points for the council, saying the property is 1.64 acres at the southeast corner of Maryland Route 197 and Snowdon Road and that the proposal was evaluated under the prior zoning ordinance. She told the council the applicant did not file a preliminary plan of subdivision or submit amended materials addressing the remand points within the 60‑day period, and that planning staff therefore issued a resolution of no action.

Tracy Scudder, attorney for the applicant, argued the organization was entitled to relief because the planning board could not complete the required preliminary-plan and remand process within 60 days. Scudder told the council that the applicant had contacted planning staff in February 2024 and been told the remand could not be satisfied in 60 days, and that the applicant therefore sought a fair process that would allow time to address the remand conditions. "The applicant respectfully requests an opportunity to address any concerns of the council, but under a fair process that affords them adequate time," Scudder said.

Don Gwen, vice president of the temple, described the financial and emotional toll on the congregation and said requiring a subdivision would likely add roughly $100,000 in additional cost and make the current project infeasible for the small organization. "The additional investment would make the current project no longer feasible due to its accessible cost," Gwen said.

An opponent, Barbara Solner Webb, spoke during public testimony and said she had followed the case for years and raised continuing complaints from neighbors, including noise, trash and use of adjoining property for parking. "I would very much hope that you all continue to support the rights of the long-term landowners nearby who have suffered for years with excessive noise," she said.

Stan Brown, who spoke on procedural questions for persons of record, and county counsel Raj Kumar both emphasized that the remand hearing’s scope is limited to the four points specified by the district council and that, under council rules, a party that could not meet a remand should have requested reconsideration at the next meeting after issuance of the remand order. Kumar said on the record that, given the present record, the application should be denied because the council previously found the building’s square footage could exceed the threshold that would require subdivision.

Council Member De Nogue moved to deny the detailed site plan; Council Member Harrison seconded. On the roll call the council recorded Ayes from Chair Ivy, Council Member Leggett, Vice Chair Burrows, Council Member De Nogue, Council Member Fisher, Council Member Harrison, Council Member Olson and Council Member Watson. The motion carried 8-0.

The council’s action denies the current DSP application on procedural and record-based grounds. In the hearing, both planning staff and the council noted that the applicant had not filed a revised DSP under 5,000 square feet (the threshold discussed in the case) nor sought preliminary-plan review within the remand timeframe, and that most contested factual items raised at the meeting were not in the hearing record. Council members who spoke said they were open to facilitating talks between the temple and neighbors and indicated that a subsequently filed compliant DSP or a properly filed subdivision request could be considered in the future.

Clarifying details from the hearing: the site is 1.64 acres; the contested building-size threshold discussed in the remand is 5,000 square feet; the applicant said it holds a stormwater management concept approval that staff said had been renewed and was valid through 2026; the applicant estimated additional subdivision-related costs near $100,000; and the council’s remand listed four discrete items the planning board was ordered to address.

The council also noted the procedural remedies available to the applicant: a timely request for reconsideration under council rules, filing a revised DSP under the 5,000-square-foot threshold, or filing a preliminary plan of subdivision and a revised DSP. The denial rests on the state of the administrative record rather than a detailed ruling on the substantive merits of the temple’s proposed building.

PROVENANCE: topicintro: transcript block starting "DSP 20002, Remand, Jyok Sun Buddhist Temple..."; topfinish: transcript block beginning at the roll-call on the motion to deny and vote. (Evidence is drawn from the hearing record presented to the council.)