In a spirited debate during the Greenbelt City Council meeting of Tuesday, October 15, Councilmember Rodney Roberts characterized the proposed Beltway Plaza redevelopment as “a gross example of over-development.”
A motion to approve an already agreed upon memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the developers of Beltway Plaza ran into hot water during discussions among council. The MOU is binding on the developer (and any subsequent developer to whom the property might be sold in the future) and the city. The city has no power over zoning (a power held exclusively by the county) and Councilmember Judith Davis noted that this agreement, though not ideal, at least meant the developer had to pay some attention to Greenbelt’s concerns. She saw it as a significant improvement over the stance taken by earlier developers within the city.
Roberts was deeply dissatisfied with the provisions for open space in the preliminary planning document. With zoning for townhouses and apartments totaling nearly 3,000 units as well as retail and office space and parking, Roberts couldn’t see how any space would be left for parkland and noted that the current plan had only some small lot areas defined.
Director of Planning and Community Development Terri Hruby explained that the planning was not yet at the stage where specific open space set-asides were identified and that there were two open space designations that occur in planning documents; first, the tot-lot provisions which were included already, but second – dedicated parkland – was still undefined at this stage. She noted that another recent city development, with around 350 units, had been required to set aside an acre of open space. The Beltway Plaza property is almost 54 acres with close to 0.2 miles on Cherrywood Lane and roughly 0.4 miles on Greenbelt Road.
Roberts was concerned that there was no provision in the document that required funding for schools, which are already overcrowded in the area. He also felt that the city would be unable to stretch its services to cover so many more households satisfactorily, noting that residents of the newly-completed Greenbelt Station had expressed dissatisfaction with the services and amenities the city provides. Roberts also stated his disappointment at the lack of provision for either affordable housing or housing for seniors.
Mayor Emmett Jordan agreed with Roberts’ concerns, but was at pains, as were others, to remind Roberts that the city has no power to insist on anything. Jordan said there are no regulations that can be imposed regarding developers providing funding for schools and that north county area schools were under significant pressure as a result of population growth, not just in Greenbelt. Jordan noted that it’s not just a city concern and encouraged interested citizens to attend the related Planning Board hearing at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission offices on Kenilworth Avenue on December 12.
Although the motion to formally approve the MOU carried, both Councilmember Colin Byrd and an unmollified Roberts voted against.