[RP TownTalk] M-UTC Meetings

[Rob Oppenheim]

I hope that many of you will attend the M-UTC training seminar this Monday 
evening April 3 from 7 to 8 pm at Town Hall.
 
And I hope that you will also attend the M-UTC meeting on Wednesday April 5,
7:30 pm, Town Hall.
 
On Wednesday you will be able to learn about and express your opinion on the 
Patriot Group Condos in town center and the Wachovia Bank project on Route One.
 
M-UTC is the Mixed-Use Town Center zoning process, which gives 
development goals and guidelines and also gives the town some local 
control of such projects.
 
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Here is a reprint of part of my Ward One article in the April Town Crier 
about the Condo project. (If you read it there, you can skip it here):

The Condos, Oh the Condos

The Patriot Group is proposing two 5-story condominium buildings in Town Center on two blocks of Lafayette Avenue (along the railroad tracks) from Queensbury past Riverdale Road to Oliver Street. The condos will replace the old credit union building and its parking lot and the quaint Dumm's Corner market, sub shop, and garage. On the other side of Riverdale Road, they will replace the parking lot and the 100-year-old Victorian boarding house. These new buildings would be about the height of the top of the tall tree in front of 6009 Lafayette, which is the same height as the billboard next to Route 410.
 
Ward 1 residents expressed two major concerns: how will the project affect the character of our historic district? And what effect would it have on our town if it became rental property? According to the 2000 census www.tinyurl.com/z9hnlhttp://www.tinyurl.com/z9hnl, our housing stock is nearly 60% rental. A mixture of rentals and owner-occupied homes is fine, but 60% is very high.
 
The Washington Post, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006, Page A1, reported that the area's condo market is cooling. There were 5 times as many condominium units for sale in January 2006 as there were a year before, and a great many more are under construction. When condos do not sell, they become rental property. Read the full article here (requires free registration): www.tinyurl.com/owexz.  
These 5-story condos are not consistent with the M-UTC zoning and the design is still being revised. If the company needs a waiver then the town council will decide. It is not too late to make your opinion count on this important decision for our town's future.
 
Both the Patriot Group and the Wachovia Bank projects are scheduled for the next zoning review (M-UTC) meeting, Wed., April 5, 2006, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall. The Patriot Group was scheduled to appear at the last two meetings and postponed, so watch Town-Announce or call Town Hall before the meeting. Come to the meeting and learn about and discuss these projects and let your opinions be known.
 
That's Not All, Folks
The University of Maryland announced that 490 condos will be built at the north end of Lafayette on the site of the old Erco building. The really good news is that the bus repair depot proposed earlier for this area will not be there. KSI, www.ketsco.com, is the developer. More than 500 units will be built in the “Arts District Hyattsville” project along Route 1 by the old Lustine dealership. For more info: www.tinyurl.com/njg7n .

-Rob
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