[RP TownTalk] Route 1

[Kate Kelly]

July 22, 2008

To: Vernon Archer, Mayor
        Alice Ewen Walker, Councilwoman
From: Joe and Kate Kelly
Re: Sector plan and sectional map amendment, central U.S. 1 corridor


Joe Kelly and I went to the University Park town meeting last night.  
Chad Williams of MNCPPC presented a short overview of his project to  
create a new sector plan and sectional map amendment for Route 1 from  
USDA’s southern boundary to East-West Highway in Riverdale Park.

I found some of his presentation unclear because he did not define  
many of the terms he used, but the upshot seems to be that Park and  
Planning has assembled a group of planners and engineers who are  
going to study the traffic on the road and develop one or several  
proposals to fix current and anticipated traffic problems. All of it  
is on a quick timeline (three weeks until they begin).

The plan extends the area to be examined from College Avenue in  
College Park, which was the southern boundary the last time one of  
these studies was done, further south to Route 410. Instead of  
including just the street, the new area includes the entire Cafritz  
property. All of the parcel is included, not just the portion that  
fronts Route 1. That is the only large property included in its  
entirety. Otherwise, the new area included was about the equivalent  
of a standard lot’s depth on either side of Route 1 from College  
Avenue to East-West Highway.

Joe and I strongly recommend that you get in touch with Mr. Williams  
and invite him to address the town right away. He indicated last  
night that he would need to hear from local elected bodies by the  
third week in August to have any input about the projects’  
boundaries. And if the town's do not know about the plan, obviously,  
there's no way they can voice an opinion. Absent that, I gather, Park  
and Planning may draw whatever boundaries it believes are necessary.

We have several concerns:

First is the lack of a comprehensive approach. If the pressures of  
current and anticipated development are the issue, the scope ought to  
be expanded to include all of the development that will bring new  
traffic to Route 1.

Second, there was no indication that the services of local  
professionals, who presumably would have a solid working knowledge of  
the area and its problems, had been sought in the process that was  
used to assemble the consultant team.

Third, the inclusion of the whole Cafritz property is troubling  
because it could be used to advance the developer’s argument that a  
rezoning is justified. If the new map facilitates that property’s  
rezoning, then rezoning all of the current residential properties  
that border Route 1 will become a simple matter. University Park  
seems to be foursquare against the boundary change for that reason if  
no other. As I understand it, Mayor Tabori’s suggestion is that if  
need be the boundary could be extended, but that no property of any  
kind should be included on either side of the existing physical  
street. We agree.

Finally, there is an apparent lack of commitment to what is now  
called “transparency.” I’m not completely sure why he was presenting  
the material at the University Park town meeting, but he seemed to  
have no similar appointments in College Park or Riverdale Park. We  
think it is important for the town to be closely involved in this  
project or risk living with whatever decisions are made without our  
input.

Here’s his contact information:

Chad Williams
Project Manager
chad.williams at ppd.mncppc.org
www.mncppc.org/pgco

As I understand it, more detailed information about the plan is  
available here: http://www.mncppc.org/cpd/CPapproved.htm.

I haven’t read it yet, but I will. Also, there are two local blogs  
that are following development up and down Route 1. Each of them  
offers good information and might help all of us to share more from  
town to town:
Route One Growth: http://route1growth.wordpress.com/
Rethink College Park: http://rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/library/ 
route-1-corridor-sector-plan/


Thanks for your attention,
Kate and Joe Kelly
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