[RP TownTalk] Tuesday Nighs Meeting (Sacred Heart Nursery)

[Jonathan W. Ebbeler]

Friends and Neighbors -

 

Although I am out of state and will not be voting on the Sacred Heart
Question I would like to address a couple of the points that are valid
policy questions.

 

First - the question before the Council and later the County Planning Board
is not one of rezoning nor of granting a Special Exception to the rezoning;
the property is today and has been zoned R-55 (residential, single family).
I am sure this technical minutiae is not exciting or riveting to most but it
is important to make the distinction.  The Special Exception to the zoning's
allowable uses was granted decades ago allowing the sisters of the Sacred
Heart to have a nursery.  Special Exceptions to Euclidian (single use)
zoning like R55 exist because the land use proposed can have impacts (both
positive or negative) to the surrounding properties.  Exceptions to zoning
are granted by bodies when the use contemplated is found to be compatible
with the character of the surrounding area.  The current application seeks
to modify the special exemption to expand the number of students it can
serve, not to request one be granted for the first time.  

 

Second - the reason I bring this up is to address the point put forward that
rezoning a neighborhood from Euclidian (single use) zoning to a neighborhood
with a mix of uses (non-Euclidian) decreases property values.  It is a
discussion that is important and well worth having.  It is not a proven fact
that in all cases rezoning properties such that they are not all purely
single family homes leads to a causative decline in abutting property
values.  Can it?  Absolutely.  But in general it is highly dependent on many
factors including where the land is, what uses are contemplated, what is in
the surrounding area etc.  Let's keep in mind what the 'character' of the
current neighborhood actually is.  In a three block radius we have the
following uses:

-residential single family homes

-multi-family residential apartments

-commercial properties including a bar, offices, restaurants,  market, and
automobile towing facility

-institutional (elementary school,  churches, museum)

-government (police station, administrative town government, public works)

-going another block or two would add light industrial to this list as well
(Pittcon)

 

Historically speaking, it would be inaccurate to argue that we all bought
our houses, lived in neighborhoods that were only residential in nature, and
land use policy changed since then.  Then mansion existed prior to any homes
being in the area, the school, municipal buildings, town center commercial
buildings, and apartments have all been around for decades.  

 

Any causative impact (negative or positive) to surrounding property values
would have been absorbed within the first 5-10 years of the original
decision made decades ago to grant the special exception.  Additionally, in
recent history, both the 1994 Master Plan, the 2004 Mixed Use Town Center
Zone Development Plan (M-U-TC), and the 2012 amendment to the M-U-TC
Development Plan all rezoned properties in both directions (from residential
to mixed use and from commercial/industrial to single family).  In the
surrounding and impacted neighborhoods to those decisions made since 1994
the properties have all increased, not decreased in property value.

 

Respectfully,

 

Jonathan

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