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Communities Affected
Joint Base Andrews is located in central Prince George’s County, Maryland, approximately five miles southeast of the District of Columbia/Prince George’s County boundary and about ten miles southeast of Capitol Hill. The base covers 4,346 acres or about 6.8 square miles of land area and lies near the junction of three key regional transportation routes: the Capital Beltway (I-95/495), Pennsylvania Avenue (MD 4), and Suitland Parkway. The Suitland Parkway right-of-way, managed by the National Park Service, forms part of the base’s northern boundary, and the Capital Beltway runs along a stretch of the base’s northwestern border. Other key roads in the base’s vicinity include Branch Avenue (MD 5), Woodyard Road-Piscataway Road (MD 223), Suitland Road, Marlboro Pike, and Allentown Road.
Study Area
The Joint Base Andrews JLUS study area extends approximately 1 mile around the base. This area generally includes land surrounding the base on which the potential for encroachment impacts is the greatest. Possible encroachments include land uses that concentrate large numbers of people within flight paths, high noise levels, and building and vegetation heights that could interfere with air operations.
According to the 2007 AICUZ study for Joint Base Andrews, these encroachment issues are found to the north, east, and south of the base, but not to the west. Some encroachment issues extend beyond this 1-mile area. In these cases a broader study area was adopted in order to conduct a more comprehensive examination of specific encroachment impacts, such as aircraft noise levels; building, structure, and vegetation heights; transportation systems; and damage to environmental resources.
Future Land Use
Future land use around Joint Base Andrews is in a dynamic state with several subregion and sector plans in various stages of preparation and approval. Proposed future land use is best described as either “generally compatible” or “generally incompatible” with the Air Force land use guidelines contained in the 2007 Andrews AFB AICUZ Study. This is because future land use categories are expressed broadly in local plans, with general categories such as “industrial,” “institutional,” or “residential low.” These broad uses can be described as compatible or incompatible, but particular uses within each larger land use category may actually be incompatible due to density, intensity, or safety hazards on the property. For example, industrial uses are generally compatible, but an industrial use that includes material processing that uses flammable chemicals would violate the AICUZ guidelines.
Northern Side
On the northern side of the base, proposed future land uses generally parallel existing land uses. A few areas will be more compatible with the AICUZ guidelines if they develop in accordance with their future land use designations. These include the Forestville Plaza and Marlo Plaza sites (existing use-commercial, proposed future use-industrial). The Clear Zone’s proposed future land uses-“industrial” properties-would remain incompatible, as no development is permissible in the Clear Zone under AICUZ guidelines. Residential areas in APZ II, such as North Forestville, Sunny Acres, and Forestville Estates, will remain incompatible, as their proposed future land use designation of “residential medium” (3.5 to 8 dwelling units per acre) is denser than recommended in the AICUZ guidelines. Areas designated “institutional” will be generally incompatible since they include North Forestville Elementary School and several churches, uses which concentrate large numbers of individuals on a particular property on a regular basis.
Southern Side
On the southern side of the base, the extensive residential areas are shown as generally compatible because the existing zoning designation meets the recommended residential density in the AICUZ guidelines.
Study Area
The Joint Base Andrews JLUS study area extends approximately 1 mile around the base. This area generally includes land surrounding the base on which the potential for encroachment impacts is the greatest. Possible encroachments include land uses that concentrate large numbers of people within flight paths, high noise levels, and building and vegetation heights that could interfere with air operations.
According to the 2007 AICUZ study for Joint Base Andrews, these encroachment issues are found to the north, east, and south of the base, but not to the west. Some encroachment issues extend beyond this 1-mile area. In these cases a broader study area was adopted in order to conduct a more comprehensive examination of specific encroachment impacts, such as aircraft noise levels; building, structure, and vegetation heights; transportation systems; and damage to environmental resources.
Future Land Use
Future land use around Joint Base Andrews is in a dynamic state with several subregion and sector plans in various stages of preparation and approval. Proposed future land use is best described as either “generally compatible” or “generally incompatible” with the Air Force land use guidelines contained in the 2007 Andrews AFB AICUZ Study. This is because future land use categories are expressed broadly in local plans, with general categories such as “industrial,” “institutional,” or “residential low.” These broad uses can be described as compatible or incompatible, but particular uses within each larger land use category may actually be incompatible due to density, intensity, or safety hazards on the property. For example, industrial uses are generally compatible, but an industrial use that includes material processing that uses flammable chemicals would violate the AICUZ guidelines.
Northern Side
On the northern side of the base, proposed future land uses generally parallel existing land uses. A few areas will be more compatible with the AICUZ guidelines if they develop in accordance with their future land use designations. These include the Forestville Plaza and Marlo Plaza sites (existing use-commercial, proposed future use-industrial). The Clear Zone’s proposed future land uses-“industrial” properties-would remain incompatible, as no development is permissible in the Clear Zone under AICUZ guidelines. Residential areas in APZ II, such as North Forestville, Sunny Acres, and Forestville Estates, will remain incompatible, as their proposed future land use designation of “residential medium” (3.5 to 8 dwelling units per acre) is denser than recommended in the AICUZ guidelines. Areas designated “institutional” will be generally incompatible since they include North Forestville Elementary School and several churches, uses which concentrate large numbers of individuals on a particular property on a regular basis.
Southern Side
On the southern side of the base, the extensive residential areas are shown as generally compatible because the existing zoning designation meets the recommended residential density in the AICUZ guidelines.