Riverdale, University Park Draft List of Issues, Concerns with Cafritz Property

The proposal took a bit of a backseat as odd weather came through Riverdale Park and University Park, but it doesn’t mean their mayors and councils weren’t thinking about the project that could alter the region’s traffic, schools and commercial business opportunities.

At , Riverdale Park Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler asked that the council put out a request for qualifications (RFQ), so that the town may hire a new planner to not only look at the conceptual site plan, but the Cafritz project as a whole.

The RFQ would allow the council to get the best options when it comes to contract planners, before they put out a request for proposal, which would allow them to find the best planner for the most reasonable price.

Although the town had to offer the council some thoughts before they came up with a list of issues and concerns they’d like the developers to review, Jakubiak would now have to reapply for the position.

In University Park, Monday night, their mayor and council opened the floor up to discussion.

University Park Mayor John Tabori asked that the council look over a list of issues he compiled after reading numerous letters from residents throughout several municipalities and concerns he and council have noted after attending Cafritz project presentations.

The major concerns Tabori listed were traffic, stormwater management, market conditions, the property’s zoning, public service impacts, design and density issues.

In order for the project to get approval at the county level, he said that 90 percent of the items involved would have to be resolved and agreed upon by the three municipalities majorly affected by the development.

“We will support (Riverdale Park) and we hope they will support us on those items,” Tabori said.

Currently, the developer’s traffic study only looks at numbers from the morning and evening traffic and doesn’t account for midday or weekend traffic, he said.

"Forty percent of the shopping is done on the weekends,” Tabori added, “and Whole Foods draws 200,000 people from a 20-minute driving distance.”

He said for the Riverdale Park site that would mean people from 10 miles away.

Tabori has posted a number of documents on University Park’s website including a map of the distance between the Cafritz property and the College Park Metro and a copy of Riverdale Park’s MUTC (Mixed Use Town Center) guidelines.

“We’ve done our own study, not having to do with Cafritz, on daily traffic during the weekday,” Tabori said, and the biggest exchange is during the midday.  

Tabori also listed his concern for a lack of a rear entrance in the current plan, the pressure the traffic and development might place on University Park’s police department to act as first responders and the increase of school overcrowding numbers, if more children move into the neighborhood across Route 1.

“We don’t want to be perceived as loud University Park residents complaining, but as a partner,” University Park Councilwoman Jacqueline Bradley-Chacon said.

University Park’s council will discuss the property in length at their Sept. 19 meeting, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. at .

Riverdale Park Mayor Vernon Archer said in an e-mail Tuesday morning that Cafritz developers would be coming back to Riverdale Park on Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in to answer more questions from council.

Archer also said a proposal was posted on the town of Riverdale Park’s website that residents could view. It is what council discussed during their executive session meeting on Sept. 7.

“The proposal will be on the agenda and discussed in detail at our next council work session on the Sept. 26th and hopefully a final statement/letter will be acted on at our next legislative meeting on October 3,” Archer wrote.