District Council to Take Up Cafritz Plan July 9
The council's vote will determine whether the Whole Foods-anchored development can move forward.
The long-debated Cafritz rezoning plan will face a watershed moment next week, as the Prince George's County District Council prepares to debate and vote on the proposal this Monday, July 9.
The Council's session is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the County Administration Building (4741 Governor Oden Bowie Dr., Upper Marlboro).
Public hearings on the Cafritz plan—which lasted 30-plus hours over six days—wrapped up in May with remarks from residents and attorneys involved in the case.
The Council now must vote on the application before the July 20 deadline, or it will automatically be deemed disapproved.
Under the proposal, a 37-acre parcel on the north end of Riverdale Park would be redesignated from single-family detached residential (R-55) to mixed-use town center (M-UTC), easing the way for the construction of more than 900 units of housing, a 35,000-square-foot Whole Foods, a 120-room hotel, and additional office and retail space.
Supporters contend the project will spur economic growth and bring a desirable mix of retail and residential development to the area—an argument embraced by the Prince George's County Planning Board.
Critics charge that the plan would impose extreme fiscal, environmental, and traffic pressure on the surrounding communities.
See below for past coverage of the approval process:
District Council
- May 11: Cafritz Hearing is Adjourned
- May 7: Cafritz Hearing Continued to Sixth, and Possibly Final, Day
- May 4: Once Again, District Council Continues Cafritz Hearing
- April 30: After Another Marathon Session, Cafritz Hearing is Recessed to Friday
- April 13: District Council Continues Cafritz Proceedings to April 30
- April 11: Amid Procedural Turmoil, Cafritz Hearing is Recessed
Planning Board
- Feb. 2: Planning Board Conditionally Approves Cafritz Rezoning, 4-0
- Jan. 13: After Seven Hours of Testimony, Cafritz Hearing Recessed to Feb. 2
- Nov. 17: Planning Staff to Recommend Cafritz Zoning Approval With Conditions
Municipal Boards
- Jan. 11: College Park Says 'No' to Cafritz Rezoning
- Jan. 11: Riverdale Park Council Backs Cafritz Rezoning, 5-0
- Jan. 10: University Park Council Gives Conditional OK to Cafritz Rezoning
Adelphi Sky
11:59 am on Thursday, July 5, 2012
My gut feeling is that it will pass.
Pachacutec
1:03 pm on Friday, July 6, 2012
This has probably been a Done Deal between the developers, politicians, etc., for some time now. Debates and public hearings? Purely for publicity and to make it appear that these people actually care about the residents in the area.
Danny
1:26 pm on Friday, July 6, 2012
right, sure, hours of public testimony over multiple days (after YEARS of planning and prepping) were just for "publicity" (publicity carried out by the county for cafritz' benefit, apparently?). that would make for the least efficient "Done Deal" in the history of the state of maryland.
that said, i hope you're right that it is a "Done Deal." as one of the "residents in the area" for whom you're a self-appointed mouthpiece, i applaud what "these people" are trying to do in the community.