WORK SESSION of the Greenbelt City Council held Thursday April 5, 2001, for the purpose of meeting with representatives of the Greenbelt East Advisory Committee (GEAC).

PRESENT WERE: Council members Edward V.J. Putens, Rodney M. Roberts, Alan Turnbull, Thomas X. White, and Mayor Judith F. Davis.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Celia W. Craze, Director, Department of Planning and Community Development; and Kathleen Gallagher, City Clerk.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Sheldon Goldberg, Chair, GEAC; Judith Thompson, Secretary, GEAC; Charlene MacAdams, Treasurer, GEAC; Muriel Vilmazcetin, President, Greenbrook Village Homeowners Association; Dorothy Pyles, Treasurer, Greenbriar Condominiums; Derek Thompson, Windsor Green; Amy Boyes, the Gazette; and Barbara Hopkins, Greenbelt News Review.

Mr. Goldberg started the meeting at 7:34 p.m. It was held in the Terrace Room of the Greenbriar Community Center. After accepting items #17 and #18 for the agenda, he turned the meeting over to Mayor Davis.

The Mayor first mentioned two information items for Council. She asked if anyone could attend a Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project Town Hall Meeting in her stead on April 21. And she reported on a conversation she had with Mike Glass, General Manager of Springhill Lake, in which he said they had 99% occupancy, are establishing a staff mentoring program at the elementary school, and are providing maintenance staff to undertake landscaping for the school. Mayor Davis mentioned that Council intends to continue meeting on an annual basis with some of its stakeholder groups, including Springhill Lake, Greenbelt Homes, Inc., and GEAC.

The Mayor then went through the agenda items provided by GEAC and the status report provided by the City Manager’s office, as follows.

1. Post Office: Although the resolution authorizing the condemnation was passed by Council on February 12, the City has not yet filed the condemnation papers, since the attorneys for the City, the property owner, and the Post Office are still working on details.

2. News Racks: Some options have been identified that may be acceptable to the newspaper and advertising vendors while also meeting the City’s desires regarding safety and aesthetics. A work session needs to be scheduled.

3. Playground Maintenance Equity: The Mayor noted that the City and GHI both understand GEAC’s feeling about the playground equity issue. City staff will complete a report by sometime this summer, and a work session and public hearing, as appropriate, will be held subsequently.

4. Hanover Parkway Improvements: Planning and Community Development staff are working on a corridor study. Results are due this summer and will be brought to GEAC. Ms. Craze said they are looking at all possible aspects of the corridor, including landscaping, safety, pedestrian and bicycle access, bus stops, aesthetics, etc. In response to a query about the roundabout, Ms. Craze said it is operating satisfactorily but not perfectly. They still have not succeeded in slowing approaching traffic adequately and in assuring appropriate yielding. She added that one unanticipated benefit of the roundabout is that residents are reporting a reduction of traffic noise in the area. Mr. Roberts asked how it was working for pedestrians. Ms. Craze said there is a general improvement because pedestrians have shorter distances to walk; however, there is still a problem with pedestrian access at Hunting Ridge, and a new problem has been created by Metro’s relocation of the bus stop. Mr. Turnbull noted that Council had always expected that multiple traffic-calming measures would be needed on Hanover Parkway in order that the full burden of slowing traffic would not be taken by the one roundabout.

5. NASA Master Plan: Mayor Davis said that although Goddard has held a series of meetings with the community, the community’s reaction has been that it was being told, not consulted. Ms. Craze said she believes that in fact the current proposal is viewed by Goddard as a compromise on items discussed over the last decade; for example, they would probably still prefer simply to close Soil Conservation Road and not be concerned with any public need for through-traffic. She said the money is in the federal budget, the plan should go to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) next month, and they expect to complete the road in two years. Mr. Goldberg asked what impact the City anticipates. Ms. Craze answered that it will draw traffic closer to Greenbelt East, but the biggest impact will be on communities east of Goddard, and they are raising the most complaint.

Mr. Roberts stated a concern that by bringing their contractors onto their campus under the new plan, Goddard would have an impact on the commercial office space in the area. Mr. White agreed, saying he thought they were effectively setting up an office park between the "new" road and their west campus. He also thought traffic would generally be drawn further west under the plan and that drivers might start to use roads like Cipriano and Princess Garden Parkway more heavily for north-south access. He said Goddard had sent a letter to the Congressional delegation that struck him as being gratuitous and self-serving in its description of the process being used. He said it is time for Council to weigh in and asked that staff prepare a letter to our senators and congressman in reaction to this letter from Goddard.

Mr. Putens said he had attended quite a few of the community meetings and that they are intended to be public briefings, not public hearings. He further said he believed the contractors in question are already on the Goddard campus and that the goal is to move them out of the federal facilities, not to compete with private office space.

Mr. Thompson asked that, if possible, the City convey to Goddard the importance of treating the surrounding homeowners with respect and explaining alternatives clearly.

6. Metroland: Council has not yet met with the developer. Council and City staff have reviewed the plan the developer has withdrawn and have many objections to it. Ms. Craze added that supplementary information on the proposal was received today, and it appears the plan may now meet the letter of the requirements to continue the county’s review process.

