Government & Public Utilities Committee Report: November 9, 2017

Joe attended three meetings last month. The summaries of these meetings follow:

The Police District VII Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) meeting was held on October 17, 2017. Current CAC President Ms. Constant is stepping down from her position in January because she is moving. Dennis Tozser was elected as the new CAC President, effective January 2018. In the past year, violent crime was down by 4%, but property crime was up by 8%. There were 174 incidents in general theft…up by 30 incidents at this time last year. There was a rape in MNCPPC Accokeek East Park in the evening last week. There were 2,716 citations on Route 210 in 2017 to date, with increased police presence and enforcement in a cooperative effort by local and state police. There has been much local concern and media attention concerning Route 210, due to the number of accidents, traffic fatalities and other incidents. Everyone in encouraged to attend a Public Hearing to address local legislation with regard to the possible placement of permanent speed cameras on MD Route 210. This hearing will be held at Prince George’s Community College, Largo, Maryland at 7:00 pm in the Rennie Forum on Tuesday, December 5, 2017. The latter part of the CAC meeting was devoted to answering questions from those in attendance concerning personal safety concerns.

A Prince Georges County Zoning Rewrite Listening Session was held on October 24, 2017. The zoning rewrite has been on-going since 2014. The following three modules were drafted during 2015 through 2017 with public participation in over 300 meetings.

Module 1: Zones and Use Regulations

Module 2: Development Standards and

Module 3: Administration and Subdivision Testing

The final comprehensive review draft will be completed soon. Adoption by the County Council and implementation is expected to be completed by mid-2018. County zones will be reduced from 73 zones to 44 zones. County zone uses will be reduced from 1,200 uses to 229 uses. Most of the zoning changes will concern commercial and mixed-use development. There should be little impact on single family detached residential properties classified as R-80, with a standard lot size of 9,500 square feet that are typical of the homes in Captain's Cove. However, air bnbs impact the homes in Captain’s Cove because current zoning law uses do not allow commercial uses of properties zoned as residential, and air bnbs are considered commercial uses. The new zoning law may consider some exceptions; such as, Bed and Breakfast homes, but taxes may have to be paid at the same rates as local hotels. In addition to air bnbs, the latter part of the session was devoted to other hot button property use issues that are expected to be included in the Zoning re-write; such as having chickens, having bees, and dog control issues. The zoning map is at: http://www.pgatlas.com. The project Web site is: www.zoningpgc.pgplanning.com

The Indian Head Highway Area Action Council (IHHAAC) Annual Meeting was held on November 4, 2017. The meeting began with members reelecting the officers and the President. The guest speakers were Pete Rahn, Maryland Secretary of Transportation; Gregory Slate, Administrator of Maryland Department of Transportation; John Townsend, Manager, Public Affairs, AAA Mid-Atlantic; Captain Dan Picket, Commander, Washington Metro Troop; Major Keleti, Commander, Police District VII; and Acting Captain Sheniqua Smith, Assistant Commander, Police District IV. The topics discussed were infrastructure funding for Route 210 projects; speed and/or red light cameras on Route 210; and safety along Route 210. As part of the ongoing efforts to reduce unsafe driving along Indian Head Highway, District VII police have partnered with the Maryland State Police to provide increased/enhanced traffic enforcement. This initiative started in early September 2017. In just 6 weeks, the combined efforts resulted in more than 3,100 traffic citations, along with multiple arrests. Additionally, more than 175 commercial vehicle inspections have been conducted along Route 210 during this timeframe. Discussions included installing better highway lighting on Route 210; having shoulders on Route 210 for safety of stalled/disabled vehicles; the need to attend the legislative proposal that Representative Valderama introduced to install permanent speed cameras on Route 210 that will be discussed at Prince Georges Community College at 7:00 pm on Tuesday December 5; the need for crosswalks at the lights on Route 210, especially at Fort Washington Road so that the elderly in wheelchairs at the close-by Assisted Living Facility can safely cross the highway; and the need for "smart" traffic signals for better traffic flow during rush hour.

Other Government and Public Utilities Committee Business

Paul Arneson has volunteered to take the lead to work with Inspector Valentine of the Prince Georges County Department of Permitting, Inspection and Enforcement (DPIE) regarding property and homes to be maintained according to code. Joe and Paul will meet with Inspector Valentine next week to work on a strategy to provide Inspector Valentine with a list of homes, properties, and vehicles with apparent code violations, as listed in the Prince Georges County “Homeowner and Community Code Enforcement” Handbook. After being notified of potential violations by Paul Arneson and/or Joe Federline, Inspector Valentine will physically inspect the properties. If the violation is confirmed and house maintenance is needed, DPIE will send a letter to the homeowner stating that he/she has 60 days to correct the deficiency/deficiencies, or be subject to other recourse. Eric Linderman has agreed to help canvass some of the neighborhood and to otherwise help in these efforts.

Mel Kruer has agreed to follow-up on the WSSC project #BR6151A16, titled “Queens Water Main Replacement”. Ms. Gonzales, the project manager in the WSSC Pipeline Design Division, said that the project is in the bid process. Once the contract is awarded, she will know the construction start date. She will keep us informed.

Brittany has continued to post pertinent county government and utility notices as “Documents” and several meetings as “Events” on NextDoor. Posting this way makes searching for specific information easier than sifting through the general feed. Brittany also posted several documents to NextDoor for the FWECA Board, including the FWECA Fall Flyer and the FWECA General Meeting minutes.

As a “Nextdoor” lead, Sandra posted a document under the “About” section of Nextdoor from the FWECA Board. The document includes:

· A history of Captain's Cove, Fort Washington National Park, Captain's Cove Community Park, Fort Washington Pool Association and Fort Washington Marina;

· Information about Fort Washington Estates Civic Association (FWECA), including its current Board and Committees;

· A list of Government, Public Utility and Local Organization contacts; and

· A list of restaurants near Captain's Cove with phone numbers and Web sites.

Small Community Library: Joe contacted Ann Teske in the MNCPPC Park Permit Office to ask how FWECA can obtain permission to place a Little Free Library in Captain's Cove Park. Ann said that FWECA should send a letter (similar in content to the e-mail that Joe sent to Ann Teske) asking permission to do so to:

Darin Conforti, Acting Director,

MNCPPC Park Permit Office

6600 Kenilworth Ave.

Suite 100

Riverdale, Maryland 20737