REGULAR
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2001
CALL MEETING TO ORDER:
The Regular Meeting of the Bowie City Council was held on Monday, October 1, 2001 in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Robinson at 8:00 p.m.
QUORUM:
In attendance were Mayor Robinson, Mayor Pro Tem Peters, Councilmembers Aleshire, Brady, Ellington, Green, and Jenkins; City Manager Deutsch, Asst. City Manager Fitzwater, City Attorney Robert Levan, Members of the Staff, the Press and the Public.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG:
The Council led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION:
A. Mr. Benjamin Woolery, 12302 Manship Lane, spoke about comments he had made at a previous meeting and wanted to clarify for the record that he had referred to "minority" in the phrase "tyranny of the minority". He felt that this was not a racial topic but a political theory topic and has nothing to do with race, gender or nationality.
B. Mr. Ted Chambers, 16026 Edgeview Terrace, said that the Bowie Responsible Growth Coalition feels that the Special Exception for Nash Woods should not be granted and the City should do everything in its power to see that it not be granted. Mr. Chambers then said that the Palisades Townhome Community asked him to speak to Council regarding Neighborhood Watch; felt that something needs to be done and the community wants to be able to respond to issues before they are critical.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT:
A. City Manager Deutsch reported on the following
items: 1) Bogley Project - the overall site plan is about 50% complete; there
are permit applications that are in various stages of completion and submission
involving the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Army Corps of Engineers,
Park and Planning, etc.; staff is planning on a December or January bid date
for the site work; staff has engaged a traffic engineering consultant to prepare
a traffic study and will use that data to work with SHA to negotiate the required
traffic improve-ments; expect the study to be completed within the month. 2)
Proposed Traffic Signal at Northview and Atlantis Drives - The project sign
will be 50% complete in two weeks; at the rate the design is proceeding, the
County should be able to order the material some time in November; the completion
of the project is expected sometime in the Spring. 3) City Donation for Recovery
Efforts - Staff looked at what the City did for the event in Oklahoma; the City
provided $2500 in the relief effort; $5000 is being considered by Council for
the September 11 events. This item was added as Item C under Old Business for
consideration.
CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Councilman Aleshire moved approval of Consent Agenda Item A: Approval of Minutes of July 16, 2001 Council Meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Peters seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS:
A. Ordinance O-12-01 - Providing Supplemental Appropriations for the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2002 for the Purpose of Funding the Construction of a Temporary Access Drive Across the City of Bowie Property at Church Road - City Manager Deutsch summarized the staff report dated September 10, 2001, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. He reported the ordinance would provide $58,700 to enter into an agreement to begin some of the needed construction work at the Hopkins Park Property; there is an opportunity to reduce City short term and long term costs by partnering with a developer who is building on the adjacent Ashleigh Property who needs access to avoid taking their construction vehicles through the adjacent Tall Oaks community; the County has agreed to reduce the scope of future road improvements to Church Road for future soccer field development by the City. He recommended Council adopt O-12-01.
Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.
Councilman Brady moved the adoption of Ordinance O-12-01. Councilman Jenkins seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
NEW BUSINESS:
A. Introduction of Ordinance O-13-01 -Amending Chapter 6, Article V "County Election Districts" of the Code of the City of Bowie, Maryland to Reestablish the County Election Districts in the City - Councilman Aleshire moved the introduction of Ordinance O-13-01. Mayor Pro Tem Peters seconded the motion.
Since there were no persons signed up to speak, Mayor Robinson declared the public hearing to have been held.
Mayor Robinson reported that the City has received a proposal from the ACLU of Maryland. He added the proposal to the record. He also reported that at the meeting of September 18, that a written opinion from the Attorney General requested by Council would be premature at this time; Council has suggested that this action be deferred pending some other independent presentation.
B. Special Exception #4387 - Weston/Nash Property - Mr. Richard Reed, attorney
for the applicant, offered apologies for his client not being in attendance;
when the item was rescheduled, a conflict occurred with his client's scheduling.
Ms. Linda Ryan, Greenhorne & O'Mara, described the revisions to the Special Exception Site Plan and indicated that the revised site plan is more like a Basic Plan that shows where the uses will be. She displayed a bubble diagram delineating the developable area and tree preservation area. Ms. Ryan also explained that the major change in the plan is that it now combines into one plan what was previously Plan A and Plan B with different access alternatives; the Belair Drive access alternative is preferred by the applicant; in the event that that access is not achievable, the public street connections could be utilized. She then described the condominium units and noted where they would be located on the plan; the purpose of the layout is to provide transitional uses from the intensity of the interchange from condominium units then to attached units and over to the existing residential units within the City; all units will be for sale and there will be no rental units; the plan shows a significantly reduced retail area and will include small shops, coffee shop, a restaurant, and dry cleaner.
