University Park Council Disapproves Cafritz Preliminary Plan

The University Park Town Council Monday unanimously disapproved the Cafritz development preliminary plan, saying several conditions had not been met.

The council reviewed its position at a special session Monday night and made more specific its concerns about the development.

"Vague objections don't cut it," Mayor John Tabori said. "To simply say we don't like the bridge is not a meaningful objection."

The specific conditions the council feels have not been met include:

• Demonstrating which CSX crossing option was specified in a Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning report
• Establishing a funding mechanism for the CSX crossing
• Securing right-of-way to construct the crossing, as the council feels the UMD letter is not sufficient to comply with the bridge crossing, and there is no reliable cost estimate for land acquisition.

Tabori said several times during the meeting that the council needed to lay out clearly why the council believes the conditions had not been met.

The council made clearer its position that the developers hadn't established a funding mechanism for the development even though Calvert Tract LLC had petitioned for a special taxing district, a resolution that will be considered by the Prince George's County Council on Tuesday. 

The town also took the position that Calvert Tract LLC had not obtained right-of-way for the CSX crossing. A May 7 letter wasn't enough to show that UMD gave its approval because the matter had not been approved by the Board of Regents and the Maryland Board of Public Works, according to the council. 

The council also stated that no one with authority from CSX gave its recommendation of approval for the crossing.

"We're in a bad situation and its caused by no one other than the developer," Council Member Heidi Sorensen said.

Several residents spoke also out against the development, noting that the developers hadn't been transparent in its planning process and the developers wanted to rush approval of the plan.

University Park's disapproval of the preliminary plan of the Cafritz property comes just days after the planning board staff's reccomendation of approval of the plan. In the report, planning board staff accepted the conditions concerning the CSX crossing had been met by developers. 

The Riverdale Park Town Council approved the preliminary plan at a special legislative session on Saturday, also accepting that the developer had met all CSX crossing conditions. 

Also on Monday, council members approved a revised traffic management plan for the Cafritz development.

Three more Cafritz meetings are set for this week: Riverdale Park has public meeting set to discuss the J-crossing at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Town Hall; the College Park City Council is expected to make a recommendation on the preliminary plan during their Tuesday night council meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall; and the planning board is expected to vote on the Cafritz preliminary plan during its May 16 meeting that starts at 9 a.m.