The Bulldozer Test

I can't get in a lather about crime, taxes, the Community Center, or the gym. Seems like those are issues we can work out no matter who is in office.

MY big worry is the issue that's bearing down on our city like a category six hurricane - and that's DEVELOPMENT. No other issue on the list has the potential to change the city so drastically. And soon! As the condos rise, our quality of life may flatten. In a few short years many of us may not even want to live here any more because all the things we enjoy will be gone: the quiet streets, the local businesses, the diversity, the progressive attitude, the affordable housing. This could be as big a change as when the Adventists surrendered the city to the invading Abbott Revolutionaries.

We've got a number of development projects coming into the Carroll Ave corridor between Takoma Park and the Metro. There are two projects being planned for Old Towne. The WAH grounds will likely become a development of some sort. Any number of apartment buildings in town will probably be converted to condominiums.

The construction alone over the next 5 years is going to be a pain in the ass! It's going to look like the West Berlin building boom after the fall of the Wall!

Both candidates say they are concerned about this. Kathy says she has been working with residents to "modify development at the Metro." She talks about "win-win" solutions such as the one achieved with Montgomery College. She has a quote from Lorraine Pearsall of Historic Takoma saying Kathy "has always worked for balanced solutions with the community's interest at heart."

“Balanced" and "win-win" solutions sound reasonable. But, such solutions may mean that nobody ends up completely happy. How much of the unique Takoma Park quality of life will we have to give up for "balance," I wonder?

As reasonable (and non-commital) as she sounds on this, Kathy’s statement lacks fire. It makes me worried that she doesn't share my fears and concerns about development.

Seth, on the other hand, says, "Residents feel they're strapped in the back seat, being taken for a ride with little say about the destination." Right on, Seth! That's how I feel, exactly!

So, Seth gets empathy and rhetoric points, but how's he going to deal with development - and will it be differently than how Ms Win-Win will deal with it?

Seth puts his finger on the big problem, "The city lacks zoning authority within its borders and has no formal input into most local development"

He proposes a number of things he will do, or attempt to do, to fix that, but my heart sinks as I read down the list and realize all the obstacles and realities that will get in the way. Do we really want city zoning, for instance? Kathy points out, and I suspect she's right, that having our own zoning department will require more city employees and expense.

Seth says he's going to get a "a formally recognized, meaningful seat at the table in zoning and planning matters" with the county. Instead of zoning authority, the city has, as Seth describes it "ad-hoc arrangements based on memorandums of understanding." He says the memoranda of understanding "have not proved sufficient in providing the control."

I'm not sure about that. We may already have a "meaningful seat at the table." I can't think of any development projects that have spun out of control in Takoma Park city limits. The CVS and the Metro development are in DC. There is only one chain fast-food restaurant in the City, Subway, which is understated and blends with the city street-scape fairly well. Years ago there were rumors of a fast food burger joint or a "box" drugstore going in at Takoma Junction, but that was stopped - or discouraged.

If my impression is correct, we haven't really had a full test of the City's power to stop or change a big development. But, we are about to find out.

Seth says "The developer-slanted county agenda must not trump local concerns" which I agree with, but it's one thing to say it and another to get the county to go along with our anti-developer local concerns. When Seth says “local concerns” does he mean the same thing I do?

Seth says he wants to set up a Takoma Park Development Commission (oh, boy, another Takoma Park committee!), made up of representatives from various city interest groups. Most of them reflect business interests, which worries me a bit. As a resident I don't feel well represented by business people. He did not likewise nominate any community organizations for membership in this proposed commission. I wonder if that indicates a bias toward business interests. Seth is, after all, a local businessman.

In summation, based on information at hand, Seth better expresses the fears I have about development. I'm not sure his solutions are necessary or workable. Kathy doesn't come out as two-fisted as I'd like but I suspect her approach is more practical. I get the feeling she knows which Rockville or Annapolis door to knock on to get some influence on development projects.

I'd like to hear more about what the candidates will do to hold firm against quality-of-life-threatening development. So far neither of these two pass the bulldozer test. Only one mayor has ever done that. Thirty years ago Sammie Abbott lay down in front of bulldozers and occupied buildings to prevent an Interstate from being built through the heart of Takoma Park. As problematic a mayor as Sammie was, that's the spirit I want to see from my mayor!

So here's some questions for the candidates or their surrogates: What exactly are you going to do to STOP the Old Town development from taking away ANY commercial space and from creating a traffic snarl due to all the additional residents? Exactly what kind of development are you going to work your tail off to bring into the WAH property that won't also cause traffic snarls and won't be a isolated yuppie residential [e-word]?

- Gilbert


- NOTE: Several new comments on past blog postings, some from candidates. I recommend reading the blog by clicking on the individual post links in the left-hand panel. That way, each entry appears singly, with comments following. If you view the blog on the home page ALL the entries appear on the page, and you have to click on "comments" to read them, which I find more confusing and awkward. Thanks for reading. I hope you find this site helpful.