Takoma Park to hold virtual meeting on redistricting for City Council seats October 21

Takoma Park residents who want to have a say in the redrawing of City Council districts for the November 2022 city election will have an early opportunity this Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM. A two-hour virtual meeting will be held at that time. To participate, register in advance online. 

Mapping tools and a comment form will be available, as well as briefings on the process. A survey will be taken. $50,000 has been budgeted for the redistricting process. The City has hired FLO Analytics to conduct the redistricting process, and to produce maps. A final map is expected to be approved by the Mayor and Council in January 2022.

Takoma Park homeowners could pay higher stormwater fees

Many residents of Takoma Park could end up paying higher stormwater fees to the City, if the Mayor and Council change the way those fees are determined for residential property owners. Currently, all homeowners in Takoma Park pay the same rate. But the Mayor and Council will discuss changing that method to a "stepped fee" at their September 11, 2019 meeting. Under that formula, homeowners' fees would be determined by the amount of impervious surface on their property.

Takoma Park mayor weighs in on proposed ICE facility

Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart has released a letter supporting efforts by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Councilman Brandon Todd to prevent the opening of a new ICE detention facility for minors near the D.C. border with the City of Takoma Park. The proposed facility would house several hundred unaccompanied minors detained at the U.S. border at 6896 Laurel Street, N.W.

"The property at 6896 Laurel Street NW is in no way adequate to house 200 children," Stewart wrote in her letter to Bowser and Todd. "Moreover, the center would be run by a company with no experience running facilities for children." The Takoma Park mayor added that the proximity of the facility could increase the number of ICE agents operating in the area, which she said "will create tremendous fear among our residents, regardless of their immigration status."

Building at 6896 Laurel Street, N.W.
proposed for use as ICE detention facility

Stewart underlined Takoma Park's status as a "sanctuary city," and lambasted the Trump administration's handling of illegal immigrants and unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S. border as "appalling" and "sickening."

A contract with Dynamic Services Solutions in Prince George's County to operate the shelter has already been signed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS has said the contractor and facility will adequately meet all needs of minors detained there.

Takoma Park goes forward with plan to screen film highly-critical of Israel July 23

JCRC protests decision;

CAIR calls effort to cancel

movie night "cowardly"

Takoma Park's Mayor and Council is pressing forward with the rescheduled screening of "Occupation of the American Mind" on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 from 7:00-9:30 PM in the auditorium of the Takoma Park Community Center, located at 7500 Maple Avenue. They are again being heavily criticized by some residents and local Jewish organizations for proceeding with the rescheduled screening of the Roger Waters-narrated film, which is highly critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians and territorial occupation.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington has again written to Takoma Park officials asking them to call off the screening. A prior screening this summer was postponed after the controversy reached national and international news outlets. The city arts organization hosting the screening abruptly changed its name after it was identified in those news reports.

This second time around, Takoma Park extended an invitation to the JCRC to have a representative participate in a discussion panel about the film. In a response to city leaders, JCRC Executive Director Ronald Halber and Maryland Community Relations Director Meredith Mirman Weisel declined the invite, saying they could not join a roundtable that included representatives of "organizations explicitly opposed to the very existence of the State of Israel and the right of the Jewish people to self-determination,"

JCRC is now calling on the community to petition City leaders to cancel the new screening, and have set up an action page on their website to assist in those communications. Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart said she is "disappointed" that the JCRC declined the city's invitation to participate in the screening panel. She said she and the City Council "do not endorse" the content of the film, but are trying to "create a space for people to listen, critique, discuss, and learn from each other."

Stewart said the city is bringing in a "professional facilitator" named Theo Brown to moderate the screening program. Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld and Maharat Ruth Friedman of Ohev Shalom Synagogue, Matthew Mayers of J Street, and Taher Herzallah of American Muslims for Palestine will participate in the post-screening discussion. Others have been invited, and the list may be updated, city officials said.

Some residents strongly support the screening, and have said canceling it would be censorship. The JCRC says they are opposing the screening on the grounds that it is taxpayer-funded.

Muslim advocacy organization CAIR praised Stewart for standing her ground on the movie plans. "In their handling of this situation, Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart and the city council demonstrated a level of moral leadership, courage and professionalism that is often missing in political spaces today," CAIR Director of Maryland Outreach Zainab Chaudry said in a statement. "We applaud them for not capitulating to cowardly attempts to erase narratives that are often missing in our national discourse."

Photo via "Occupation of the American Mind" official website

Takoma Park Mayor & Council to hold public hearing on traffic calming on Fifth Avenue

Blue represents proposed speed bump locations on
Fifth Avenue; yellow represents the two bump-outs
proposed for Fifth at Westmoreland Avenue

Takoma Park's Mayor & Council will hold a public hearing on a request for a traffic calming project on Fifth Avenue, between Orchard and Eastern Avenues, next Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 7:30 PM at 7500 Maple Avenue. A neighborhood petition obtained the required number of signatures to trigger the public hearing.

