County Executive Jack B. Johnson, Planning Board Chairman Samuel J. Parker Jr., and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer David J. Byrd.

Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson’s lame-duck nomination of his deputy chief administrative officer, David J. Byrd, to replace Samuel J. Parker Jr. as chairman of the Planning Board is causing quite a stir.

County Council Chairman Thomas E. Dernoga (D-Dist. 1) is urging all residents with an opinion on the nomination to make their voices heard immediately. Unfortunately, comments must be received in person or by regular mail to be official.

The public hearing, where people may give oral comments on the nomination, is on Tuesday, March 2, at 10 am. Alternatively, Mr. Dernoga recommends that interested parties “MAIL (yes, mail)…comments to the Clerk of the Council as soon as possible.” Official public comments to the council must be submitted on paper, with an original (manual) signature, and delivered to the Clerk of Council either by hand delivery or by mail, addressed to: Office of the Clerk of the Council, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Room 2198, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772.

The clerk will hold the record open for a limited time after March 2, but it’s best to get comments in as soon as possible — and definitely before the full council votes on the nomination (likely on March 9 or 16).

In addition to the public hearing, the Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development (PZED) Committee will interview the nominee at its committee meeting on Wednesday, March 3, at 11:00 a.m. This is another opportunity to present public comments to at least five of the council members (Dean, Knotts, Bland, Dernoga, and Olson).

The council’s antiquated rules for public comment desperately need to be introduced to the 21st Century, or even the late 20th. Meanwhile, here are my comments, which I put on papyrus with my trusty quill ink pen this weekend:

Dear Chairman Dean and Members of the PZED Committee,

As a concerned resident of District 7 who, as you know, is very interested in land use planning and development issues, I would like to add my voice to the many who are urging the County Council not to confirm County Executive Jack Johnson’s nominee to the Planning Board, David J. Byrd, to replace current Planning Board Chairman Samuel Parker, Jr.

Chairman Parker, an AICP-certified professional planner with more than 25 years of professional experience in the areas of historic preservation and community revitalization and redevelopment, has dutifully served the Planning Board since 1991, first as part of the Planning Department staff and now as a member and then chairman of the Planning Board. He has overseen substantial revisions of the county’s transportation master plan, its historic preservation resources plan, and numerous area and regional master plans. He is currently shepherding the Envision Prince George’s initiative, to help develop and implement a vision for the future of Prince George’s County.

I am troubled that the county executive is putting forward a nomination as critical to the county as the Planning Board Chairman when he has fewer than nine months remaining in his lame-duck administration. The full County Council, likewise, will be up for election this November. Given that Chairman Parker has already been dutifully and actively serving in his current position since his term ended this past June, and given the number of important planning initiatives that are currently underway under his leadership, it makes sense to allow Chairman Parker to continue in his role until the new county government is in place in December 2010. To fill the position at this juncture would rob the new county government of the power that it should rightfully have to appoint the officials with whom they will need to work over the next four years. Confirming Mr. Byrd in this manner would also be unfair to the voters of Prince George’s County, who deserve a chance to have the government they elect this November determine who will lead Prince George’s County into the future.

For these reasons, I urge the PZED Committee to issue a negative recommendation on the nomination of David Byrd to the Planning Board. Likewise, I urge you and your colleagues on the council to vote “No” on the nomination when it comes before the full council.

As always, people should feel free to submit emails to individual council members, in addition to their official snail-mailed or oral comments. But it is crucial that the council have an official record of the public’s opinion on who should serve in this critical post as Chairman of the Prince George’s County Planning Board.

Bradley Heard is an attorney and citizen activist who resides in the Capitol Heights area of Prince George’s County. A native of Virginia Beach and former longtime Atlanta resident, Brad hopes to encourage high-quality, walkable and bikeable development in the inner Beltway region of Prince George’s County. You can read more about Bradley on his website.