How many people are getting sick of Takoma Park's high taxes and city gov't spending the city into the ground?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having learned nothing from the abysmal financial drain by the city for the Takoma Junction project, the city is embarking on an ambitious upzoning project to attract a luxury residential developer to build condos on the site of the Washington Adventist Hospital. First step is $60K spending by the city for planning a new streetscape along Maple Ave meant to make this project attractive to developers. What are the chances this can succeed in a way that can pay back taxpayers for the "investment"?

100% chance. Property taxes from the new condos will be more than $60K.

But that tax revenue, even if realized, will not all go to the City of Takoma Park. Meanwhile, that $60K is just the FIRST year of spending, to PLAN the new streetscape on Maple Ave.

Having visited a city (Laredo, Texas) with a huge empty hospital near the center, I can tell you're underestimating the negative value of having such a former hospital building in the middle of things. It attracts crime and vermin. Do you want that in the middle of your city?

NIMBYism isn't a good strategy for a city to thrive.

It's on a university campus next to an active medical arts building. It's not an abandoned building in the middle of town. It's across Sligo Creek and has a park separating it from housing.

This is not a NIMBY thing. The issue is the city (which sinks lots of money into way too many capital projects for a town of 17,000) should not be spending tax dollars into redeveloping a street leading up to the park and creek.

[Anonymous]

https://takomatorch.com/index.php/2023/08/16/takoma-park-discovers-innovative-plan-to-make-housing-affordable-by-not-building-any-affordable-housing/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having learned nothing from the abysmal financial drain by the city for the Takoma Junction project, the city is embarking on an ambitious upzoning project to attract a luxury residential developer to build condos on the site of the Washington Adventist Hospital. First step is $60K spending by the city for planning a new streetscape along Maple Ave meant to make this project attractive to developers. What are the chances this can succeed in a way that can pay back taxpayers for the "investment"?

The city roads can't handle the added traffic from developments like this. Getting out of TP via Carroll to University is already a nightmare.

I don't live in TP but arguing that a city should not develop a large vacant site in a prime location for fear it will create too much traffic is the kind of backwards thinking that kills local becomes and results in cities having to raise taxes and reduce amenities.

If a city isn't growing, it's dying. The key is smart growth-- advocate for a plan that will create more public transit resources along with this development, or improve existing traffic infrastructure. Look at what you can reasonably extract from a developer to assist with this.

But arguing the city should not build and new housing because of traffic congestion is just NIMBYism run amok. It won't work out how you hope.

It's not a large vacant site. This building is on private property - the Washington Adventist University surrounds the building. The Adventist Church owns the hospital site. Please reference the first post in this thread to see how stupid the TP city council is. It spent millions of dollars to buy a parking lot and contract with a developer to turn that parking lot into a commercial development with a community center. If only the council had started with the state highway department to see if Carroll Ave could handle the additional road burden, it could have saved the city a lot of time and money. The state turned down the project. And now, there is just the parking lot, same as before. The city council knows nothing about development.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not me. I’m excited about it. TP is changing fast and I think developing Maple will be great. The hippy attitude appears to be fading and people are renovating. Seems to be going the way of Del Ray which moved from hyper lefty roots to really nice pretty quickly.

People are renovating...does that include all the low-income people that currently live on Maple Ave, who will be forced out by all the upzoning that is planned? Exciting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[img]u

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having learned nothing from the abysmal financial drain by the city for the Takoma Junction project, the city is embarking on an ambitious upzoning project to attract a luxury residential developer to build condos on the site of the Washington Adventist Hospital. First step is $60K spending by the city for planning a new streetscape along Maple Ave meant to make this project attractive to developers. What are the chances this can succeed in a way that can pay back taxpayers for the "investment"?

Do you live in the City of Takoma Park? Have you considered moving somewhere else? It sounds like you might be happier if you did that.

+1. OP you should move. Takoma park is full of loons, is in a declining county, is next to high crime areas. Of all places that are good to live, it isn’t one of them.

You, too, might be happier if you moved out of the City of Takoma Park, or indeed out of Montgomery County altogether.

Is this the Progressive counterpoint to “love it or leave it” MAGAism?

No, it's pointing out that if you're unhappy where you live, one option is to go live somewhere else. Nobody is telling anybody to feel anything or go anywhere.

Oh. So it’s passive aggressive Progressive MAGAism. How apropos!

It’s literally the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you live in an area where there is incredible amounts of red tape just to cut down a tree in your yard?

I don’t live in Takoma Park but I would do that because I love trees! If you’ve ever understood why people would live in an HOA, it’s basically the same thing except substitute wanting trees for wanting lawns and mulch and uniform flags or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Upzone TP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not me. I’m excited about it. TP is changing fast and I think developing Maple will be great. The hippy attitude appears to be fading and people are renovating. Seems to be going the way of Del Ray which moved from hyper lefty roots to really nice pretty quickly.

People are renovating...does that include all the low-income people that currently live on Maple Ave, who will be forced out by all the upzoning that is planned? Exciting.

Does upzoning increase property values or decrease property values? Please choose one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not me. I’m excited about it. TP is changing fast and I think developing Maple will be great. The hippy attitude appears to be fading and people are renovating. Seems to be going the way of Del Ray which moved from hyper lefty roots to really nice pretty quickly.

People are renovating...does that include all the low-income people that currently live on Maple Ave, who will be forced out by all the upzoning that is planned? Exciting.

Does upzoning increase property values or decrease property values? Please choose one.

It increases taxes. The City of Takoma Park is an activist gornment and spend tax dollars freely. The city os looking for new sources of tax revenue through upzoning.