Planning Board Agenda Released, Staff Recommends Cafritz Zoning With Conditions

After numerous meetings about the proposed development of the on Baltimore Avenue in Riverdale Park, the county's planning board on Dec. 15 finally will get a chance to hear testimony and staff reports about the project.

On Wednesday, Riverdale Park Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler, e-mailed residents a copy of a Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission agenda, which stated that staff recommends the board approve the zoning change with conditions.

Jane Cafritz and her husband Calvin, owners of the property, hope to develop it into a mixed-use center including Prince George's County's first . However, the property is currently zoned R-55 for single-family homes only and the owners are asking that it be changed to M-UTC, which is a mixed-use of residential and commercial space. 

Although the long-range agenda has been released, the staff reports may not be available to the public until Dec. 1.

Already residents and community leaders are criticizing the agenda's language because municipalities have yet to vote on the zoning change. Riverdale Park's listserv was full of questions Wednesday about whether their opinions would be taken into consideration.

"While in follow-up conversations with M-NCPPC we have learned that this is an internal requirement to have a placeholder on the agenda, I do not think that the approval should be of sufficient surprise to anyone who has followed the Cafritz project," Ebbeler said to Patch, via e-mail. "Approval for the zoning is not the same as approval for a detailed site plan that includes street grids, building and greenspace layouts etc."

"That being considered, I believe M-NCPPC should have withheld even a 'placeholder' opinion until the public record was established in totality by Riverdale Park and our sister municipalities," he wrote.

Andrea Davey, spokeswoman for the county's parks and planning commission, said that residents and municipalities can submit letters and e-mails to M-NCPPC until Dec. 15. Written correspondence should be addressed to Elizabeth M. Hewlett, Chairman, Prince George’s County Planning Board, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, 4th Floor, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, 20772, or by fax to 301-952-5074 or e-mail to PublicAffairs@ppd.mncppc.org

Testimony also will be accepted at the 1 p.m. hearing on Dec. 15.