What Goes On --Grttnbtlt Come On lnl Sun,, Dec. 20, 7 :30 p.m., Com­ In order to visit the New• bined Choir Concert, Com­ Review office, customen mul't munity Church enter the code 015 Into the phone pad of the security 1)'11- Mon., Dec. 21, 8 p.m. Coun~il Worksession on P&G Old tem. Please be aware that the leading zero MUST be includ­ Greenbelt Theatre, Muni'.!i­ ~tws Btuitw .cl.. pa[ Bldg. AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER Volume 56, Number 4 P.O. Box 68, Greenbelt, Maryland 20768-0068 Thursday, December 17, 1992 Council Establishes New City Newspaper Office Proposal for Cafe Cinema Closed Tuesday The News Review office will Code Enforcement Program be closed Tuesday night, Dr:!c. Before Council on Monday 22. The office will be open by Diane Oberg Monday, Dec. 21 from 2 to 4 by Diane Oberg Effective January 1 the city wrn assume new responsi­ and 8 to 10 p.m. Copy to be The future of the P&G Old Greenbelt Theatre in bilities for reviewing permit applications and enforcing left in the News Review box Roosevelt Center will be the subject of a city counc:n work­ standards for the maintenance of all buildings and proper­ at the Co-op should be depos­ session next Monday, December 21 at 8 p.m. Paul Sanchez, ties in the city. At its November 23 regular meeting, the ited by 7 p.m. on Mom'ay, Greenbelt City Council gave final approval to legislation Dee. 21. The same schedule owner of the theater, appeared before the Greenbelt City defining the city'·s responsi·bilities, establishing a budget will be repeated the week of Counciil at its December 14 regular meeting to discuss his and setting fees and penalties. Dee. 28. The deadline for copy plans. and advertising is 10 p.m. on said they were considering a At the meeting, city officials said that the city will examine Monday each week Theater patrons have put 1,754 expressed two main reasons for city issues only and will not si/rnatures on petitions support­ family night during the week establishing the code enforcement duplicate the county review. Man­ tion represented various devel­ ing conversion of t.he theater l;o when no alcohol would be served program. The first is to emiure zi said that the city wi1.I not opers and property owners with­ a cinema and cafe .format serv­ and that they planned a 5 p.m. it is aware of all developm,mt review technical qu2stions such in the city. They were unanimous ir.g food as well as beer and show without alcohol. planned for •the city by forcing a! inspecting electrical or plumb­ in arguing that the ordinance wine. Before Sanchez can con­ The requirement that those developers to obtain a eity per­ ing work. was unnecessary. Most feh it vert the operation, he needs a under 18 be ae·companied by a mit. The other is concern about Private homeowners will also imposed an unfair burden upon change in state 1aw to permit parent at shows where alcohol the county's a'bility, faced with b~ affected. Many of the ap­ them by duplicating county re­ such operations in Prince Georges is served concerned Lola Skolnik. significant 'budget cuts, to ade­ proximately 200 permit applica­ view. County, then he needs to obtain She said teens enjoyed being quately enforce property main­ tions received each year pertain Sleprcka confirmed that a city a liquor license. In addition, M able to attend the theater wi th tenance standards. City Manager t<; ·home improvements suen as permit would be required for must wait until the elementar.y friends and she object<!d to their Daniel Hobbs pointed out th<lt deck construction. Resldents will "fit-up" permits, used for r~no­ school is relocated from Center losing that freedom, Reed con­ 70 percent of the ·housing in the face the same f<!e schedule as vation of office spaee. She s:tid School to the new north end f·,rmed that, except on family city is more than 20 years old. commercial developers: $15 plus this work did not seem to fall f2cility. night, teens could not attend the The code enforcement program $3 per $1,000 value of work, up within the "intent items" of the 7 p.m. show without a parent. Although the theater is cur­ She said that the theater is en­ is needed, he said, to keep Green­ to a maximum fee of $1.000 in ordinance and imposed an undue rently losing money, Sanchez told belt a quality community. addition to the county permit expense and delay upon the pTOP• dangered and asked everyone to council he is willing to keep the give a little. The ordinance was opposed by application fff, erty owner. theater open while he waits for all those who came before coun­ Property O,rners Kap Kapastein, representing these events to oecur provided Hop i Auerbach supported cil to express an opinion. None­ Those speaking on the legisle.