Greetings District 8 Residents!
I am inviting you to attend our next virtual Transforming Communities Meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 6:30 pm –8:30 pm to discuss very important issues impacting our District. CMA process, proposed bills for increased density development projects, WSSC category changes, sidewalk improvements, neighborhood road repairs, as well as flooding and environmental health matters, amongst other issues will be addressed. YOUR VOICE MATTERS, so plan to join us!
Before I share some of the initiatives we will be discussing at our Transforming Communities Meeting, please note that a VIRTUAL PUBLIC HEARING is being held on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 on the 2021 Redistricting Commission Plan and Report. Residents and stakeholders are encouraged to participate in this important process. IMPORTANT: IF YOU WANT TO BE A PERSON OF RECORD TO SPEAKE FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING, YOU MUST REGISTER BEFORE THE DEADLINE, BEFORE 3:00 PM ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2021.
CLICK this link to Become a Person of Record https://pgccouncil.us/458/Public-Hearing-Notices-Sign-Up-to-Speak
To submit public comment on the Redistricting Commission Plan and Report in advance of the September 28, 2021 public hearing, please Click Here
Watch Live on September 28th at 5:00 p.m. -
https://pgccouncil.us/303/County-Council-Video
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS TO COUNTYWIDE MAP AMENDMENT (CMA) IS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021 AT 5:00 PM.
Written testimony or comments may be submitted for the record in addition to, or in lieu of, verbal testimony. Written testimony or comments will be accepted in electronic format through the online eComment Portal, rather than by U.S. mail. For those unable to use the portal, comments/written correspondence may be emailed to: clerkofthecouncil@co.pg.md.us or faxed to (301) 952-5178. Comments must be received by the Clerk of the Council no later than Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. and should be addressed to: The Honorable Calvin S. Hawkins, II, Chair Prince George's County Council County Administration Building Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20772
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In an effort to address the need for a new K-8 school in our community, I am working with residents to seek options for a K-8 site that will minimize adverse environmental impacts. In that vein, I have reached out to the Maryland Department of the Environment to point out some of the longstanding unaddressed issues we are having with destabilized soils, flooding, and silting of the inlets of the Potomac River, all of which will be exacerbated by tree removal. Although the tree removal process has begun on the proposed 24-acre, fully forested K-8 School site at Swan Creek and Fort Washington Roads, there is still an opportunity for the county to identify a better location, with the same acreage. Such land exists less that ¼ mile away with infrastructure already in place and existing landmark school-site familiarity. The current Potomac Landing Elementary School site, which sits on 10 cleared acres of land, abuts a13.87-acre forested site owned by MNCPPC. In my discussions with MNCPPC, I have learned that there is a process in place for Prince George’s County to acquire the site, should they so choose.
I took the liberty of sending these photos to both the Maryland Department of Environment, as well as MNCPPC in hope of telling the story of flood risk and silting of the Potomac River inlets, due to runoff, in hope that MDE will intervene. They are the only State level agency that can intervene to stop the current coarse of action of tree removal on the proposed 24-acre site.
The Potomac Landing Elementary School site and abutting land should be considered as a potential alternate K-8 site. We all want our new school. However, taking down 24 acres of tree canopy does not seem to be the best and highest use for this water catchment area that provides green space, adding value to neighboring homes, soil stabilization, cooling, as well as air quality benefits to the community.
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AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING SOLAR-POWERED RENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITY AND WAREHOUSE AND DISTRIBUTION USES IN THE R-R ZONE for the purpose of defining Solar-Powered Renewable Energy Facility in the Zoning Ordinance; and amending the Table of Uses in the Zoning Ordinance to permit Solar-Powered Renewable Energy Facility and Warehouse and Distribution Uses in the R-R (Rural Residential) Zone of Prince George's County, when the Warehouse and Distribution use is partially powered by Renewable Energy under certain circumstances.
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CB 78-2021 will directly intensify the land use of existing farmland near Rosecroft Raceway, changing the use from residential to industrial uses. CR-87-2021 is a resolution that the Council will vote on to change the category designation of land, which will impact development, as well. Currently, the Category 5 designation impedes dense development on the site. However, the owner has applied for a category change to bring the property to a Category3 designation, which will change the nature of what is developed. I denied the category change several months ago, when this came up, because of flooding issues, as well as WSSC infrastructure weaknesses that would be further burdened by public water and sewer going to this site that was not intended for dense development.
The combination of CB-78-2021 and CR-87-2021 will assure that dense industrial development will move forward on this site, which is currently zoned for residential use. We have invited the developer to attend our September 29, 2021 Transforming Communities meetings to discuss this with the community.
