[RP TownTalk] What grocery store?
ABragg7393 at aol.com
ABragg7393 at aol.com
Tue Apr 17 14:45:14 UTC 2012
Thank you Bruce. You are a true environmentalist.
audrey bragg
In a message dated 4/17/2012 10:30:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
bruce.wernek at verizon.net writes:
Hi Sara
Thanks for the links to the right of way info.
A correction to your comments on the wildlife below. A lot of the
wildlife will not be "displaced". They will be buried alive or crushed if they
live in burrows (wood chuck, rabbits, turtles, snakes, etc.) as the
bulldozers move/drive over the earth while they are in their homes; crushed or
buried alive if they live in the trees (squirrels, racoon, nestlings, snakes,
etc) when they jump to "saftey" as the trees they are living in are being
felled; or hit by construction equipment or cars (fox, deer) when they return
looking for their homes bewildered, after their homes have been destroyed.
And don't forget the myriad bugs, worms, insects, etc. I'm sure you can
figure out what's going to happen to them. To put it bluntly, wholesale
extermination of wildlife on the Cafritz property in exchange for Whole
Foods. This is what many of you are so excited about.
To add insult to injury, after the construction is completed, any wildlife
that was displaced will be living in your house (racoons, bats), yards
(deer, woodchucks, fox), or trees (opossums) and eating your trash and
ornamentals. Then we'll call pest control resulting in many of these animals
being euphanized.
I'm sorry if what I've outlined above is unpleasant for some of our
readers, but it's much more so for those who are most affected by it. Keep in
mind, this scenario is playing out all over the world each time a new
contruction project is undertaken. Political correctness be damned.
Bruce
On 04/17/12, Melissa Avery<m.avery at rocketmail.com> wrote:
Is the bridge going sown your street or will it be the field of dreams,
because those are the only places that would accommodation a bridge. If you
actually take the time to go out and physically survey the land area and
not rely on a google map for an attractive location.
____________________________________
From: Sarah Wayland <_sarah.wayland at gmail.com_
(mailto:sarah.wayland at gmail.com) >
To: Bruce Wernek <_bruce.wernek at verizon.net_
(mailto:bruce.wernek at verizon.net) >
Cc: "_towntalk at riverdale-park.org_ (mailto:towntalk at riverdale-park.org) "
<_towntalk at riverdale-park.org_ (mailto:towntalk at riverdale-park.org) >;
"_twacks at gmail.com_ (mailto:twacks at gmail.com) " <_twacks at gmail.com_
(mailto:twacks at gmail.com) >
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 9:25 AM
Subject: [RP TownTalk] What grocery store?
Good points Bruce.
Regarding traffic, part of the deal that local officials and MNCPPC worked
out with the Cafritz developers is that they cannot break ground before
they secure the right of way for a bridge to cross the railroad tracks between
Tuckerman and the College Park Metro station. This bridge will connect
River Road with the Cafritz development. If they cannot secure the right of
way, construction cannot begin. I believe there are also funding requirements
before they can break ground, but I don't remember the specifics.
I'm sure someone can find them here: _http://www.mncppc.org/page40173.aspx_
(http://www.mncppc.org/page40173.aspx) where the final conditions
approved by the planning board are posted.
Regarding the wildlife, I don't know what to say. The property is
privately owned and currently zoned for single family housing. It's going to be
developed one way or another, so the wildlife will be displace regardless of
whether it is MUTC zoned, or single family housing zoned. (I'll also add
that the single family housing development does NOT require a bridge linking
the east side of the RR tracks, and there will be a significant traffic
burden from that kind of development as well.)
Whether we like it or not, that property will get developed. It is not
owned by you, or me, or the Town, or the county. It is privately owned, and as
such, the owners can develop it within the constraints of the law. If we
allow the change to MUTC zoning, we actually have *more* influence regarding
the impact the development will have on the surrounding community.
But there will be an impact regardless of the outcome.
-Sarah
On Monday, April 16, 2012, Bruce Wernek wrote:
Folks
There's alot more to this deal than Whole Foods. This is just the carrot
which is incidental as far as I'm concerned. What matters to me is the
affect this development is going to have on the traffic on Queensbury Rd and
the surrounding area. I'm already dealing with bumper to bumper traffic
from the RR crossing to Rt 1 from time to time. I don't want it to get any
worse.
