Bowie, Prince George's at odds over land-use decision to allow resident to split lot But the city has no authority over land-use issues, and now it is up to the Prince George's Planning Board, which has a recommendation from the county planning staff to approve the request by owner Sean Yerby. The Planning Board will review the case Thursday. The development plan has become an emotional subject in the city of 56,000 residents. Many who have lived in the neighborhood for decades say they want to preserve the original character of their community, which is part of nearly 9,000 houses built in the 1960s by William J. Levitt, the father of modern suburbia. The case also has brought to light Bowie's long-standing disagreements with the county over land-use decisions and has revived the city's demands for its own zoning authority. "We do not have the say in what goes on in our neighborhood, what can or cannot be built," said Diane Polangin, a Bowie City Council member. "People go to the county and say "you know I want to put this up," and the county would approve it even if Bowie doesn't approve it." In a staff report, county planners said Yerby's proposal for the 0.74-acre site conforms with Prince George's master plan and would maintain the low-to-moderate density of the neighborhood. The project's engineer, Greg Benfield, said at a Bowie public hearing last month that the new lots will remain consistent with the neighborhood, where the size of lots varies. We are not proposing an apartment complex. We are proposing two single-family dwellings that will be conformable with what is there," Benfield said. Bowie City Planner Frank Stevens said the proposal is not compatible with the city's vision for that neighborhood, which he said has not seen major structural changes since it was established in the early 1960s. Helen Krulik, who lives three doors away from Yerby, said she and her family moved to the neighborhood 51 years ago because of its large yards. Although the city and the county have developed over the decades, she said, the community maintains a country feel, with large spaces between homes. "This will change the tranquility, the integrity, the character of our neighborhood," said Krulik, 78. Polangin, the council member, said residents also fear the decision would set a precedent for other owners of large lots in the community to build new homes. "I am not against development; I am not against change," she said. But I also believe that whenever you build something, and you are coming into an already established community, that you need to build whatever is the flavor of that community, and this is not the flavor of our community. Bowie city officials say they would consider appealing a decision allowing the project to proceed. They added that they would continue to try to gain authority over the city's land-use issues. "We are the largest city in the state of Maryland that is treated this way," Mayor G. Frederick Robinson said. The municipalities in Montgomery County make these decisions on their own. Robinson, the city's mayor since 1998, has lobbied in Annapolis for such a change. "Every year, I get a different reason why we can't do it,"" he said. "And the answers range from "it's a County Council decision" as opposed to "you guys aren't smart enough to do this on your own." "