After Seven Hours of Testimony, Cafritz Hearing Recessed to Feb. 2

Editor's note: Below are updates from Thursday's Cafritz rezoning hearing before the Prince George's County Planning Board. Posts are organized in reverse chronological order.

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• 12:20 a.m.: That's a wrap!

Seven hours and 18 minutes after it began, the planning board's hearing on the Cafritz rezoning plan is officially in recess.

The hearing will resume at 10 a.m. on Feb. 2, giving the planning department time to conduct a detailed review of the conditions agreed to by the developer.

"We have heard a lot that we need to give the staff a chance to consider," Vice Chairman Dorothy Bailey said.

Additional testimony will be heard on Feb. 2 if it is confined specifically to those conditions, Bailey said. The board will also accept further written comments from the public through Jan. 20.

• 12:10 a.m.: Proffered conditions

Chip Reed says he believes that all of the consensus conditions are enforceable by the planning board, as the developer officially proffered them to the towns.

County planner Susan Lareuse says the planning department staff has not had an opportunity to fully vet those conditions yet.

• 12:07 a.m.: Chip Reed returns

Cafritz attorney Chip Reed returns to the mic after no further members of the public rise to comment.

• 12:02 a.m.: 'Positions of accountability'

Riverdale Park councilman Jonathan Ebbeler (Ward 1) argues in favor of the rezoning plan, citing the unusual level of cooperation between the surrounding municipalities in drafting conditions for the development.

"There are positions of accountability at every stage," Ebbeler says.

• 11:44 p.m.: 'Traffic is not just an annoyance'

Clark Weaver, a University Park resident and scientist at the Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, presents a study showing an increase in Asthma cases among those who live close to roadways.

Weaver warns that the increase in traffic from the Cafritz development could heighten that effect for surrounding residents.

"Traffic is not just an annoyance … there are concrete effects that epidemiologists are all too aware of," Weaver says.

• 11:31 p.m.: 'The right project'

Former Riverdale Park Town Administrator Patrick Prangley emphatically urges the board to approve the rezoning plan, calling the Cafritz project "the right project for the right location."

"Route 1 will be the envy. It will really be something to be proud of," Prangley says.

"It will lead to other high-quality retailors and restaurants wanting to come to the county," he adds.

• 11:11 p.m.: It's getting late

Six hours in, the size of the audience has declined a bit to about 50 people.

• 11:02 p.m.: 'We must strike a careful balance'

Citing "a lack of quality retail options and lack of quality development" in Prince George's County, Brad Frome—deputy chief of staff for County Executive Rushern Baker—encourages the planning board to approve the rezoning.

Frome calls the approvals of the Riverdale Park and University Park councils "a testament that their concerns, as with ours, were taken into account."

"While we will not settle, and we have not and will not with this project, we must strike a careful balance of working with the private sector to embrace their investment," he adds.

• 10:42 p.m.: 'Dropping a new town in the middle'

"The county should not risk serious damage to one of the best and most established residential areas in Prince George's County by dropping a new town in the middle of it," says University Park resident Arlene Christiansen.

• 10:24 p.m.: Attendance holding steady

Five hours and 20 minutes into the hearing, about 70 people are still seated in the audience. There's been some turnover throughout the evening, but many have stayed put for the entire marathon session.

• 10:15 p.m.: 'A parking lot'

"Route 1 could become a parking lot during the a.m. and p.m. rush hours and on Saturdays," says University Park Councliman David Brosch.

Brosch voted against the rezoning due in part to the traffic it would generate.

• 10:10 p.m.: 'Blatantly unjustified'

College Park resident Leo Shapiro calls it "remarkable" that some officials are willing to support the rezoning despite it being "blatantly unjustified and so clearly unwelcome by residents."

• 10:02 p.m.: 'High quality' development

Riverdale Park Councilman Alan K. Thompson (Ward 2) urges the board to approve the rezoning, arguing that it would produce "a high-quality, pedestrian oriented development" consistent with the goals of MUTC zoning.

• 9:48 p.m.:  'Too much to pay'

Proponents of the project "never talk" about the the serious environmental, traffic, school, and public safety issues associated with the development, University Park resident Jayson Amster tells the board.

"It's too much to pay for a fancy grocery store," Amster says.

