The Redeemed Christian Church of God (Victory Temple) v. Cnty. Council for Prince George's Cnty.

THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD (VICTORY TEMPLE) v. COUNTY COUNCIL FOR PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND

No. 307-2020

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

August 4, 2021

Circuit Court for Prince George's County Case No CAE19-18641.

Nazarian, Wells, Raker, Irma S. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.

OPINION ^[*]

Nazarian, J.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Victory Temple ("Victory Temple") owns an approximately twenty-nine-acre piece of property in Bowie on which it planned to construct a church with a seating capacity of 1, 200 to 2, 000 people. The property was designated Category 5 under Prince George's County's Water and Sewer Plan (the "Water and Sewer Plan" or the "Plan"), which means that the property is within the County's water and sewer envelope but should not be developed until water and sewer lines are available to serve it. To develop the property, the Victory Temple would need its designation to be upgraded to Category 4. According to the Water and Sewer Plan, such an upgrade must be accomplished by way of a legislative amendment to the Plan. Victory Temple applied for an amendment in or about November 2018.

In May 2019, after consideration by various local agencies and after two public hearings, the County Council of Prince George's County (the "Council") voted against the category change request. In response, Victory Temple filed a petition for administrative mandamus under Title 7, Chapter 400 of the Maryland Rules. The Circuit Court for Prince George's County granted the County's motion to dismiss, holding that the Council's refusal to change the water and sewer designation was a legislative decision and not subject to challenge by way of administrative mandamus. We agree and affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Victory Temple is a religious congregation associated with the Redeemed Christian Church of God ("RCCG"), an evangelical Christian denomination headquartered in Nigeria.^[1] According to Victory Temple, the RCCG began in Nigeria in 1952 and has grown to over 40, 000 parishes in 165 countries. Victory Temple was founded in Bowie in 1996 and has grown from 500 members in 2002 to over 2, 000 adult members and 350 children and teenage members today. Victory Temple operates out of a former furniture store, a space that, it represents, has grown too small for its congregation. To that end, in 2018, Victory Temple acquired property totaling approximately twenty-nine acres located at 14403 Mount Oak Road in Bowie. Victory Temple planned to construct on the site a 60, 000 square foot, two-story facility with a proposed seating capacity of 1, 200 to 2, 000 people.

The dispute before us relates to the requirements of the County's Water and Sewer Plan, a ten-year plan addressing water supply and sewerage systems that Maryland law requires each county to have. Maryland Code (1982, 2014 Repl. Vol.), § 9-503 of the Environment Article ("EN"); see Dugan v. Prince George's Cnty., 216 Md.App. 650, 655- 56 (2014). The parties do not dispute that the applicable version is the Water and Sewer Plan the County adopted on November 18, 2008. The Plan divides areas of the County into water and sewer categories based on their capacity to accommodate additional water and sewer customers. If a proposed project requires more new water and sewer capacity than its categorization permits, the landowner can file an application, through procedures the Plan defines, asking the County Council to amend the Plan to change the property's water and sewer category.^[2]

Victory Temple's proposed church building requires more water and sewer capacity than the property's categorization (Category 5) would allow, so the Temple submitted an application for a category change (to Category 4) in the Council's December 2018 Legislative Amendment cycle. According to the Water and Sewer Plan, the "Legislative Amendment process typically takes about four months" and involves the Council's referral of the proposed amendment(s) to local agencies for comments, followed by the Council's introduction of a Resolution and a public hearing. The process culminates when the Council reviews and votes on the proposed amendments. Section 6.3.2 of the Plan provides that "[i]n order for the County to approve a particular category change, the project must meet the policies and criteria listed Section 2.1.4 of this plan." Section 2.1.4 includes three pages of considerations under six subheadings:

A. Environmental factors

B. Economics and general fiscal concerns

C. Planning, zoning, and subdivision requirements

D. Federal, State, Regional, County and Municipal land use plans and planning policies

E. Water and sewer facility plans, engineering constraints, and the availability of transmission and treatment capacity

F. The need to alleviate public health problems

Section 2.1.4.D, which addresses land use and area planning, contains a subsection that references "traffic impacts":

Proposed development shall be analyzed for consistency with the General Plan, master/sector plans, and functional master plans as defined by Article 28 of the Maryland Annotated Code. This analysis shall include, but not be limited to, the impact of proposed developments and water and sewer extensions on land use, development patterns, historic sites and districts, public facilities, green infrastructure, and transportation system, including, but not limited to, traffic impacts, road construction needs, sidewalks, pedestrian trails and road connectivity in the surrounding neighborhoods.

(Emphasis added.)

The initiation and consideration of Victory Temple's application followed the "Legislative" process outlined in the Plan. Specifically, Victory Temple applied for the change in or about November 2018. On March 12, 2019, the County Council introduced Resolution CR-18-2019, which included Victory Temple's application and the applications of seven other applicants being considered in the December 2018 cycle. On April 11, 2019, the Prince George's County Planning Board^[3] transmitted to the County Council a staff report (the "Staff Report," "Report," or "DPIE Staff Report") prepared by the County's Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement ("DPIE"). The Staff Report contained information and recommendations for all eight of the applications, and incorporated input from and the recommendations of a variety of local entities and agencies.

The Report included DPIE's own conclusion that the Property "is consistent with criteria established in the [2008 Water and Sewer] Plan":

2008 Water and Sewer Plan: The property is consistent with criteria established in the Plan relating to contiguity to existing urban or suburban developments, proximity to existing or funded public water and sewer systems and in concert with the availability of other public facilities. The Plan recommends properties located inside the Sewer Envelope to be developed on public water and sewer systems and requires the developers to bear the full responsibility of the costs of on-and [sic] -offsite public facilities.

The Report also indicated that according to the Prince George's County General Plan, the "vision" for the area in which the Property is located "is context-sensitive infill and low to medium-density development" and that, according to the 2006 master plan for Bowie, the property is in an area for which "residential low land use development" is recommended.^[4]The Staff Report also contained observations addressing "Transportation," including that at least one roadway would need "[a]dditional dedication . . . to meet the master plan right- of-way." and that "a transportation study may be required to evaluate adequacy of the roadways in the surrounding area."^[5]

The entry for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission ("WSSC") offered specific observations about the water and sewer lines, including the statements that the WSSC "will make the determination of the best means to provide water service to the site when the applicant submits a HPA review package," that half of the property would be served by one extension to an existing sewer line, and that the other half could be served by an extension to another existing sewer line.^[6]

Finally, the Staff Report indicated that the City of Bowie recommended that the Council deny the requested amendment, while the Planning Department and the County Executive recommended granting it.^[7]

On April 16, 2019, the County Council held a public hearing. Neighborhood residents and others appeared, and each person got approximately three minutes to speak. Of the thirty-four people who spoke about Victory Temple's application, twenty-one spoke against approving the category change.^[8] The opponents raised a variety of concerns, including strains on community infrastructure, property valuations, and increased traffic and congestion. One individual, Joe Meinert, identified himself as the City of Bowie Planning Director. He stated that Bowie residents had raised concerns about the impact the project would have on traffic and referenced a letter, dated March 15, 2019, from the Bowie City Council to the Prince George's County Council, which is also in the record. The letter describes a traffic improvement project planned for a stretch of Church Road "where improvements are desperately needed between MD 214 and Woodmore Road/Mount Oak Road," but noted that the project was not currently funded.^[9]

After hearing from those opposed to the category change, the County Council heard from those in favor of the amendment. They included the pastor of Victory Temple and members of the church. They emphasized the health, economic, and youth services that the church provides to its members. Ade Olujobi described himself as "the project coordinator for the church", and he...