The Greenbelt City Council marched fairly quickly through a varied agenda at its October 9 regular meeting, clearing a variety of issues from its plate including responding to Aileen Kroll’s petition regarding how to protect old Greenbelt under the proposed new zoning law, finalizing a letter presenting the city’s proposals regarding changes to Metrobus routes and approving the 2017 community questionnaire.
Council finalized a letter to the chair of the county council (see draft letter here) asking that the draft Neighborhood Conservation Overlay Zone (NCOZ) prepared by Clarion Associates on behalf of the county be included in the zoning rewrite comprehensive review draft and that the NCOZ regulations be released immediately so that the public review process could begin. The letter was drafted in response to a petition presented to council at its September 25 regular meeting. Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI) also sent a letter that, among other points, listed the planning goals that were integral to the original design of the community that GHI hopes to see incorporated in the NCOZ. These goals include preserving the superblock concept, protecting common green space, promoting walkability, preserving GHI’s existing density, protecting the remaining green belt, protecting existing buildings massing and heights, preserving the original architectural context of historic Greenbelt, promoting sustainable development practices and ensuring that future development/ redevelopment in surrounding areas is compatible with the existing planned concept of Historic Greenbelt. Click Here to see the rest of the story.