7. Residential Assessment Values: Derek Thompson identified problems with the City’s analysis, which are now being reviewed by the City. A revision is expected soon.

8. Electric Power Deregulation/Aggregation: Both bills have been referred to summer study.

9. SHA Neighborhood Conservation Project/Rt. 193: The Mayor reported that the State Highway Administration decided to divide the Rt. 193 project into two. The Greenbelt part, which runs from the bridge west of Beltway Plaza to east of Goddard, will be handled as a Neighborhood Conservation project. It was noted that none of the various SHA and other state task forces the City has made nominations to have met yet.

10. Curfew: Council voted at the March 26 regular meeting not to enact a curfew law. GEAC had spoken against a curfew and is supportive of Council’s decision.

11. Residential Alarms: Staff has been collecting data on alarm activations and will work with residents to try to resolve problems. Ms. Craze said activations are up 40%, mostly just because of the increase in number of alarms. They’ve been generated by 291 addresses, but with 20% coming from only 17 addresses, which are at scattered locations. These 17 are the alarms staff is targeting. During the first six months, the effort is limited to education of alarm-owners. There are two employees on staff who can assist owners with diagnosis of problems, but the City will not do repairs. Ms. Pyles asked about false alarms on automobiles. Ms. Craze responded that it had become part of the state code in October that police officers treat loud unattended alarms and loud radios as moving violations and thus ticket them. Mr. Putens asked Ms. Gallagher to get a copy of this law for Council and for Ms. Pyles.

12. Lien Law Bill: Introduced by Senator Green, the law received an unfavorable report in committee. Council agreed to ask Sen. Green for his insights into the situation at Greenbelt’s legislative wrap-up and asked staff to alert him that the question will be raised. It was noted that states surrounding Maryland have passed such a law and the result has benefitted the banks and mortgage companies as well as the condo associations.

13. Greenbrook Lake Paths: Ms. Craze said these are the paths that would connect Greenbrook Estates to the Greenspring path, ultimately creating a link with Schrom Hills Park. The current status is that Sharon Bradley-Papp is designing a stream crossing. There is also a need for landscaping to divert traffic from the existing footpaths that pass through private property. She expects a plan will be ready to come to Council within the next couple of months and, if the plan approved, the work could be completed by the end of the calendar year.

14. Old Greenbelt Theatre: Mayor Davis said that although the City has reached basic agreement with the owner, there are still fine points to be worked out, and this process is ongoing. The City has gone to the state with a bond bill, the Senate version of which includes $25,000 for the theater, but it is not yet clear what the likelihood of success is. Mr. Goldberg asked if any more had been learned about the condition of the building. Mr. Turnbull said there are problems with systems, but the structure is sound. Mayor Davis added that there are possibly environmental concerns as well.

15. and 16. Mr. Goldberg said these items were on the agenda to give GEAC the opportunity to say "thank you" to Council. These were the renewal of the Greenbelt East substation lease and the memorial plaques for three benches GEAC adopted by GEAC at Schrom Hills Park.

17. Comcast. In response to a question about Starpower, Mayor Davis said they had never come to the City for franchise authority; it is not Greenbelt that is keeping them out. Council’s understanding is that Starpower has overextended itself for the time being.

18. Entrance to Safeway: The Mayor said the City repaired the sidewalk. Mr. Putens said the County had accepted ownership, but Ms. Craze added they would not accept responsibility for doing repairs. In response to a question from Council about whether there was anything the City could do, Ms. Craze said the county is technically a property owner and could be cited just like anyone else under code enforcement. Although everyone found this thought tantalizing, Mr. White suggested that it might not be politic. The Mayor reiterated that one reason the City is reluctant to take any action is because of potential liability.

Mr. Putens then asked to add two more items to the agenda.

19. For Sale Sign - Mandan & Matthews. Ms. Craze presented a map showing the two small (0.9 and 1.6 A) parcels, for sale, respectively, for $4,400 and $8,200. They are zoned R-30 . Although the stated use is "apartments," they do not appear to be very susceptible to development.

20. Parking Enforcement: Ms. Craze said her department has started a program of aggressive enforcement against inoperative, dismantled, unregistered vehicles. In response to a question from Mayor Davis, she explained that the City can ticket vehicles only on City streets, but that on private property, such as Springhill Lake, it is faster to warn the owner, who can tow the cars. Mr. Putens asked about cars in private driveways. Ms. Craze said it is possible to cite them using the property maintenance code. In response to Ms. Pyles’ account of unsuccessfully calling the police about a problem car, Ms. Craze clarified that for the police to act, the car must either be moving or parked on a City street. Otherwise, residents should call the Code Enforcement office. Mr. Turnbull noted, however, that it is important for the Police and Planning Departments to cross-refer if a citizen calls the wrong office. Ms. Craze said the departments are working to cooperate on these matters.

Members of GEAC and Council expressed appreciation for the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kathleen Gallagher

City Clerk

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