[RP TownTalk] Cafritz

[Jonathan W. Ebbeler]

Kate -

 

I would be happy to address the tenets of the question but have to
respectfully disagree with the premise put forward that assumes the Cafritz
project is paid for by the rest of town residents.  This is an argument that
continues to be put forward without any factual basis.

 

Several of the Town Council, me included, were at a presentation sponsored
by Envision Prince George's County that specifically addressed why
single-family homes are a net-negative compared to mixed-use development.
The cost of services for single-family homes is greater than the share of
property taxes collected.  It gets better for commercial-only properties but
a town gets the biggest bang-for-the-buck when implemented mixed-use
projects; i.e. mixed-use projects per-acre are exponentially better from a
cost-benefit point of view for a town's bottom line.

 

I am not sure how you have concluded that "there will be no property tax
revenue for the town from the new development."  On a factual level, at
every step of the development of the parcel (even with the most conservative
analysis), the town will be in the black giving us an opportunity to
continue to provide the same level of services (if not higher) to all wards
in town.  Although the overall town-wide property value assessments declined
20% this year, we were able to present a balanced budget without a decline
in services to ALL residents precisely because the town has a variety of
housing offerings and a healthy commercial portfolio; a high-quality
mixed-use project like Cafritz continues to allow the town to add to the
buffer that offsets the costs of providing services to our large
single-family housing stock.  

 

If you have competing studies or analyses that indicate otherwise, the
Finance Committee would of course be interested in viewing and discussing.
It is healthy to have a robust debate on the quantitative aspects and
assumptions of any model but nearly impossible to address qualitative
opinions.  

 

Respectfully,

Jonathan

 

Jonathan Ebbeler

4711 Oliver Street

Councilman, Ward 1

Chair, Economic Development

 

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