BOWIE, Md. (DC News Now) — Dozens of Bowie residents filled the Prince George’s County Council hearing room as several people weighed in on what they want at the site of the old Freeway Airport during a zoning hearing for the city’s master plan.

Many residents are concerned about a recent text amendment that would reclassify Freeway Airport to a residential, single-family-attached zone, which would bring hundreds of new townhomes to the area.

“I was really upset about that because of the zoning doesn’t fit with that community,” said longtime Bowie resident Monica Roebuck.

The group Concerned Citizens of Prince George’s County sued developers after this change. A circuit court judged sided with developers. After filing an appellate at the Maryland Court of special appeals, the court agreed to reverse the lower court’s decision.

Freeway Aiport took the case to the Maryland Supreme Court, as a new decision awaits the County Council decided to pass a bill that would repeal the prior council’s zoning change.

During Tuesday’s hearing, a map was shown for the Bowie-Mitchelleville Master Plan from the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission. The plan still includes the zoning reclassification to make Freeway Airport a higher-density area for townhome development. Commissioners acknowledged the Council’s decision to repeal the reclassification and said they are willing to further discuss the topic before finalizing the plan.

Bowie residents brought up several concerns including traffic and overcrowding in schools, if the plan moves forward.

“Church Road is an old road, and it’s just one lane going in each direction, and so it just cannot handle the amount of traffic flow,” she said.

“The increased number of people in the areas serviced would be compromised. So as a result, response times are going to be lower for police. You’re not gonna have a longer wait at the hospital. Schools will have larger class sizes, okay, and you’re not going to get the quality of education that you want,” she continued.

The property value of homes nearby was also an issue.

“People that live in that area are very worried about their value. The value of their homes will go down,” Roebuck said.

“Prince George’s County, they pay some of the highest taxes in the state. People are paying taxes and what are they getting in return? And if they are not getting what they’re paying for, then we need to really think about that and we need some changes,” she continued.

Many residents were hoping something else could be built there.

“They could bring a bookstore, they can bring more medical care, they can maybe put a school there. They can bring a lot of things there,” said Roebuck.

Lawyers for Freeway Realty, the contractor for the development, promised infrastructure improvements if the project moves forward.

“These additional entitlements will analyze things such as public facilities including roads, schools, fire and police response times. This project will lead to improvements to church road and significant contributions to the public school system as required by law,” the lawyer said during the hearing.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has until October to complete its master plan for Bowie and nearby areas.