Summary Requiring the Public Service Commission to establish an energy storage pilot program; providing that the cumulative size of the projects under the program shall be between 5 and 10 megawatts, with a minimum of 15 megawatt-hours; requiring the Commission to require each investor-owned electric company to solicit offers to develop energy storage projects for various commercial and regulatory models; requiring each investor-owned electric company to submit an application for projects from at least two models; etc.
To view the state bill from 2019 SB573 - that allows a pilot program for a lithium battery storage facility, Click Here
To read the PDF BILL of 2019 - SB573 - Click PEPCO CH_427_sb0573t.pdf
For awareness, The Maryland General Assembly passed a bill in 2019 allowing a pilot program to establish two (2) Lithium Battery Storage Facilities in the State of Maryland, and Pepco has identified a Pepco-owned site on Livingston Road in District 8 as a potential site for the pilot program. I learned of this during a meeting with Pepco leadership in March 2020, and I have convened meetings since June 2020 with members of the community and Pepco, in the hope of getting clarity and community involvement in this process, so that YOU can decide if this is something beneficial to you and the community.
The battery storage facility pilot presumably will allow for the storage of energy from solar farms within the vicinity of the Livingston Road site. Many questions and concerns have come up in meetings over the past months, resulting in the following answers.
- We learned from our Fire Department leadership that they are not equipped to extinguish lithium battery fires, and that these fires burn very hot.
- There was no information provided regarding contaminant fallout as a result of a fire.
- Pepco has not been able to give an example of a successful storage facility placed in a community anywhere in the country with the density like that existing in and around the Livingston Road proposed site.
- Our Pepco bills are not expected to decrease, as a result of this battery storage facility being constructed.
Update: Pepco Battery Storage Facility/Pepco Community Advisory Group Meeting on Battery Storage Next Meeting is Friday, October 15th, 2021 @ 11a.m.
We welcome you to join the next Pepco Community Advisory Group Meeting on Battery Storage, Friday, October 15, 2021 – 11:00 am to familiarize yourselves with what is being proposed and have your questions addressed.
You may join the meeting through the TEAMS platform by clicking on this link https://bit.ly/3kEI12B
Please register for our Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 6:30 pm –8:30 pm Transforming Communities Meeting to discuss these proposed additions to our community. To register and receive the ZOOM link for the September 29th Meeting, click https://bit.ly/3hXrGED
I encourage you to always sign up to be a Person of Interest, to speak on legislation being brought to the Committee, before the hard deadline the County has, so that your voice can be heard! See the link below for your convenience.
County Council Links
Public Hearings/Sign-up to Speak: https://pgccouncil.us/458/Public-Hearing-Notices-Sign-Up-to-Speak
Council Calendar
and Agendas: https://princegeorgescountymd.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
District Council Hearings: https://pgccouncil.us/312/District-Council
Council Videos/Live streaming: https://pgccouncil.us/303/County-Council-Video
Legal Advertisements: https://pgccouncil.us/772/Legal-Advertisements
CR-7-2020 – Acts of Insurgency
The purpose of this resolution was to show our support for the County Executive in her efforts to address the growing concerns of any public servants that may have participated in the Capitol Insurrection that took place on January 6th, 2020. The resolution also condemns any and all efforts of disenfranchisement to minorities.
CR-29-2021 – Army Corps of Engineers Flood Assessment and Mapping Study
This draft reflects recent collaboration and suggested amendments from the USACE team who have agreed once again to provide testimony and comments. This resolution will ensure the Council body is making development decisions based on updated flood mapping data inclusive of evaluation findings of WSSC's stormwater system pumping station capacity.
Presented:
CB-10-2021 – Expansion of Property Tax Credit for Disabled Veterans
The purpose of this bill is to help one of the many groups that are the most vulnerable right now due to the pandemic. Currently, disabled veterans that would like help when it comes to tax credits or tax exemptions must be 100% disabled in order to get any help from the county when it comes to property taxes. This bill aims to help those that are below 100%.
CB-25-2021 – Floodplain Bill
This Bill addresses the Floodplain Ordinance to establish/update the County's floodplain areas that are subject to inundation by the 100-year flood incidents.
CB-26-2021 – Universal Design
This bill creates the County’s first Universal Design criteria in order to ensure every county resident may have the ability to live and visit places of residences without fear of being left behind due to disability, age, etc. Universal Design will create new spaces of living where residents may be able to age in place with accommodations already built in. Wider hallways for disabilities and aging populations with easy accessibility to all their needs on one level in these living quarters. If we want to be one of the first counties in Maryland to require our builders to create a new marketplace, for us, our Universal Design bill will do that.
