[RP TownTalk] Let's keep Route 1 Cafritz property Forested....

[Jonathan W. Ebbeler]

@Dwight - although the discussions are not yet finalized concerning
alignment, I think a fair assessment would be that the town will almost
assuredly gain greater ROW than what exists now.  Since there will be a
landing from the bridge and a road over to Rivertech and those will be
public/town roads, RP stands to increase its land holdings.  That being
said, nothing would prevent a future government 30-50 years from now from
selling or developing any land the town owns.  Projects like Cafritz as well
as the development of Route 1 and Kenilworth will make it much less likely
for there ever to be a financial need for future governments to contemplate
changes in land use for town-owned property.  

 

@Audrey - I will respectfully disagree with the assertion that the land
parcel was properly zoned.  R55 (single family housing) is a place-holding
zone that is used extensively for both undeveloped and under-developed
parcels since it forces owners to go through amendment processes that lets
the planning board evaluate the merits and quality of a development
proposal.  It is instructive to note several facts, mixed-use development is
the prevalent rule NOT the exception along the Route 1 Corridor.  Other land
parcels that are currently zoned R55 include the Postal Distribution Center
and the Army Reserve Center. The last time zoning was looked at en masse in
our area was in the late 1980s to around 1992/1993 with the codified 1994
Master Plan for Area 68.  Keep in mind this was about the same time of the
Green Line's expansion to College Park.  

 

Prior to the 2004 Amendment for the RP Mixed-Use Town Center, properties
such as Greg's Auto and were zoned I-1(light Industrial) that included uses
allowed as a matter of right of a Car Wash, Bus Depot, Towers and Poles up
to 175', Commercial Fuel Depot, Septic Tank Service, Taxidermist, and a host
of manufacturing and other uses.  The point of the list is to indicate that
zoning is not set in stone and should not be as areas change over the
decades.

 

To the other point concerning "changing the flavor," I would again
respectfully disagree with you concerning what would happen if the site had
been developed as single family houses slammed in on 6500 sq. ft. lots.  It
is incredibly likely that the entire site would have been clear cut from the
start.  The infrastructure (stormwater management, water, gas, sewer,
electricity, streetscape, sidewalks) required site-wide for a subdivision
build-out necessitates this.  While the streets may be tree-lined after the
fact, so will the Cafritz site, along with the preservation of some of the
50+ year old specimen trees.  This site has trees 30-40' on center on all
the roads as well as acreage left green and devoted to on-site stormwater
management.  

 

An economic point concerning single-family development is that if the town
had allowed it, as was proposed back in Mayor Ferguson's era, everyone's
taxes would have gone up to subsidize the development.  The town's share of
taxes based on single-family housing development does not support the cost
of expanded services; in a mixed-use development pattern site-generated tax
revenue more than covers the cost of the expansion of services.  More to the
point it provides local retail and commercial opportunities thus limiting
CO2 and other emissions required of those of us having to get into cars to
enjoy one of the country's worst commuting experience.  If air quality and
environmental concerns are not just talking points, then they have to be
addressed locally and not continually create live/work situations that
necessitate automobile travel.

 

Respectfully,

 

Jonathan

 

 

Jonathan W. Ebbeler | Councilman Ward 1

 

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