What's the story on the RR crossing? Have they committed to completing it
by the time their commerical space is open for business? Even if Cafritz
commits to building it, they still have to acquire the right of way. So
what' the story on the right of way? If there's a commitment from Cafritz,
but they don't have the right of way, they can't build so their commitment
doesn't mean anything.
The other issue, which I consider to be much more important than Whole
Foods, is the destruction of the wildlife habitat. I'm guessimating that area
supports ~12-15 deer not to mention fox, racoon, rabbits, squirrels,
raptors, woodchuck, opossums, birds, snakes, turtles, etc. What do you think is
going to happen to them when they remove the trees and start preparing the
site for construction. Imagine an animal living in a burrow hiding there
out of fear while the bulldozers are grading overhead. Imagine the
squirrels, opossum, racoons, birds, etc seeking refuge in the trees as they are
being cut down. All everyone seem to care about is Whole Foods. What about
these animals? Do they matter at all to any of you?
The question you have to ask yourselves is Whole Food or anything
comparable worth the genocide of wildlife that will occur when they build it. This
development will result in the complete and utter sterilization of a rich
ecosystem so that we can have another grocery store, more parking lots,
more cars, and more density. It's all good in Riverdale.
Bruce
On 04/15/12, Alan K. Thompson<twacks at gmail.com> wrote:
I firmly believe that, at this time, Whole Foods is committed to opening
their planned store in Riverdale Park.
I've spent a lot of time across a negotiating table from their lead
attorney on the project, Chip Reed, and have found him to be very careful and
precise in what he says. He has stated on numerous occasions that they have a
"lease" with Whole Foods, not a "Letter of Intent" as suggested by Mr.
Currie. So long as the Cafritz team keeps their side of the lease (building
the store according to the terms of the lease) I believe that Whole Foods
will come. My reading of the Hyattsville CDC's recent market study suggests
that this site presents a very good opportunity for Whole Foods;
discussions I've had with Stuart Eisenberg about that study indicate the same.
Ms. Avery started this discussion because Mr. Reed used the term "a
grocery store" instead of "Whole Foods" in the presentation, implying that he
knows that the occupant will not be Whole Foods. I'm as certain as I can be,
based on my interactions with him, that if that were true he would not have
said what I quoted in my first letter, that the developer was under
significant time pressure from "Whole Foods."
It's still possible, of course, that the project will be killed by the
actions (or delays) of the District Council.
Alan
On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 10:16 AM, Chris Currie <crcurrie at gmail.com> wrote:
Beware the 'bait and switch.'
Too soon to tell, but one thing's for certain: Once the rezoning is
approved, the strength of Cafritz's and Whole Foods' negotiating positions with
respect to each other changes dramatically.
Up 'til this time, Cafritz has been almost completely dependent on Whole
Foods' participation in the development proposal. I wouldn't be surprised
if the latter was offered a $1/year lease; certainly, some kind of
sweetheart deal would have been necessary to lure Whole Foods so far away from its
standard marketing demographic criteria.
With the property rezoned, Cafritz doesn't need Whole Foods and might find
another tenant willing to pay more to anchor its commercial component. A
Letter of Intent (as I'm presuming is the nature of whatever agreement the
two parties have at this point) is never iron-clad.
If we hear from Cafritz in the days ahead, particularly after final
approval of the development plan, that Whole Foods' "demands" have increased or
become more unreasonable, we should definitely take it with a grain of salt.
Chris Currie
Hyattsville
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:27:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Melissa Avery <m.avery at rocketmail.com>
To: "towntalk at riverdale-park.org" <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] What grocery store?
Message-ID:
<1334417276.62493.YahooMailNeo at web162106.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
So, Whole Foods has not?officially?announced?their?withdrawal?from the
project
>From what I understand Whole Foods originally?put conditions on whether or
not they would continue with the?development.
I guess the truth will come out in the cross examination?process in front
of the county council.?
Melissa
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--
Sarah Wayland
_sarah.wayland at gmail.com_ (mailto:sarah.wayland at gmail.com)
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