County Council Strips Communities Of Their Voice About Development
Council Bill (CB)-15-2024 was enacted (6 in favor, 4 opposed) on July 16 to update the new Zoning Ordinance, and Council Chair Jolene Ivey used the opportunity to strip out the protections for communities.
Communities have been upset that the Zoning Ordinance adopted a few years ago generally cuts residents out of the process. Most development projects only need a Detailed Site Plan, but the issues considered in approving a site plan are not what communities care about. Communities care about the type of use, density, traffic impact, lack of infrastructure or, public safety staffing, etc. Thus, the new Zoning Ordinance cuts our meaningful community input.
Last year, I enacted an important change requiring Detailed Site Plans to be consistent with Master Plans. For example, if the Master Plan consistency rule had been in effect a few years ago, there probably would not have been a 7-Eleven gas station on the Behnke's property. Former Council Member Mel Franklin (before he resigned) and Chair Ivey used CB-15-2024 to repeal Master Plan consistency which will allow for more unwanted, poor-quality development. The loss of this provision will likely pave the way for unwanted development that the residents of Vansville and North Creek have been fighting.
In addition, Chair Ivey and the Council Vice Chair removed another critical protection I put in CB-15-2024 to give communities a voice around the new Commercial-General-Office (CGO) Zone. The CGO Zone, previously Commercial Shopping Center (C-S-C), is generally for shopping centers. Under the old ordinance, only commercial uses were allowed in the C-S-C zone, not residential uses. When these properties were given the new CGO designation, they were given the authority to become apartments or townhouse developments without helpful community input. For example, there is a CGO townhouse proposal in Vansville and an apartment project in Calverton.
To give communities a voice in these developments, I inserted a provision in CB-15-2024 that would have required special approval by the Council for residential uses. Working with Mel Franklin before he was indicted, Chair Ivey stripped this provision out of the bill. So, the development of apartments and townhouses in CGO Zones may be legally developed with a Detailed Site Plan, and there are no meaningful issues that communities can raise to stop unwanted residential development.
I will continue fighting to give communities a voice in development near them, but this latest example of fealty to low-quality development reinforces the adage that elections have consequences.
Terrible Trash and Recycling Collection Transition
On July 1, new County waste collection contracts became effective and much of Beltsville received a poor introduction to the new trash hauler. It was made clear that the new company was ill-prepared for this contract by the trash and recycling that sat over the holiday weekend. Michelle García, my Chief of Staff and Beltsville resident, worked tirelessly to field complaints and work with the Department of the Environment (DoE) to get results. This situation was frustrating and unacceptable, but DoE believes the company will be directing more resources to fulfill its obligation to Beltsville. Residents have asked why the contract of the previous company was not renewed. I understand that the last company chose not to renew their bid on the contract again.
Also, due to the extreme heat, trash pickup will begin at 5:00 AM so that sanitation workers may avoid the day's peak heat. Please ensure your bins are placed on the curb by 5:00 AM on your scheduled pickup day. If your collection is not picked up at 8:00 PM on your designated day, submit a report at www.pgc311.com or call 3-1-1. You should feel free to contact my team with your service request number so we can assist.
County Council Special Election Details
The County Council will be holding a Special Election Primary on August 6, 2024, to replace At-Large Council member Mel Franklin. By now, you should have received your mail-in ballot. Note that there is only ONE in-person voting site per district for early voting and Primary Election Day voting. The district 1 polling location is Calverton Elementary School, 3400 Beltsville Rd, Calverton. I strongly recommend you consider taking advantage of the mail-in
voting option, including using the drop boxes.
Drop boxes in District 1 are the following:
● Beltsville Community Center - 3900 Sellman Road, Beltsville, 20705
● College Park Community Center - 5051 Pierce Avenue, College Park 20740
● Deerfield Run Community Center - 13000 Laurel Bowie Road, Laurel 20708
● Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center - 7120 Contee Road, Laurel 20707
Special Election Timeline:
● Primary Early Voting: July 31 to August 5 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
● Primary Election Day for the At-Large County Council Member position will be August 6.
● The General Election will be on November 5.
Contact Us
Please keep in touch. Email us at councildistrict1@co.pg.md.us or call 301-952-3887. Se habla español. On parle français. نحن نتكلم العربية. Follow us on Facebook, X, Threads, and Instagram: @TomDernogaD1