CB-76-2021- Tree Canopy Coverage Increase in Townhouse Zones
This bill looks to increase the minimum amount of trees needed in a townhouse development. Allowing more trees to be saved from being removed in a townhouse site prior to development.
Legislation to come:
LDR-16-2021 - Refuse Collection (New)
This resolution requests the County Executive to look into increasing the weekly trash collection in Prince George’s County. In 2016, the change was made from twice a week to once a week trash collection in order to save eight million dollars. In 2017, a resolution was passed and adopted to look into how the change has affected the County, yet we have not been able to find a report. We have reached out to multiple agencies and have yet to find the report. Our resolution requests the County Executive to simply look into how the change from once a week to twice week has affect the County and to provide a report once a year to the Council. The report will have the financial changes (good or bad) and any concerns and complaints that were recorded that year as reported by the Department of the Environment.
Green Bank
To establish Prince George's County centralized Green Bank where residents and businesses may use public and private dollars for historic investments in green infrastructure.
Council Member Anderson-Walker is delighted to be partnering with M-NCPPC Park Police and Parks and Recreation on Saturday, October 2, 2021, providing a Family Fun event at Southern Regional Technology & Recreational Complex, 7011 Bock Road, Fort Washington, MD. Children of all ages are welcome!
The District 8 Bicycle Safety Rodeo is for ages 4 – 15 years old (kids/youth are encouraged to bring your own bikes and helmets; the bikes and helmets onsite will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis).
Families bring your bikes out to join Council Member Monique Anderson-Walker for a ride on the trail.
Seniors, we want to see you too! Come out and sign up for the District 8 Cyclists Club!
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*Bicycle Safety Rodeo with Traffic and Skills Course
*Family Bike Ride with Council Member Monique Anderson-Walker on the D-8 trail
*D-8 Senior Cyclists Club Sign Up
*Live Performance by District 8 and Friends Senior Line Dancers
*Music, Food, Drinks and Lots of FUN!!
Council Member Anderson-Walker is committed to providing bike riding lessons in our District and community trail rides. We hope you can join us to enjoy and benefit from the healthy and safe exercise in the District 8 Community! Council Member Anderson-Walker motto is “Your Health Is Your Wealth”.
Maryland Park Police & Prince George's Police - Mountain Bike Police Training
The final planning report, "Henson Creek Village Report", from the District 8 Charrettes of the Henson Creek Village Area Study, based on the 2006 Approved Master Plan and Sectional Map Amendment for the Henson Creek-South Potomac Planning Area, will be coming soon!
I am excited to announce the final planning report for the Henson Creek Village Area is near completion and will be published soon. MNCPPC, HR&A Advisors, Inc., and KCI in partnership with District 8 led the charrettes beginning in March 2020, which included you, the resident stakeholders. As you can image it was an undertaking, as we launched the charrette as a zoom meeting on March 25 – the first county office to host a COVID-19 era Zoom meeting! No less than 300 people attended the four (4) charrettes and they were extremely engaging throughout the year-long process.
The vision for planning was based on keeping the character of the natural trails, creek and tree canopy that exists in the 158-acre area west of Highway 210 spanning from Livingston Square at the southern most point to Mac’s Sunnybrook at the northern most point, and bordered by the meandering Henson Creek and the abutting hiking and biking trails on the western most border.
The Henson Creek Village Area will focus on commercial development with some retail and residential focused on wellness and transformative redevelopment to improve the health and vibrancy of our community. The transformation encompasses the integration of green infrastructure, wellness-focused businesses, improved storm water management, outdoor community green spaces and gathering places, as well as thoughtfully designed streetscapes with wide pervious paver sidewalks and bike lanes that lead to an expansion of trail head to bring greater connectivity through ecosystem-friendly hike and bike trails systems that bring the beauty of the creek into the planning area. Additionally, a variety of amenities; grocery stores, retail shopping, education hubs, restaurants and vertical housing accessible to transit options will encourage the welcoming village feel, where it will be possible to live, work and play in that 158-acre village.
While in the planning, we hosted a "Transforming Communities" on December 8, 2020, with the new owner of Livingston Square, Brandon Bellamy, CEO, Velocity Companies, to discuss his plans and the anticipated opening of the NEW GIANT. We recognize that Velocity Companies investment has catalyzed the redevelopment and we look forward to the implementation of the final Henson Creek Village Area Report.
