[RP TownTalk] Zip Code Change

Tue Oct 29 11:52:35 UTC 2013

To Bruce and Meg; you make some excellent points.  We can change the name of the town as many times as we want, we can change the zip code, but until basic problems in this town are addressed, ain't nuthin' gonna change. (and Bruce, I agree with you completely about re-doing those brick walks; in many areas they've sunk so low, they're downright dangerous to pedestrians).  Changing the name or zip code is like putting a band-aid on a broken arm; might make it look a bit nicer, but doesn't help the real problems.       (anyhow, I found it very, very, VERY interesting that some of the early emails on this subject were trying to connect the zip code change to the Cafritz deal.  Is everything in our town from now on going to have to be connected to Cafritz?)

From: Bruce Wernek <bruce.wernek at verizon.net>
To: towntalk at riverdale-park.org 
Sent: Saturday, October 26, 2013 11:18 AM
Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Zip Code Change

Jonathan, et. al.

I’ve lived in this Town for ~25 years and the demographics have changed significantly over the last decade.  Riverdale has been attracting young families for quite some time now.  You haven’t lived here long enough to see this change.  Take yourself and Ashley as examples.  Both of you bought here.  Why did you buy your house on Oliver St?  If you wanted higher property values, you could have bought in College Heights Estates or Calvert Hills.  I’m guessing the reason you bought here is that it was more affordable and you got more bang for the buck.

One of the things that attracts young families to a community is affordable housing and that we have in Riverdale Park.  You are essentially advocating higher priced housing and claiming that it attracts “young, vibrant new families”.  I don’t agree.  Young, vibrant new families often can’t afford high priced housing and, as Chris Currie pointed out, they choose Riverdale Park.  I want these young families to move into this Town.  This is exactly what we need and this is exactly what has been and is happening.

I noticed you referenced in your email that “the town has been pursuing a zip code change over that last 6 months”.  Are you the one that introduced the legislation to do this?  What is the status of this activity?  I want to make it clear that I don’t want my tax dollars used for this purpose.  Rather, use those dollars to fix the brick inlays on the sidewalks all over Town.  The bricks have settled in many places and are a hazard to pedestrians particularly the handicapped.  Making meaningful improvements to the Town and infrastructure is a great way to increase property values much more so than a zip code change.

If any of you on distribution feel as I do on this zip code issue, I urge you the contact your elected officials.  As far as I’m concerned there are plenty of better things to do with our tax dollars to improve our community.   

Bruce

From:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org [mailto:towntalk-bounces at riverdale-park.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Ebbeler
Sent: Saturday, October 26, 2013 10:13 AM
To: 'towntalk at riverdale-park.org'
Subject: [RP TownTalk] Zip Code Change

Bruce, et. al. –

It is not just about selling and moving.  It is also about attracting young, vibrant new families to the area, it is about attracting new and varied businesses and economic development, it is about division of state tax money, it is about qualifying for home improvement loans.  I could list out 10-20 reasons from the top of my head that have nothing to do with the benefits of selling and moving that directly impact the local community.

And to the point about image I would disagree with those bringing up that it hasn’t worked.  Obviously the news story got it wrong and that is why this conversation is being had.  But the town has been pursuing the zip code change over the last 6 months – this story is hardly a catalyst.  The fact of the matter is that housing in Riverdale Park fetches a 100-150k+ premium over an identical house in Riverdale.  The issue becomes that although higher, we still lag some of our surrounding communities in price per square foot.  Is this all related to the zip code?  Of course not, but until there is a clearly delineated division between the county ‘Riverdale’ and the incorporated town of Riverdale Park in the minds of the less informed (and yes zip codes help), lingering understanding of what is the town vs. what is the county will remain.  

Take the shooting story for example.  In this case, you have a story going out to the media that has an address.  In recent memory, Riverdale Park has received much more attention than Riverdale so when looking at a zip code and having to pick between two cities it is quite easy to confuse the two.  The 4-digit extension ties an address to a specific house or property, it doesn’t necessarily indicate municipal boundaries.  Take for example the new NOAA building, it has a Riverdale Park address yet gets marketed as being in College Park since a portion of the building is in our neighboring city.  

To the point of the Zestimate – those are HIGHLY inaccurate and that point just buttressed the argument I had made concerning the zip code change.  They are HIGHLY inaccurate due to the aggregation of all of 20737 as ‘comps’ when they are in fact not.  Our true ‘comp’ areas (if you are considering the core historic area) tend to be College Park, University Park (to a lesser degree), and Hyattsville.  This is not true in every case but in the majority of purchases over the last 3-5 years.  I will give you two instructive examples:  4601 Riverdale – Zestimate 233,336, was sold after a 1-day listing for 366,100 and 4601 Queensbury – Zestimate 297,444 but appraised over the last year for over 400k using real comps.  4601 Queensbury and 4601 Riverdale are 2 houses away from each other, and although both were high-end renovations, Queensbury has substantially more square footage, a 50% larger yard, and a two car garage.  The Zestimate has
 it 70k less than what its neighbor sold for in less than a day (indicating the market may have absorbed an even higher price for the property) – not a believable estimate juxtaposed to its real appraisal.  Again, Zestimates are based on the zip code 20737, not what banks and real estate agents, and the buying public will determine as ‘comparable.’

Respectfully,
Jonathan

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