Brandywine center gets tax deal

Crossing project moves closer to final approval

Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

After questions from Prince George's County Council members and letters of concern from resident groups, council members approved plans earlier this month to declare a south county shopping center a special tax zone.

County Bill 82, which designates the Brandywine Crossing Shopping Center as a special district for the county to discount about $6.7 million in property taxes over the next 10 years, passed with no debate at the group's Tuesday meeting in a 5-3 vote, though members had previously objected to the bill. Councilman Samuel L. Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville, who previously expressed support for the measure, did not attend the final vote.

The bill, introduced one week ago by Council Chairwoman Marilynn M. Bland (D-Dist. 9) of Clinton, has drawn questions from council members and residents who say they think the special consideration for the center is improper.

"Why should we take such risks with our tax dollars that go to pay for police, fire/EMS and schools, while the profits of this taxpayer risk go to a developer that has underperformed?" county resident Kamita Gray wrote in a letter to the council opposing the bill, which she called a "taxpayer bailout" for the shopping center.

The bill took seven days to move through the council. Most bills and resolutions take weeks. Bland introduced the resolution Nov. 3, and it received a review by the committee two days later.

The proposal was pushed aggressively by Bland at last week's committee meeting, where she said the existing center needs the district designation to be able to expand. Plans call for the shopping center to have a movie theater, more commercial space and a gas station that would be run by the Safeway store on site.

Setting up the special taxing district would allow the developers to apply for county bonds to secure its next phase of growth. The developer would be responsible for paying the county back for the money over 10 years, county staff said.

But the proposal's speed and intention faced tough questioning Nov. 5 by committee members.

"I'm concerned about how quickly this is trying to move through," said Councilman Will Campos (D-Dist. 2) of Hyattsville, who voted against the bill along with members Ingrid Turner (D-Dist. 4) of Bowie and Eric C. Olson (D-Dist. 3) of College Park.

"I mean, it was just introduced Tuesday, and it's already in committee," he said at the committee session.

Councilman Tony Knotts (D-Dist. 8) of Temple Hills said he reluctantly voted for the district.

"But there is a need in southern Prince George's County [for commercial business]," Knotts said. Turner previously questioned why the council would consider giving special incentives to a shopping center, noting the move is normally used for special developments like the National Harbor complex in Oxon Hill.

"What's the special benefit?" Turner said. "My understanding is that we have lots of shopping centers in Prince George's County."

Bland said Brandywine Crossing is one of the few commercial areas in the south county, where residents have been asking for more.

"In the district you represent, there might be plenty [of shopping centers and restaurants] around, but this is a rural area," she said last week to Turner. "You may have 50 options around, but we don't."