Amster argues that members of the University Park council—which conditionally backed the plan, 4-3—wrongly assumed that the planning board would automatically approve the rezoning.

"They thought, 'The deal is done, and we'd better get the best we can from the worst that is,'" Amster says.

• 9:39 p.m.: 'Unique and special' site

"There are vacant and already situated closer to the Metro areas that really could use the development that we're talking about doing in these 35 wooded acres, which are so unique and special within in the Beltway," says College Park resident Rita Zito.

• 9:27 p.m.: 'Please keep democracy alive'

"Please keep democracy alive and deny this rezoning," College Park resident Stephanie McLaughlin asks the board, arguing that the bulk of public responses to the project have been negative.

• 9:25 p.m.: Fuzzy MUTC

College Park resident Doug Hamilton says that the project is "neither a good development nor in a good location" and that it fails to meet the stated purpose of the MUTC designation.

• 9:21 p.m.: Not in the plan

University Park resident Susan Dorn argues that the planning board cannot legally consider the application for MUTC rezoning because it fails to meet the requirement that such areas be specifically identified by the county's master plan.

• 9:16 p.m.: Why not elsewhere?

Calvert Hills resident Joseph Grikis calls for the board to reject the application, arguing that "closely adjacent sites could provide the same amenities with fewer risks, less investment, and less community opposition."

• 9:03 p.m.: Soil concerns

Riverdale Park resident Del Fanning details his concerns about the stability of the ground on the site. He said he supports the project but wants the developer to examine soil-related issues more closely.

• 8:57 p.m.: Hyattsville weighs in

Hyattsville community development manager Jim Chandler conveys his town's approval of the development, subject to the consensus conditions agreed upon by Riverdale Park and University Park.

• 8:41 p.m.: Stullich objects

College Park councilwoman Stephanie Stullich lodges a formal objection to the developer's decision to strip the College Park portion of its property from the rezoning application.

Stullich also informs the board that her council voted 6-2 against the measure. She says that while there were positive aspects of the plan, her constituents are largely opposed the project.

"Overall they are concerned that if it goes forward it will have an adverse effect on the community," Stullich says.

Stullich argues that the Route 1 corridor could not comfortably handle the extra traffic and that there are numerous vacant and blighted properties in the area more deserving of redevelopment.

• 8:25 p.m.: Tabori speaks

Mayor John Tabori follows Archer, informing the board that the University Park council has conditionally approved the Cafritz plan.

Tabori emphasizes the rigorousness of the conditions imposed on the developer, noting that agreements at the rezoning stage of a project are rarely so detailed.

"Our citizens feel … that these issues must be adressed at this time," Tabori says.

Tabori also requests that the council keep the record open for 30 days so that more residents can submit feedback on the proposal.

• 8:11 p.m.: Archer speaks

Mayor Vernon Archer presents the Riverdale Park Town Council's 5-0 conditional approval of the rezoning proposal, highlighting the unanimity of the vote.

Archer argues that the conditions and convenants linked to the council's approval address nearly all of the objections raised against the project, particularly in the area of traffic.

• 8:00 p.m.: Public comment begins

Vice Chair Dorothy Bailey opens up the public comment period, giving first priority to elected officials who wish to speak. Riverdale Park Mayor Vernon Archer is first to the podium.

• 7:58 p.m.: Closing argument

Chip Reed wraps up by plugging the developer's commitment to community, calling the Cafritz name "synonymous with philanthropy, culture, and the arts" in the DC area.

• 7:36 p.m.: Economic benefit

Chip Reed tells the board that the project is expected to create some 1,880 jobs over six years and sustain 435 fulltime positions once completed. 

He also estimates that the development will generate $11 million in additional tax revenue for Prince George's County.

• 7:20 p.m.: Retail landscape

Cafritz representative David Ward discusses the role of Whole Foods in the development and some of the supposed retail needs that the project could fill, including bed and bath, arts and crafts, fitness, and "white tablecloth" dining.

• 6:54 p.m.: What goes where

Cafritz representatives Jim Voelzke and Trina Rodriguez are reviewing the proposed configuration of roads, sidewalks, buildings, and open spaces on the site.

• 6:30 p.m.: Consensus?

Several audience members jeer as Chip Reed twice refers to the "consensus" between the municipalities surrounding the property.

