MINUTES OF GREENBELT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Held Tuesday, May 30, 2000
For the purpose of discussing the Greenbelt Metro Sector Plan.

Mayor Davis called the meeting to order at 8:10 p.m. It was held in the City Council Room of the Municipal Building.

PRESENT WERE: Mayor Judith F. Davis, Edward V. J. Putens, Rodney Roberts, and Alan Turnbull. Thomas X. White arrived at 9:25 p.m.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Michael McLaughlin, City Manager; Celia Craze, Director of Planning and Community Development; Terri Hruby, Community Planner; and Virginia Beauchamp, Greenbelt News Review.

The purpose of the meeting was for Council to continue its review of the Greenbelt Metro Sector Plan, which began May 20, 2000, with the focus of tonight’s meeting being the Core Area of the plan. Council had previously reviewed the plan recommendations for Springhill Lake and Beltway Plaza.

Ms. Craze suggested that Council consider establishing performance measures such as acceptable traffic levels or reducing parking allowances to define development levels. She noted that a number of the standards called for in the plan do not represent a transit-oriented project, but are the standards currently used in County developments that encourage vehicle use. Without having specific measures before them, Council was generally supportive of this proposal, but wanted to see examples before agreeing to the concept.

Issues to be considered for performance measures include parking amounts/limits, a mixture of housing types, the floor area ratio, and building heights. It was noted that the proposed floor area ratio of 1.0 means the potential maximum amount of development is 4 million square feet based on the proposed FAR of 1.0. This amount was viewed as unacceptable. On the issue of building height, support was expressed to limit the height at 12 floors maximum, not an average as called for in the plan.

Concern was expressed regarding the lack of mention of impact on public facilities: public works, public safety, recreation, etc. Support was expressed that the environmental envelope should not be used to meet the need for open spaces or parks. Mr. Turnbull wanted the sector plan area to have parks and open spaces similar to original Greenbelt. Staff was asked to figure out the amount of green space that was provided in original Greenbelt.

Opposition was expressed to the proposed north-south connector road and the Breezewood extension road due to environmental impact. There was also concern expressed about providing a pedestrian/bicycle trail through the area. Mr. Roberts expressed a preference for bike lanes on roads. It was noted that elimination of theses roads would severely limit the potential on the southern properties. Related to Cherrywood Lane, it should be pointed out that it is a City responsibility.

Related to the environmental envelope, Council continued to support its previous position. Concern was expressed about how the disturbed areas would be addressed. It was suggested that remediation of the disturbed areas should be the responsibility of the present owner, not the public.

Respectfully submitted,

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248