It was extremely important to me to have YOU, the stakeholders, provide what you would like as community amenities and attractions - THANK YOU for staying engaged!!
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The re-modeling of Giant at Livingston Square is still underway. Opening in 4th Quarter of 2021. November/December 2021. Giant- Livingston Square is the catalyst for greater redevelopment of the approximately 158 acres of the Henson Creek Village study Area.
Saturday, September 11, 2021 was the 20th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Most people can vividly recall where they were on September 11, 2001. The 9/11 violent attacks involving four (4) airplanes full of people being flown into The World Trade Center Towers, The Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.
On 9/10/21, I was honored to attend a 20th Anniversary, September 11th Memorial Ceremony at Joint Base Andrews. It was a moving ceremony with remarks by Colonel Tyler Schaff, Commander of the 316th Wing and Installation Commander, Lieutenant General Marc Sasseville and Colonel Chuck Ennis, United States Air Force, Retired and 1st Lieutenant Colonel Eddie Agrait.
The Officials shared their personal memories of leading in an unprecedented time and paying homage to the victims, family members, survivors, first responders, public safety officials and anyone who supported the effort of helping in this catastrophe. The recollection of the 9/11 day events, including the glorious weather, which was very similar to the weather we were experiencing for the ceremony, and the symbolic aircraft 9/11 aircraft flyovers brought the day back so vividly.
Closing out the ceremony with "Taps", by the United States Air Force Band, solidified the lingering effect of the pain and sting of the traumatic attacks. As Americans, we come together in adversity and rally around the flag. May we always remember that we are our brother and sisters keepers.
My visit to JBA culminated with a wonderful meeting with Major General Joel D. Jackson, Commander of the Air Force District of Washington and the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing. Major General Jackson and I spoke about the continuation of our STEAM programs and additional partnerships.
God Bless America!
Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This year's theme is Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope to celebrate the community's resilience, strength and hope. The Hispanic Heritage Month begins in the middle of the month on September 15th, marking the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras, and September 16 - independence day for Mexico and September 18 - Independence day for Chile. We honor and recognize the cultural heritage, history and contributions of ancestors and American citizens from Mexico, Spain, the Caribbean, and South and Central America.
I will be attending the Walk to End Alzheimer's, hosted in District 8 at the National Harbor, this Saturday, September 25th. Did you know that Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States? Many families have been affected by Alzheimer's. There are more than 6 million Americans with Alzheimer's, and in our county there is an estimated 14,000 Prince Georgians battling this disease.
I will be walking in support of those with Alzheimer’s, and for their families and dedicated caregivers. I know their pain and challenges, because my Grandmother had Alzheimer’s and it took it's toll on my family. Each step I take is with a hopeful heart for a cure to end Alzheimer’s. Check out the National Harbor walk and how you can be a part of the Walk!
District 8 has a new business opening in November 2021!
Zen Yoga Studio, supporting mental and physical wellness, is opening at the National Harbor at 136 Waterfront Street. We welcome Cara Graves, the owner of Zen Yoga Studio to our District! Zen Yoga Studio will provide the following services on different levels, taught by professionally trained and certified instructors:
- Hatha Yoga
- Restorative Yoga
- Vinyasa
- Pilates
- Warm Yoga
- Mediation classes
- Healthy Menu items
Let's support our new District 8 business! To learn more about Zen Yoga Studio and the wellness options they offer, Click Here
If you are going through a tough financial time and need help paying your water or sewer bill, call WSSC Water. They will work with you to find the best solution from their assistance programs. Call them at 301-206-4001 or visit wsscwater.com/heretohelp.
Si necesita ayuda para pagar su factura de agua o alcantarillado, llame a WSSC Water. Trabajarán con usted para encontrar la mejor solución a partir de sus programas de asistencia. Llámelos al 301-206-4001 o visite wsscwater.com/EstamosAquiParaAyudarle.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the Baker family on the loss of our beloved former County First Lady, Christa Beverly Baker, lawyer, advisor, and wife to former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker. What a lovely woman, who will be missed by so many.
Click here for the Council Member's 2019 Year End Review
YOUTUBE: Subscribe & Share Council Member Monique Anderson-Walker’s channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZkNHcN6-kqINT0MZH2dvzA/videos?view_as=subscriber
All County Service Request:
Dial 3-1-1 or 301-883-4748
Monday through Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm I OCR Intake Representative
(except Federal and County holidays)
Take down and keep your CSR-Ticket Number!
Looking forward to you joining our virtual Transforming Communities Meeting on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. Register now, click Here
We are all in this together! Stay safe and healthy!
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