[RP TownTalk] District Council to Vote on Cafritz, Monday, July 9, in Upper Marlboro

[Stuart Eisenberg]

Andrew,

 

Notwithstanding the merits or lack thereof of the proposed development, which I take no position on, your reading of the purposes of the M-UTC zoning designation, as I understand it, is rather selective and exclusive.  

 

The highlight items below (the purposes of the Zone) do not require, nor pre-suppose that the M-UTC zone is laid upon an existing, run-down mixed-use area, just that the interaction between the area contemplated for the amendment to M-UTC zone designation and the existing, run-down mixed-use area meet the purposes contemplated for the zone. One can make a credible argument for either position on the proposed development, pro or con, but the basis for the zoning designation is not inconsistent with or exclusive of new development clusters. In fact, by expanding or amending to an M-UTC zone, a community can more reasonably assure that the character of the adjacent new development is consistent with an existing core or M-UTC zone. Far more so than if the zone remained within the less flexible Euclidean designations.

 

A property’s zoning designation is not meant to serve as a static, permanent state of affairs. Property owners and communities are free to seek new designations and change regulations, consistent with the changing needs of the community as a whole, to serve evolving economic and living conditions. The real question for the County Council is whether or not they believe that the new development will have a salutary or harmful effect on the existing M-UTC and adjoining properties, and whether it serves the overall goals of the County’s General Plan. There is plenty of room for disagreement about that, but the strength of an argument in opposition to the project is in its impacts and the potential for mitigation of those impacts, not in the zoning designation itself. That is an important distinction for now, and for the future for Riverdale Park and its municipal neighbors. 

 

Best Regards,

Stuart Eisenberg,

Executive Director

Hyattsville CDC         

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

4312 Hamilton Street

 

 

 


Sec. 27-546.09.  Purposes.


 

         (a)   The specific purposes of the M-U-TC Zone are:

                (1)    To create with the community a development framework that can capitalize on the existing fabric of the County's older commercial/mixed-use centers and corridors.

                (2)    To promote reinvestment in, and the appropriate redevelopment of, older commercial areas, to create attractive and distinctive community centers for shopping, socializing, entertaining, living, and to promote economic vitality.

                (3)    To promote the preservation and adaptive reuse of selected buildings in older commercial areas.

                (4)    To ensure a mix of compatible uses which compliments concentrations of retail and service uses, including institutional uses, encourages pedestrian activity, and promotes shared parking.

                (5)    To provide a mix of commercial and residential uses which establish a safe and vibrant twenty-four hour environment.

                (6)    To establish a flexible regulatory framework, based upon community input, to encourage compatible development and redevelopment, including shared parking facilities, that will enhance the Town Center.

                (7)    To preserve and promote those distinctive physical characteristics that are identified by the community as essential to the community's identity, including building character, special landmarks, small parks and other gathering places, and wide sidewalks.

(CB-2-1994)

 

From: towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org [mailto:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Farrington
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 9:34 AM
To: towntalk riverdale; PGPool_List at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [RP TownTalk] District Council to Vote on Cafritz, Monday, July 9, in Upper Marlboro

 

Get your RED on!

 

The Prince George’s District Council is set to vote on rezoning the Calvert Tract from single-family residential to Mixed-Use Town Center.  

 

As a reminder, M-UTC zoning is intended to revitalize existing, run down mixed-use areas, not for new development.  There are many, many such appropriate places close by that we could welcome a Whole Foods into, without also accepting a thousand new dwellings unsupported by any new infrastructure other than a bridge to a business park that no-one will use.

 


The vote will be THIS Monday, July 9, 2012, 10 a.m.


  County Council Hearing Room, First Floor

  4741 Gov. Oden Bowie Drive

  Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
  
  http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/Government/LegislativeBranch/directions.asp

 

There will be no opportunity to speak or testify, but if you oppose this, please consider showing your commitment by showing up and wearing red.  And, please pass it on to your neighbors and friends.

 

If you support the proposal, please stay home, or don't take off work.  =)

 

 

Thanks!

Andrew Farrington

Queensbury Road

 

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