[RP TownTalk] (no subject)

Fri Dec 2 15:09:43 UTC 2011

Kate, and good neighbors of Riverdale Park,

When it comes to development it's important that all community stakeholders'
positions be heard.  Too many people don't bother to take the time to engage
in dialogue with their representatives. Engaging in dialogue with our
representatives doesn't always get the outcome an individual is seeking; but
if the exchange is meant to shed light and not just create heat, it is
almost always worthwhile.

It's great to see that Riverdale Park has  residents engaged in its civic
life and that care enough to comment and dialogue. My comments at the Work
Session last night that Kate referenced were in answer to one Councilman's
question about a planning perspective held by parties neighboring the Town,
not an attempt to promote a particular position about the development
itself.

I'd like to observe that from my perspective as a community development
agent, the Riverdale Park Town Mayor and Council are doing an absolutely
outstanding job examining options and exploring the implications of this
proposed development of the Cafritz parcels. Whatever direction they
collectively move towards, they have been thorough-going, earnest, open, and
smart about how to go forward. Not only that, but they have also been
acutely aware of the regional impacts of the development. 

By participating in the broader Route One Market Study; by meeting and
conferring with neighboring town leaders  and by seeking independent
expertise; they have shown planning discipline and an openness to look at
evidence and external impacts. They've demonstrated personal discipline in
not arguing fruitlessly with each other. And they demonstrate political
maturity in their dealings with neighbors. It's not a simple thing to
balance all the needs of the future with the demands of the present: along
with respecting the landowner's property rights and the needs of the Town
and the region. 

Good, smart people will disagree about what is the best outcome here, that's
natural and inevitable, but they can also come together to discuss
reconciling those disagreements to the degree that it is possible. No party
is going to get its way in a development proposal like this. Your Council
seems to be trying to do the right thing for the Town as they proceed.
Asking for accountability and better, substantive data from the developer,
the Council, Park & Planning, and the District Council is the only way for
stakeholders to ensure that due diligence is met before a decision is made.
It's an expensive proposition for communities to fix problems of zoning
designation and design after they are built.

Thanks for your consideration.

Stuart Eisenberg,

Executive Director

Hyattsville CDC         Please note our new phone number!

301.683-8267 desk   301.693.0073 cell     207.470.3805 fax

 <http://www.hycdc.org/> http://www.hycdc.org                    a 501 (c)3
non-profit organization

From: towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org
[mailto:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org] On Behalf Of Kate Kelly
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 8:41 AM
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Subject: [RP TownTalk] (no subject)

Here's a copy of an email I sent this morning to the mayor and council. --KK

Good morning.
Before the brickbats, let me say thanks to the Riverdale Park mayor and
council for staying up late so many nights. I know it's a difficult job
that none of you was hoping to do.

As you go forward with the Cafritz negotiations, please remember that most
people in Riverdale Park--certainly those who are closest to the site--are
not ambivalent in any way or hoping to settle for the best of a bad
situation. We oppose the development. You know that. You've heard us say
it, and you've heard our neighbors say it.

And you have heard it from most people in the neighboring towns. Stuart
Eisenberg from Hyattsville said it last night and others have said it from
the beginning: This is building with regional consequences. The developers'
and planners' renderings all stop at the boundaries, but the impact does
not.

Let me recapitulate: There is no dishonor in demanding that the Cafritz
group prove the value in its plan in exchange for your assent to the zoning
change. To name a single point, it's still going to be a shopping center on
Route 1, even with a wall and a buffer. The truck traffic that will begin
with construction and continue for a decade as the project is completed
will go on forever with deliveries. It will be a regional fact of life,
just like the drive-through bank at East-West Highway. That's something
even proponents are against.

How is it wrong, then, to demand that the developer prove it will work
BEFORE saying yes?

  - It's too much for the site.

  - It's derivative, not innovative.
  - It's bad for the environment.
  - It's bad for local roads, schools, and services.
  - It's benefit will not offset its cost.

So far, we've not heard a straight answer, so we are asking again: What is
in this for us? Our neighborhoods, our neighbors, our towns, our children,
our planet?

Thanks, as usual, for your time.
Kate and Joe Kelly 

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