Monday, March 4, 2013
Decision needed on how to move forward with controversial streetscape improvement project.
Tonight, the Hyattsville City Council will be discussing how to proceed with proposed improvements to the University Hills streetscape. A timeline laid out in a presentation to be delivered before the city council at tonight's meeting has the city council charting a course of acting by the end of this month. If adhered to, the timeline would see the city council approve a final design by December 2013, with construction potentially done by September 2014. Proposals to add sidewalks along streets in the neighborhood have proven controversial, with a vocal contingent of residents voicing their displeasure with the plan at a number of community meetings held to address the project, At tonight's meeting, the Hyattsville City Council will also…
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Jefferson Street resident Clayton Williams registers campaign for Hyattsville City Council seat.
Ward 5 residents have one more city council candidate to consider, 3611 Jefferson Street resident Clayton Williams, in the race to fill the ward's two council seats up for grabs in this May's Hyattsville council elections. Williams, who registered on Thursday afternoon, will be running against fellow ward resident Joseph Solomon, though how dire the stakes are for either candidate depends on if another soul decides to enter the Ward 5 race. This is because Ward 5 residents will be casting ballots for two candidates, one to fill the four year vacancy left by the impending retirement of longtime ward representative Ruth Ann Frazier, the second to fill the two years remaining on the now vacant term of former Ward 5 Councilor Nicole Hinds …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Council to send letter outlining concerns, conditions for support to county planners.
After three meetings, 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 …
Monday, February 18, 2013
Motorists speeding through Hyattsville could end up with a $40 fine if caught by automated camera system.
Hyattsville's new new automated speed camera program goes live today. For the first 30 days, speeding motorists caught by the cameras driving more than 12 miles-per-hour above the speed limit will receive a written warning in the mail. After that, speeding motorists risk a $40 fine for speeding. The citations will not be reported to insurance companies, nor will they result in new points on your drivers license. The city is starting the program with five portable camera units, all of which are expected to be up and running by March. The cameras will be located at the following locations, each of which is within one half of a mile from a school: These cameras are in addition to three red light cameras located at the intersection of …
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Chris Vermillion, director of Human Resources, and Julia McTague, acting director of the Department of Public Works, resign, according to report.
The revolving door in Hyattsville's municipal administration spins again. According to a report in the Hyattsville Life and Times, the city's human resources director and the acting director of the Department of Public Works will be resigning their posts. Chris Vermillion, who became Hyattsville's first human resources director last year, will be leaving the job effective March 1. Vermillion will have stayed on the job for a little more than a year. He was first introduced as the city's HR director late last February after an extensive recruiting process. Vermillion's $110,000-plus-benefits employment contract required him to give 30 days notice before terminating his contract. In resigning, Vermillion chose not to exercise an automatic …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Measure seeking support for rezoning of property near Prince George's Plaza Metro Station.
With practically no discussion, the Hyattsville City Council took no action on a measure which would have given conditional support to a rezoning proposal before the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission which could set the stage for the redevelopment of the Kiplinger property at 3401 East-West Highway from its current use as commercial and warehouse space into a mixed-use, transit oriented complex. After the measure was read aloud by Council President Matt McKnight (Ward 3), it failed to be seconded by any member of the city council. Without that, the measure could not be voted on, and the city council moved on to other business. After the meeting, Council Vice-President David Hiles (Ward 2) said that the city council'…
Monday, February 4, 2013
Ward 5 council member announces resignation after a year marked by frequent absences caused by pregnancy complications.
With little fanfare, Hyattsville City Councilor Nicole Hinds-Mofor (Ward 5) resigned her seat effective immediately early last week in an brief email to her fellow council members and city staff. Her announcement means that Hyattsville's Ward 5 residents will soon be without a veteran council member for the first time in more than a decade. Longtime Councilor Ruth Ann Frazier (Ward 5) earlier announced her intention to retire from council after her current term is up in May. Hinds-Mofor works an an engineer with the Prince George's County Department of Public Works and Transportation. Born in Brooklyn, NY, she has lived in Hyattsville since 2000. She was first elected to the Hyattsville City Council in 2005 during a special election to …
Renderings give idea of development which could one day occupy the Kiplinger property on East-West Highway.
The Hyattsville City Council will again be considering whether or not to support a proposed rezoning of the Kiplinger property near the Prince George's Plaza Metro Station. Property owners Kiplinger Washington Editors, a trade publication company based out of Washington, DC, want to rezone the 11 acre property to allow for mixed-use, transit oriented development. A conceptual site plan submitted per the requirements of their rezoning request envisions an 870 unit apartment/condominum development with a parking garage and 34,200 square feet of commercial or retail space at the west corner of the property. During the last city council meeting, there was some amount of confusion over what the conceptual site plan looked like, in no small part…
Mid-term campaign season in Hyattsville begins officially on Feb. 25.
Local political hopefuls and seasoned incumbents don't have too much more time to decide if they want to contest year's mid-term Hyattsville City Council Elections. A series of memos from the Hyattsville Board of Supervisors of Elections spells out the timetable for this year's municipal election season. Half of Hyattsville's 10 city council members will be up for election this year, with one seat from each of the city's five wards to be contested over the coming months. The mayor's seat is not up for election again until 2015. The seats held by councilors Eric Wingard (Ward 1), David Hiles (Ward 2), Matt McKnight (Ward 3), Carlos Lizanne (Ward 4) and Ruth Ann Frazier (Ward 5) will all be contested. The field, so far, seems to be wide open…
Friday, February 1, 2013
Survey designed to gauge reception for sidewalk, street improvements in University Hills.
Hyattsville officials are set to release the results of a detailed survey which asked University Hills residents for feedback about a planned rehabilitation of the streetscape throughout the city's northern neighborhood. The city will review the results of the community survey at a meeting scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Adelphi Road. During the meeting, officials will also present a revised project schedule and other updates. The University Hills streetscape overhaul has been met with vocal opposition from some neighborhood residents, who voiced their concerns at a series of contentious community meetings held this past September. Since those meetings, neighborhood residents have …
Donald James
11:30 am on Monday, March 4, 2013
Who knew adding sidewalks was such a contentious topic. I'm currently searching for a house and sidewalks are a must. I would never buy a house in an area without sidewalks, those communities are immediately crossed off my list. I do not want my kids or myself walking in the street with crazy drivers. Sidewalks seem to be a public safety issue. more ›