Hyattsville Council Weighs in on Kiplinger Rezoning

the Hyattsville City Council finally weighed in on a proposed rezoning of the Kiplinger property which would open up the area to a high density, mixed-use, transit oriented redevelopment in the future. 

The city council unanimously approved a motion to send a letter to the Prince George's Planning Board of the Maryland National-Capital Area Parks and Planning Commission outlining concerns and a series of provisions upon which the city council's support of the rezoning would be predicated. 

The letter states that the city believes there will be a significant impact on local schools if the property is redeveloped as depicted in conceptual site plans submitted with the rezoning application, and asks future developers to find ways to alleviate problems which the development could cause for the local schools system. 

The letter, drafted by Council Vice President David Hiles (Ward 2) also sets conditions which the project must meet to get the support of the city council. Those provisions include traffic studies examining the impact of the development, the installation of a traffic signal at Editors Park Drive and East-West Highway, more retail and pedestrian amenities lining East-West Highway, routing traffic to and from the development away from Editor's Park Drive, more flexibility on the location of retail and commercial space within the development, the development of green space along the southern boundary of the property, and the payment of fees to support parks and recreational amenities within the city of Hyattsville.

The Kiplinger rezoning application will be considered by the county planning board at its next meeting on Feb. 28.