[RP TownTalk] Zip Codes and Property Values -- the Hyattsville Experience

Sat Oct 26 14:00:50 UTC 2013

Since Hyattsville has been bandied about in this discussion, I thought I'd
pipe in since I worked on the same issue when I was on the Hyattsville City
Council.  Here are some bullet points in response to what has been said on
this listserv:

* Hyattsville's "zip code problem" is actually worse than Riverdale Park's,
for three reasons: 1) Hyattsville is not all in one zip code (it's in
three), which fragments its identity even further and draws in even more
area outside the municipality; 2) there are several zip codes that don't
even touch the City of Hyattsville that are called "Hyattsville" by the
Post Office, including some of the county's highest crime areas -- making
the term "another homicide in Hyattsville" a meme of local news coverage;
and 3) Hyattsville hasn't adopted a municipal name that distinguishes
itself from the surrounding neighborhoods, as did Riverdale Park.

* Hyattsville's real-estate values are indeed higher these days than those
in Riverdale Park.  I know, because I've helped dozens of families find
homes in our community, and some look in Riverdale Park for the express
reason that they can buy the same house for a good bit less.  But from the
above, it's evident that this has nothing to do with the zip code issue.

* Being assigned a unique zip code would likely help increase property
values in Hyattsville or Riverdale Park, but the effect might not be as
much as some proponents hope for.  There are many other factors that
influence a community's "brand".

* It is extraordinarily difficult to get the Post Office to change a zip
code assignation.  There are all kinds of costs involved for the Post
Office, not just reprogramming everything in their system, redrawing
carrier routes, etc., but often, it means establishing a new Post Office to
serve the new zip code.  And it might be difficult or impossible to redraw
boundaries to keep the requisite number of addresses in each zip code.  On
the other hand, the Post Office gains nothing in the endeavor at all.  As
most of us know, the Post Office is hurting financially these days, and is
closing Post Offices, not opening new ones.  Its resistance to politically
motivated changes is greater than it's ever been.

* The only way to overcome the institutional resistance of the Post Office
is to have a powerful Congressional patron who is willing to fight long and
hard for the municipality.  I made a study of successful campaigns (which
are rare), and this is what I found are the factors common to them: 1) the
residents of the municipality overwhelmingly favor the change; 2) it is
such an important issue for these residents that it can affect their votes;
3) that municipality is a key constituency for the Congressional member --
in other words, he/she might lose an election, or might make an otherwise
shaky incumbency secure, by accomplishing the zip code change; and 4) the
member of Congress has a seat on a committee handling appropriations for
the Post Office and is willing to include the zip code issue in matters
brought before the committee.  In Hyattsville's case, we likely met (1),
possibly (2), but not (3) or (4).  Riverdale Park, from what I see here,
might not even meet (1).  Quite frankly, it's hard to imagine a
municipality in a one-party county such as ours will ever meet (3), which
is one reason why such a movement has never been successful here or
anywhere else in Maryland.

Hyattsville officials, during my tenure, did meet with staff in our two
senators' and two House members' offices about getting our own zip code,
and while we were promised some assistance, it was clear that we weren't
going to get anything that was more than a symbolic effort.  The best we
were able to wrest from the Post Office is that a couple of the remote
"Hyattsville" zip codes got other names that became preferred in the postal
schema.

Hope that info was helpful --

Chris Currie

Message: 7
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 18:13:19 -0400
From: "Bruce Wernek" <bruce.wernek at verizon.net>
To: <towntalk at riverdale-park.org>
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Community Message: Overnight Shooting on
        Carters Lane
Message-ID: <014401ced1cf$6a0c75c0$3e256140$@wernek at verizon.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Speak for yourselves.  The only things pricey I see in Hyattsville are the
EYA town houses and the historic properties.  We don't have EYA in
Riverdale, but Caftritz may have similar properties.  We certainly have
quite a few historic properties here.

If you care about what's really going on instead of the motherhood go to the
following links and enter 20737, 20781, and 20782 if applicable.

http://www.zillow.com  ("Zestimate" is more in line with what the property
is worth because it's based on comparable sales not a seller whose
underwater)

https://www.crimereports.com/  (it looks to me like there's a pretty even
distribution on both sides of Kenilworth to me)

Truth be told, I think this is much ado about nothing.  Based on the ~20
minutes of research I've done, I don't think changing the zip code is going
to have any effect on property values.  Changing the zip code will have an
effect on a lot of other things (every institution that has your address,
checks, license, registration, business cards, web sites, etc) and it won't
be pretty.  I'm guessing it would take years before all of the things
affected by the change would finally be updated to reflect the new zip code.
You would probably have to call your bank, the DMV, the IRS, the county, the
list goes on, to make sure they change the zip code.  I really don't have
time for this.  I've got enough to do already.

I apologize for responding to these emails.  I just wanted to bring some
reality into the discussion.  You guys can carry on if  you like.  I'm done.

From: towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org
[mailto:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Yorke
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2013 3:40 PM
To: Catarina Correia
Cc: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Community Message: Overnight Shooting on Carters
Lane

Catrina hits the nail on the head once again.

New zip brings with it all sorts of possibilities that include developers
and creators looking at an old town a new way. Important if you want
improvements like more shopping, dining and entertainment. Brentwood has
been trying for years to step it up and it certainly looks like it's meeting
with some success. Here's this afternoon's Bisnow Dining to tell you more...

But wait, one more thing for those concerned about saving on tax assessments
using crime-riddled zips: besides the points made by Catrina and others, how
much is 20737 COSTING you on car insurance for car thefts, crime on the
streets (outside RP) and all the other negative events that are used against
policyholders?

Note to Town Council: Time to ZIP US UP to 38 -- 20738!!! GET STARTED
MONDAY!!!

On Fri, Oct 25, 2013 at 2:58 PM, Catarina Correia <chatareena at gmail.com>
wrote:

For what its worth, I would definitely be in favor of pursuing this.  Yes, I
want my home value to increase (or at the very least get back to what we
paid for it.) There are a number of reasons besides re-sale for this
including refinancing etc. Our homes are really nice and it kills me that
they are worth significantly less than the hyattsville homes just up the
street solely because of the zip code.

Furthermore, i believe when our house was worth more, we paid less in
property taxes due to the homestead tax credit (tho i cant be sure - i dont
handle the mortgage).

Catarina Correia

Riverdale Park, MD
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