The three proposed speed bumps and two bump-outs would cost taxpayers an estimated $8000. A vote on the matter will be held in May.

Essex House residents complain to Takoma Park Mayor and Council

A group of residents of the Essex House apartment building at 7777 Maple Avenue in Takoma Park turned out at last night's Mayor and Council meeting to implore officials to address a litany of complaints they have. Several tenants who spoke cited exorbitant rent increases, broken-down elevators, pests, mold, uncleaned swimming facilities, and windows that haven't been cleaned in "years."

Two residents told officials that there is drug use in the hallways and stairwells of the building, and asked for police to patrol inside the common areas. One resident said she and her fellow tenants are also being gouged by the single cable TV provider in the building.

Councilmembers Jarrett Smith, Terry Seamens and Fred Schultz praised residents for coming in to speak, all saying that the physical turnout will help them muster the assistance to address these and other issues, as opposed to officials simply repeating what they have heard in private conversations or emails. They did not address any of the specific allegations made at the meeting, however.

Several tenants stressed that they very much want to stay at Essex House, if the rent can be kept within their reach, and if other issues can be resolved.

Mayor and Council to tour Takoma Park Library as renovation debate continues

Mayor Kate Stewart and City Councilmembers will tour the exterior of the Takoma Park Library next Wednesday, April 6, at 6:30 PM. They will be considering options for the renovation of the building. The public is invited to attend.

A number of concerns have been raised by library patrons about exterior changes proposed by the architect for the project, including size of windows, spaces for people to gather or for kids to wait for parents to pick them up, retention of the mosaic and landscaping, and the number and width of parking spaces.

The library is located at 101 Philadelphia Avenue.

Takoma Junction project delays "kind of troubling" for Takoma Park leaders

Several Takoma Park City Councilmembers questioned development firm Neighborhood Development Company last night about what's taking so long to get the Takoma Junction redevelopment started. "It sort of seems like we lost a year in the process," Councilmember Tim Male said.

Takoma Junction is currently a low-density commercial area in "Old Takoma" along Carroll and Columbia Avenues. The City owns two significant parcels, and TPSS Co-op and a fire station are among the structures presently located there, mostly of a retail or service nature. Both City parcels are in the Historic District.

A major goal of the redevelopment for the City is to retain the TPSS Co-op store as Takoma Junction's anchor. This requires NDC to negotiate a letter of intent with TPSS before the project can begin. At last night's meeting, NDC representatives acknowledged they haven't even shown TPSS a first draft of such at letter yet. Councilmember Jarrett Smith said "It's kind of troubling" that an LOI hasn't been submitted to TPSS by this point. "The community wants to know why this isn't moving," Smith said.

Councilmember Rizzy Qureshi said there is a "sense of urgency" in the city about the project, and that residents are anxious to see it get started. NDC's CEO and founder Adrian G. Washington was frank in responding to the Council's comments, saying he himself was surprised at how long it has taken. "I would like to see the pace increase, personally," Washington said.

NDC's Diarra McKinney said the company hopes to have the LOI with TPSS within the next 30 days. They hope to meet with TPSS in the next 7 days. Regarding those negotiations, Washington predicted that "we're not gonna get everything we want, and they're not gonna get everything they want."

At the outset of the discussion, McKinney outlined a fairly precise schedule that shows a project timeline extending from March 31, 2016 to 2020. It proposes a community dialogue lasting from March 31 to May 31 of this year. Then the draft planning process would begin, and end with a Council vote on that plan this November 15.

NDC hopes to have approval of its site plan from the Montgomery County Planning Board by October 25, 2017, and to request construction permits in February 2019, with a 2020 delivery expected for the project.

Part of the community feedback process will be the creation of a four-to-eight member Advisory Committee, perhaps one resident from each ward of the City, and at least one member of City staff. The Committee will not make decisions, but will rather give feedback on NDC plans before they are shown to the greater public at meetings.

Two other hurdles to getting that process started are reaching a Development Agreement with the City, as well as a ground rent agreement. Smith urged NDC to reach out for help from the Council and City staff in moving the process along, particularly in dealing with Montgomery County.

Residential housing is under consideration for the Takoma Junction project, but Washington noted that an all-commerical development might be more "dynamic for your city center."

Earlier in the meeting, Mayor Kate Stewart and the Council voted unanimously in favor on the first reading of a bill that would set aside another $50,000 in funds to pay the law firm representing the City in the negotiations with NDC, Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday, LLC.

Takoma Park pays tribute to Bruce Williams as new Mayor, Council are sworn in

Takoma Park residents - and even some neighbors from Montgomery County and across the District line - crowded into last night's Mayor and Council meeting to pay tribute to retiring Mayor Bruce Williams. A fixture in City elected office since the early 1990s, Williams received several awards, a proclamation from the new Mayor and Council, and many an emotional speech from speaker after speaker.

