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I am glad to see that my councilmember will vote NO. Thank you, Rob.
And thank you for communicating -- where's the rest of the Council? Are
they all on Town Talk? Just curious .... plenty of townspeople are
not. Anyway, I think NO is the right decision. We want development,
but it has to be smart development and it should not throw in the trash
the whole process by which the town planned the M-UTC in the first
place.<br>
<br>
Rob Oppenheim wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid20066822305.620752@Rob2" type="cite">
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Since the Patriot Group's "Condo"
buildings do not meet all the </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> mandatory M-UTC conditions, it will
come before the town council </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> for approval in about a month or
two. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> I will vote NO to 5-story buildings.</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> I have expressed my concern that
the scale of the buildings at 5</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> stories is not appropriate for the
historic town core. I also</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> believe that the units will become
rental properties (our town is</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> already about 60% rental). Patriot
confirmed that if they can't</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> sell the units then they will rent
them.</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Patriot insists that they cannot
build a 3-story project. Well,</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> if they can't, then someone else
can. But as long as there is a</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> chance that they can push through a
5-story $70 million project</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> then they will continue to insist
on it. Once it is firmly rejected, </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> then they or someone else will find
a way to build something </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> more appropriate. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Any 5-story building will set a
precedent for the other historic</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> core area properties - those on
Natoli Place and on R.I avenue,</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> that is, the old print shop, Dorsey
plumbing, the book store building </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> and all the town center shops. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Do you think Jamal will be happy
with 2-story buildings if he </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> can build higher? If we let Patriot
go to 5 stories, we can kiss </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> the rest of the historic core good
bye. And in a few years we </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> will likely see high rise buildings
extending out from that core. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Again, I will vote no to 5-story
buildings. I hope that the council </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> will turn this down. But if it
passes, I expect to see it challenged </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> by a referendum. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Gerry Keirnan expressed that, as a
council member, he would also</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> vote against the proposal as it
currently stands due to the very small</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> size of the units and the lack of
amenities. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Gerry stated: "As a life long
apartment dweller, the important</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> items for apartment living are
floor space and closet space or</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> extra on-site storage. Patriot
proposes apartment sizes</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> significantly smaller than existing
apartments in the town (e.g.,</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> the one bedroom is 576 s.f. on the
drawing provided to the M-UTC</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> committee two months ago). While
Patriot contested my analysis,</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> one of their recent developments in
Silver Spring has similarly</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> sized units (see the floor plans at
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.CrescentCondo.com">www.CrescentCondo.com</a>). As</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> for common amenities, the proposal
has no party/meeting room, nor</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> is any additional on-site storage
for the use of the occupants</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> shown on their drawings."</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> I calculate just 470 sq ft for
their "Truffaut" which is their smallest </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> one bedroom at their Silver Spring
site, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.CrescentCondo.com">www.CrescentCondo.com</a>. </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> -Rob Oppenheim</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Ward One Councilman, Riverdale Park</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> 5902 Cleveland Ave, Riverdale Park,
Md 20737-1930</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3"> Home Office: 301 779 1745</font></div>
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