Montgomery News

City of Takoma Park issued the following announcement on Oct. 16.

We are pleased that Neighborhood Development Company and the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op have completed the mediation process. After several weeks of meeting to negotiate on a variety issues, the parties have agreed that the set of reasonable accommodations to the business operations of the Co-op before, during and after the construction of the new Takoma Junction Project is sufficient to justify entering into a Cooperation Agreement. The parties have released a joint statement and are sharing the detailed terms of the agreement. The joint statement is below and the “Terms of Cooperation Agreement” (Term Sheet) and Full Cooperation Agreement are available on the City’s website.

The Co-op has stated it will not seek further accommodations from the City unless there are material changes to the site plan as a result of the County review process; therefore, the Council will not hold a work session at this time. The City Council looks forward to the next steps of this project, and unless material changes are made to the current site plan that could affect the Co-op, the Council views the current agreement between NDC and the Co-op as meeting reasonable accommodations for the Co-op’s operations as referenced in the Development Agreement.

The City is aware of the situation pertaining to 1100 Eastern, an affiliate of Neighborhood Development Company (NDC). 1110 Eastern purchased a property that is planned to be developed into an affordable housing project in Washington, DC. The property’s business tenants, including a barbershop and daycare center, were abruptly shuttered when the sale was finalized due to the finding of environmental contamination of the site from past businesses. NDC provided a statement to the City regarding the issue and its officials met with the tenants last week to discuss the contamination, next steps, and compensation.

The City will continue to monitor the situation in DC involving 1100 Eastern, including continued discussions with NDC and DC government officials regarding the status.

Joint Statement by Neighborhood Development Company and Takoma Park-Silver Spring Co-op

In keeping with the City’s resolution of July 25, 2018, the Co-op and NDC engaged in mediation to identify solutions to a number of operational issues. Both parties engaged in the mediation in good faith, recognizing that the nature of such negotiations requires compromise. While neither party got everything it wanted, they agreed on terms that provide benefits to both. These terms were memorialized in a Cooperation Agreement. The Cooperation Agreement, together with the Combined Site Plan approved by the City Council on July 25, 2018, provide a sufficient set of reasonable accommodations to the business operations of the Co-op before, during and after the construction of the new Takoma Junction Project to justify entering into the Cooperation Agreement. The full text of the Cooperation Agreement is available on the City’s web site.

The parties agreed to the following mutual accommodations: NDC construction of the lay-by as part of the first stage of construction to ensure the ability of the Co-op to continuously receive all product deliveries; exclusive Co-op use of the lay-by during construction; priority morning Co­op use of the lay-by for deliveries; Co-op access through the Project to the Co-op’s current door on the west side of the Turner building for deliveries; the parties’ commitment to make good faith efforts to coordinate and adjust delivery schedules among suppliers of the Co-op and all Project tenants so that all deliveries can be accommodated; Co-op and Project use of the lay-by for trash pickup; Co-op use of the parking garage and one free underground parking space adjacent to the Co-op for some deliveries; availability of parking for Co-op customers on the same basis as others parking in the building; the Co-op’s ability to rent parking space for its customers in the parking garage; and Co-op funding of a second elevator sized for Co-op customers with carts that also will be available for public and Project tenant use that NDC will repair and maintain. The parties have also agreed that the Co-op will not rent space in the Takoma Junction project at this time.

As a result of the Cooperation Agreement, the Co-op will not oppose the Takoma Junction Project or seek further accommodations from the City or NDC absent changes to the Project by NDC, the City or any other governmental body that would materially adversely affect the Co­op’s operations. In addition, the parties are committed to working with the State Highway Administration as it explores ways to reconfigure and improve the Takoma Junction intersection at MD Routes 195 and 410. The Co-op and NDC will work to address any operational issues that that may arise to make the Takoma Junction project, the Co-op, and local businesses successful.

Original source can be found here.