City Manager Suzanne Ludlow declared the evening "the end of an era for Takoma Park." Williams, who was first elected as the Ward 3 councilmember in 1993, was the first openly-gay elected official in the region including Maryland, the District and Virginia.

If it was the end of one era, last night was the beginning of another for new Mayor Kate Stewart and two new councilmembers, Peter Kovar (Ward 1) and Rizzy Qureshi (Ward 3). Qureshi, a first-generation American citizen, described his swearing-in as a "surreal moment" he and his family could not have imagined.

His colleague, Fred Schultz (Ward 6), welcomed the new blood on the Council. "It's also not a bad idea to keep some old guys around, just in case," the longtime councilmember added to laughter.

Stewart named Ward 4 Councilmember Terry Seamens as Mayor Pro Tempore.

The new Mayor herself opened her remarks by thanking the many "strong women" in her life, including her mother, sister, mother-in-law, and Rep. Ellen Story of Massachusetts. "I'm very fortunate to be elected Mayor at this time in history," she said. "We have a lot of work to do."

That work, she said, would include continuing to make the City welcoming to a diverse community, increasing energy efficiency, and providing affordable housing.

Stewart wins Takoma Park mayoral race

When Takoma Park Councilmember Kate Stewart is sworn in as the city's next mayor, she will represent a generational shift in political power in Montgomery County's most progressive municipality. Taking over from longtime Mayor Bruce Williams, Stewart has only been on the City Council a short time after winning a special election in April 2014.

The new mayor-elect has been a City resident for far longer - two decades, and is a principal at ConwayStrategic, a communications firm in the District. Stewart has clearly made a great impression on residents in her short term of office, as she was unopposed until the last minute, and has quickly leapfrogged several longer-serving politicians into the Mayor's office.

Also winning last night were incumbent councilmembers Tim Male, Terry Seamens, Jarrett Smith, and Fred Schultz, and new additions Peter Kovar and Rizzy Qureshi. These results are unofficial and not yet certified.

Photo via Kate Stewart for Mayor website

Takoma Park voters will decide if city elections move to Maryland statewide election days

The Takoma Park City Council voted 4-3 last night to approve an advisory ballot measure allowing city elections to move from odd-numbered years to even ones, placing them on the same days as Maryland holds statewide elections. This would mean, for example, that Takoma Park would vote for mayor and city council candidates on the same day they cast votes in a Presidential election.

The measure, introduced by Councilmember Tim Male (Ward 2), would retain provisions for city elections already in use, such as allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote, and permitting non-citizens to cast ballots. Instant runoff voting and same-day registration would continue for Takoma Park, as well as allowing felons on probation or parole to vote.

Some on the council expressed dismay at the lack of interest in voting among residents. Councilmember Fred Schultz (Ward 6) said changing the date wouldn't change voters' sense that their votes don't make a difference. There haven't been enough contested and competitive council races, Schultz said, making voting seem a waste of time. More has to be done to tackle the problem than this measure, he argued.

Councilmember Jarrett Smith (Ward 5) concurred, noting that simply having more people voting doesn't necessarily increase engagement in a meaningful way. County Council seats are on the ballot on even-year election days, Smith said, and the results haven't reflected the demographics of County Council District 5. Smith said that County Council District is 60% minority, but elected a white councilmember in 2014.

Ward 1 Councilman Seth Grimes said those realities shouldn't dissuade the city from implementing this potential change. "No single solution is going to solve everything," Grimes said.

Grimes, Male, Councilmember Kate Stewart (Ward 3), and Councilmember Terry Seamens (Ward 4) voted in favor of the ballot question being put to the voters. Mayor Bruce Williams, Schultz and Smith dissented.

Photo courtesy City of Takoma Park

Takoma Park to study community-police relations

Takoma Park is preparing to hire a consultant to study community-police relations in the city. The Mayor and Council set aside $10,000 in the FY-2016 budget for this purpose, and last night they discussed the Request for Proposals that will be issued in the search for the consultant.

"We're not Ferguson, Missouri," Councilmember Terry Seamens noted at the outset of the discussion. "I have full confidence" in the Takoma Park Police Department, he added. Seamens said it would be important to hire a consultant "familiar with progressive police strategies."

Councilmember Jarrett Smith suggesting ensuring the consultant was familiar with diverse communities such as Takoma Park has, as well as locales where multifamily housing are prevalent. A "cookie cutter" approach laid over Takoma Park wouldn't work, Smith argued.

The study should also provide solid metrics the city can use to track progress on whatever concerns are raised by the final report, Councilmember Tim Male said.

City Manager Suzanne Ludlow said she hopes to draft and publicize the RFP during the Council break in August, once the edits to the draft suggested by the Mayor and Council are made.

Photo courtesy City of Takoma Park