Prince George's County faces lawsuit over senior citizen's right to build on his own land

BRANDYWINE, Maryland – Justly Prudent announced the filing of a lawsuit against Prince George's County, Maryland on behalf of Garnell Walls, a life-long resident who has owned his Brandywine property for over 45 years. The suit challenges the County's Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) for refusing to grant Walls a waiver to install interim well and septic systems on his property despite meeting all published criteria for such approval.

The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, seeks declaratory relief to clarify that DPIE has the authority to grant—and that Mr. Walls is eligible to receive—a waiver explicitly provided for in Maryland regulations and Prince George's County's own published criteria.

"This case presents a straightforward question of administrative authority and regulatory interpretation that has profound consequences for Mr. Walls and other homeowners within the County," said Jordan D. Howlette, Managing Attorney at Justly Prudent. "DPIE continues to deny Mr. Walls the opportunity to install interim well and septic systems by imposing additional requirements found nowhere in applicable regulations or the County's own 2018 Water and Sewer Plan."

Mr. Walls purchased the Brandywine property in 1978 with the intent of constructing a single-family dwelling. The nearest public water lines are 900 feet away, with no public sewer lines within a half-mile of the property. Connecting to these distant public utilities would cost Mr. Walls between $2.1 and $2.5 million—an economically prohibitive amount that vastly exceeds the cost of installing interim systems.

The lawsuit points out that at least two similarly situated properties in the immediate vicinity have received waivers allowing owners to use well and/or septic systems. Meanwhile, DPIE has added an additional criterion not found in its Waiver Application or any applicable laws, requiring that a property be "contracted in individually or in conjunction with a project in the area" to be eligible for a waiver.

The filing does not challenge the County's zoning or planning authority but asks the Court to enforce the plain language of existing regulations to allow Mr. Walls to develop his property as intended.

The case is Garnell Walls v. Prince George's County, Maryland (C-16-CV-25-001424), filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, Maryland.