College Park's council ultimately voted against the terms worked out between the developer and officials from the three communities.

• 6:26 p.m.: Cafritz goes to bat

After reviewing the environmental parameters of the rezoning proposal, Lareuse has turned the hearing over to the Cafritz team for its presentation. Attorney Chip Reed is at the lectern.

• 6:03 p.m.: 17,000 trips

Several audience members gasp as Faramarz Mokhtari—a traffic expert for the county—estimates that the Cafritz property will receive 17,000 daily vehicle trips once fully developed.

The abutting section U.S. Route 1 currently receives 35,000 daily trips, according to Mokhtari. He cautions that some of the "new" traffic into Cafritz site may already be accounted for in that tally.

The anticipated increase in traffic fueled local officials' push for a crossing over the CSX tracks, which is expected to draw away some of that volume.

• 5:49 p.m.: Potential site layouts

Susan Lareuse is now presenting two different potential site layouts put forward by the Cafritz team in recent weeks, but she notes that many of the design specifics will be meted out at later stages of the development.

• 5:40 p.m.: Remnants of the past

Another member of the planning staff discusses the current state of the Cafritz property. She says the developer discovered foundational remnants of the now-demolished Calvert Homes and MacAlpine Mansion during a survey of the site.

• 5:24 p.m.: College Park section excluded?

Lareuse says that the Cafritz team plans to introduce a new rezoning map that would exclude the small portion of the property contained within College Park's borders. This could potentially blunt the impact of the College Park City Council's , as the area directly affected by the rezoning would fall exclusively in Riverdale Park. 

• 5:17 p.m.: Staff report

County planner Susan Lareuse is delivering the staff report from the planning department.

• 5:08 p.m.: No second continuance

University Park resident Victor Stone just requested a continuance on the grounds that changes filed to the developer's application require 30 days for public review. Board member Dorothy F. Bailey says the board will take the motion under advisement but still move forward with the hearing.

• 5:04 p.m.: Charmain recuses self

Chairman Elizabeth Hewlett announces that she will recuse herself on the grounds that she was previously consulted on the development.

• 5:02 p.m.: Under way at last

Four hours and 32 minutes after its scheduled start time, the hearing is finally under way.

• 4:51 p.m.: Almost there

The hearing still hasn't kicked off, but the board room is filling up. There are about 80 people seated in the audience—roughly half capacity—in addition to staff and board members trickling in.

• 4:31 p.m.: A glimmer of hope

The planning board has wrapped up its hearing on the preceding case (Salubria Center in Fort Washington) and has taken a recess. Chairman Elizabeth Hewlett reports that the Cafritz hearing will begin at 4:45 p.m.

• 2:53 p.m.: Still waiting...

There's a crowd of people milling around the lobby of the County Administration Buliding as the planning board continues to hear testimony on a different case. Two and half hours after the scheduled start time, there's still no word on when the Cafritz hearing will be up.

• 12:52 p.m.: Hearing delayed

Officials here in Upper Marlboro are saying that the Cafritz hearing will likely begin around 2 p.m. due to another planning board case that's running overtime.

• Original article

Months of study, debate, and negotiation are set to come to a head Thursday as the Prince George's County Planning Board weighs testimony on the proposed rezoning of the Cafritz property.

The hearing—scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the County Administration Building in Upper Marlboro—caps a hectic week of meetings in which each of the three municipalities surrounding the project finalized its recommendations to the board.

Under , the developer's 37-acre parcel on the north end of Riverdale Park would be redesignated from residential (R-55) to Mixed-Use Town Center (MUTC), easing the way for the construction of more than 900 units of housing, a 35,000-sqft. Whole Foods, a 120-room hotel, and additional office and retail space. (.)

Local political support for the rezoning had been in doubt until the towns reached an agreement with the developers on how to fund an planned entrance across the CSX tracks—something seen as an essential alleviator of traffic by most involved in the talks.

With that—and many other stipulations—in hand, University Park's council by a 4-3 margin Monday, followed a day later of the Riverdale Park council. The College Park City Council, however, ultimately opposed the terms worked out by negotiatiors .

The planning board's staff with conditions.

Over 200 individuals and institutions for the case, meaning they have the right to speak at Thursday's hearing (though not all necessarily will).

A live video feed of the hearing will become available at this link later on Thursday.