Ms. Ryan then spoke about the presence of an endangered plant species on the site known as the Buttercup Scorpion Weed and said the goal of the State is to ensure its continued existence; the applicant has set aside an additional 9 acres for tree conservation which will ensure the endangered species' continued existence; the applicant has performed a noise study and a barrier has been designed by the noise consultants to shield the backyards of homes that would be adjacent to Rte. 50 or Rte. 301. Ms. Ryan said that the Illustrative Site Plan has been laid out with both access scenarios in mind; through the main access of Belair Drive the circulation would come in off Belair Drive and go through the property in a loop fashion so that there would be two points of access throughout the property; the Illustrative Plan also shows locations for stormwater managements and park locations, the square foot of retail location and a large community center.
Ms. Ryan concluded her report by stating that the changes to the Plan do not effect the way the criteria are met, it just further enhances the way the applicant feels that the criteria are met.
Mr. Walter Planet, Chairman of the Bowie Advisory Planning Board, said the Board agrees with the staff recommendation of denial which was presented to the Board on September 25, 2001. He pointed out that, at the hearing, the developer was given ample opportunity to address the staff report, but not response was received.
Ms. Cynthia Fenton, City Planning staff, summarized the staff report dated September 27, 2001, a copy of which is on file at City Hall. She summarized some of the deficiencies found by staff where the applicant failed to meet specific criteria for both general special exception applications and those for planned retirement communities. She said that because the proposal was found to be seriously deficient in meeting the criteria found in the staff report, staff cannot support the Special Exception request; the applicant submitted a proposal that does not meet the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance or all the regulations therein; the applicant has failed to submit the application in conformance with the Zoning Ordinance; required information has not been provided and sufficient detail on the Site and Landscaping Plan, Illustrative Plan, and existing conditions and environmental analysis Plan, or Tree Conservation Plan to make conclusive findings in support of the proposal. Ms. Fenton said the proposal deviates significantly from Master Plan policies and recommendations regarding density, population and housing unit forecasts, and character; the proposal far exceeds what is permitted with regard to density, and in either the existing or Master Plan recommended zones; the dwelling unit types proposed also diverge significantly from Master Plan guidelines; site access, internal traffic patterns, and environmental preservation areas will have a significant bearing on the ultimate character of this community and its compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood, yet, at this point they are vague and uncertain; there is no evidence that the applicant has met all the required criteria, or that the intent of the Master Plan has been preserved. Ms. Fenton concluded her report by saying that for these reasons staff recommends denial of Special Exception #4387.
Public Hearing:
1. Mr. Roger Goll, 13314 Vanessa Avenue, said he was concerned about open and green space, traffic and the density of the project. He added that the Highbridge Citizens Association recommends approval of the staff recommendation.
2. Mr. Charles Brown, 12811 Kernel Circle, said he lives adjacent to the subject property. He said there would be an increase of somewhere between 1200-2400 cars per day if this project goes forward.
3. Mr. Ed Ost, 2413 Keyberry Lane, representing the Nash Woods Preservation Coali-tion, said they advocate for no commercial development, do not want 4-story apartment-style condos and feel they are inappropriate in Bowie, are concerned about urban level of density and increased traffic, and felt the project it is not in compliance with the Master Plan.
Councilman Green moved for denial of Special Exception #4387. Councilman Brady seconded the motion.
Mayor Robinson read into a record a letter from residents who could not be present at this hearing, Thomas and Virginia Scott.
The motion carried unanimously.
C. Request for Donation to the Red Cross - Mayor Robinson said that Council had directed staff to recommend a way for the City to participate in recovery efforts in relation to the events of September 11th. He reported that staff is recommending, based on a precedent in similar incidents, that the American Red Cross be identified as the lead organization and make a contribution of $5,000. Councilman Brady moved approval of the $5,000 donation. Mayor Pro Tem Peters seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
A. Councilman Aleshire said he had reported on the need for donations to the food pantry at the last Council meeting; St. Pius X School and Bowie High School are collecting items for the pantry and a box is located at City Hall for contributions.
B. 1) Councilman Ellington noted that a worksession
is scheduled regarding the Huntington Revitalization Plan and asked that a representative
of the Faux Group be invited to attend.
2) Councilman Ellington asked for consensus to place the inventory of senior
housing on a future worksession agenda. Council concurred.
3) Councilman Ellington said he noted that the County is holding an emergency
preparedness meeting and asked if a City representative would be attending.
Mr. Deutsch replied that the County Municipal Liaison has indicated that the
County Emergency Manage-mint staff was preparing such a meeting, but he has
not received the details as yet.
C. 1) Mayor Pro Tem Peters asked staff to research
some current County Council initiatives regarding APF and the waiving of APF
requirements for specific projects; believed there was some draft legislation
and would like to receive a copy in the Council packet.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Mayor Pro Tem Peters announced that Council met in Executive Session with legal counsel prior to this meeting to discuss legal issues.
ADJOURNMENT:
Councilman Jenkins moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Brady seconded the motion and it carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 10:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela A. Fleming, CMC
City Clerk