Woodland Conservation Ordinance
Protecting and preserving the greenspace in Prince George’s County has long been a value of its residents. In 1989, Prince George’s County passed a suite of transformative environmental legislation to codify these protections and became the first municipality in the country to do so.
The Prince George’s County Woodland Conservation and Tree Preservation Ordinance was passed in 1989 to protect tree and woodland resources, and codified as Subtitle 25, Division 2. Also in 1989, the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area regulations were adopted to protect the Chesapeake Bay and the resources closest to tidal waters. Both of these bills were followed by similar legislation at the state level, resulting first in the Forest Conservation Act in 1991. At that time, revisions were made to the Subdivision Regulations (Subtitle 24:Subdivision Regulations) that resulted in the protection of streams and wetlands and their associated buffers.
Prior to this legislation, protection of environmental resources was limited to areas identified during the review of development applications. There were few County Code provisions to assist in the determination of which resources were most important. There also was no guidance regarding the processes for field identification of resources and documentation on the plans submitted. Today, you can use the documents and processes found on this page to ensure that development occurs according to code.
In the ensuing years, the Prince George’s County Council has strengthened provisions now-named Woodlands and Wildlife Conservation Ordinance (WCO) resulting in the rules, regulations, and processes found here.