- See COUNCIL, page 2, col. ~ the city government does not op­ Reed, saying that the choice is theless, council unanimo.isJy pose the changes. between a dark theater and the approved the legislation without cafe operation, not betwee, tha amendment. GEAC Asks that Work Near Council member Thomas White current operation and the pro­ suggested the work session to There are two main areu of posed cafe. Don Comis said .Rf discuss how to proceed. There opp?sed the earlier att,m1pt for the program. The first is city was general agreement when review of all building peTmit Proposed Lake Be Deferred a cinema and drafth.l)use at the council member Rodney Roberts applications for properties with­ center but has now changed his by S. R. Cherry expresiied his hope that there mind beeause no OM eould make in the city. The second is a pro­ would be a well publicized public gr&m of city oversight of prop­ Art its December 3 regular meeting the Greenbelt East a greater effort to make the hearing on the matter before theater work than has Sanchez. erty maintenance. The city gov­ Advisory Committee (GEAC) voted to request that the council took a final position. ernment expects that the costs Council passed a motion per­ Greenbelt City Council defer all improvements, except rou­ . To assure that all citizens, not of the program, estimated &t mitting an executive session fol­ $99,100, will be offset by reve­ Just theater patrons, are aware ·tllne maintenance to the area of the planned lake at Schrom lowing the work session if needed nues from the fees. Hills Park. The city Department of Planning and Develop­ C1f the proposal. Council mem~er In order to run the program Antoinette Bram suggested that to discuss strategy with its leg:il the city will hire two full-time ment proposed making landscape improvements, draining Sanchez place notices in this pa­ Cl)Unsel. inspectors, upgrade the eurrent ground water, and planning park trails. Dorothy Pyles of per of his plans. Mayor Gil Weid­ inspector to a supervisory in­ Greenbriar, who dissented in part, maintained a pos'ition enfeld made certain Sanchez un­ HOLIDAY spector, hire a full-time secre­ agains·t approving any section of the proposal until a per­ c!erstood that this proposal ,.ep­ tary and increase the position rtsented the opinion of one coun­ REFUSE mit for the lake has been filed. cil member. of Director of Planning and De­ (At its Decem,ber 14 regular Landfill Legiala'tion SCHEDULE Family Oriented velopment, currently held by meeting, council a gr e e d to Bill Barron, of the Communitr Because of the Christmas Celia Wilson, by one grade, The Preservation Coalition, s.>ught Both Sanchez and theater man­ Holiday, CITY OFFICES staff will have use of three city GEAC's request that no work GEAC's support for upcommg ager Cheryl Reed told council WILL BE CLOSED THU HS­ vehicles and be housed outside othe_r than removing trash be legislation by Prince Georges that they "had no intention'' of DAY AND FRIDAY DEC­ of the Municipal Building. performed on the site.) County councilmember Richard c!ianging the types of films they EMBER 24 AND 25, 1992, Legal Questions Castaldi. The proposed legisla­ show and that they will continue AND REFUSE WILL NOT Hunting Ridge with their family format. Reed The city could be faced with tion, to be introduced in Janu­ BE COLLECTED THOSE The Hunting Ridge Homeown­ TWO DAYS. Residents nor­ legal ehallenges of the new pro­ ers Association asked for GEAC ary, will require that new coun­ gram. Several representatives of ty landfills be placed on lots mally receiving Monday and support in a letter writing cam­ Post Office Adds Thursday collections will be developers and commercial prop­ paign to the Maryland State and no smaller than 500 acres, includ­ ing a 1200 foot buffer along tl-ie collected on MONDAY ONLY. erty owners charged that the city Greenbelt police departments. New Holiday Hours could not legally implement the perimeter. According to Barron, Holiday hours for the Green­ Residents normally receiving Hunting Ridge residents are Tuesday and Friday collec­ program. 'Nancy Slepicka, an at­ seeing a large number of ca!'s corrently a landfill can be site·! hit Post Office will be exte!lded torney with Fossett and Br!llf• or. tracts smaller than 100 acres through December 23 for the tions will be collected on with out-of-state license plltes TUESDAY ONLY. S"Je·cial g<,r, rwhich represents Capital on the property causing resi­ and waste can be deposited with­ ccnvenience of customers.