current info

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.


"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil—he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

First People - The Legends. Cherokee Legend of Two Wolves. November 16, 2004. [accessed April 7, 2012].

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Update: Salubria, Oxon Hill and National Harbor - Jan 4 2012 - One Last Time to be Heard



 Update on Salubria hearing 


In path to building outlet mall, historic site stripped of protections

County commission rules Salubria plantation can be built over, eliminating hurdle for developer


            
original post follows below:

               The Prince George's County, Maryland,  property known originally as Mt. Salubria, is identified today in the Prince George’s County Inventory of Historic Resources as #80-002. Salubria was designated as a Prince George’s County Historic Site on July 17, 1981. The historic house was built circa 1830 by Dr. John H. Bayne, a prominent physician, agriculturalist, nationally recognized horticulturalist, U.S. Army officer and first superintendent of the county’s public schools as well as Maryland Delegate and State Senator. Salubria was home to five generations of the Bayne family until its sale in 1984.[1]

               The Salubria was zoned M-X-T in 1994. The M-X-T zoning according county ordinances provides for a variety of residential, commercial, and employment-related uses and mandates at least two out of the following three use categories: 1) retail; 2) office; 3) residential. The historic site’s environmental setting of 2.7 acres was established in 1995 through the Historic Preservation Commission’s review of a development proposal. Through different corporate entities, the current owner has held the property since 1999.[2]

               National Harbor, the owner of the property wants to build an outlet shopping center on the site of a historic Oxon Hill plantation in Prince George’s County, MD just miles from downtown Washington DC as part of an overall holistic development plan for the entire area.  Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. and The Peterson Companies (NATIONAL Harbor) have entered into an agreement to build a Tanger Outlet Center with approximately 80 outlet designer and name brand stores. The outlet shopping mall marketing plan is to attract "both domestic and international tourists visiting the nation's capital and residents of Washington DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia",  according to an About.com Washington Dc on-line article. The Tanger Outlet Center construction project and retail operations reportedly will create 400 construction and approximately 900 full time and part-time jobs.[3]  The current conceptual site plan application CSP-11006 proposes a mixed-use development of retail, dining, office and hospitality uses of approximately 460,000 square feet along with supporting infrastructure, including parking, grading, utilities, and landscaping on 43.79 acres. The applicant’s submitted plan is based on the elimination of the Salubria historic site’s current 2.7-acre environmental (historic) setting.

               The property is subject to a number of zoning conditions. The developer has recently sought relief from two conditions that affect the character of the development of Salubria property. The structures on the property were allowed to continue to deteriorate.[4] On June 8, 2010 the Prince George’s County District Council approved the Prince George’s County Historic Sites and Districts Plan with amendments per CR-51-2010 (Draft 2). The following language relevant to the Salubria Historic Site was inserted into the plan by the District Council (page 144):[5]

Preservation in place that incorporates into any construction any significant
features – identified through required studies – is allowed if the significant site
features with appropriate interpretive elements are not relocated to a more
publicly accessible site.

               In addition to the European historic above ground structures lost through neglect and the potential archaeological information buried there,  a second part of the property outside of the designated historic setting contains deeply buried, intact Native American features from a short-term resource processing and procurement site dating to the Late Woodland period (AD 1300-1700). This portion of the property is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).    

               More information may be found by contacting the Prince George's County historic preservation staff.[6]  which provides support to the Historic Preservation Commission through the review of historic area work permits, preservation tax credits, the preparation of architectural surveys, historic district studies, and preservation outreach. Staff also provide advice to historic property owners on property maintenance and preservation. The section produces historic preservation plans and publications on community history and development, architecture and architectural history, and design guidelines. The Historic Preservation Section maintains a resource library that has files on all documented properties. 

Salubria hearing announcement
Tanger Outlet Center at National Harbor

Prince George’s County Historic Preservation Commission Meeting
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
6:30 p.m.
1st Floor Media Conference Room
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
www.mncppc.org/county/hpc.htm



[1] Request to Eliminate Salubria Historic Site Environmental Setting (#80-002)/ CSP-11006, Salubria Center. December 27, 2011. [accessed December 31, 2011] http://www.pgplanning.org/Assets/Planning/Historic+Preservation/HPC_12_23_2011.pdf

"The main house at Salubria was a 2½-story frame dwelling with kitchen wing and doctor’s office. The main house was severely damaged by fire in the 1980s and 1990s. The immediate grounds of the main house included a number of outbuildings: a freestanding kitchen, a well house, a milk house/dairy, and a building identified through local tradition as a guest house/slave quarter. Of these, the milk house/dairy is believed to date to at least the middle of the nineteenth century. The other outbuildings present when the property was designated as a historic site, specifically the kitchen, the well house, and a large portion of the guest house/slave quarter, are believed to be the result of an early- to mid-twentieth century building program. An examination of a 1937 aerial photograph of the property indicates that the building, known as the kitchen, does not appear to have been constructed as of that date. The demolition of the guest house/slave quarter in 2006 revealed selected elements that appeared to be nineteenth building materials; the majority of this building was of twentieth century construction techniques and materials. The southern portion of the building, within which the older building material was found, stood on a rubble stone foundation that remains in place. The actual age and historic use of the guest house/slave quarter is not known at this time."
[2] ibid.
[3] Rachel Cooper. Tanger Outlets at National Harbor. About.com Washington DC [accessed December 31, 2011] http://dc.about.com/od/marylandshoppingmalls/a/National-Harbor-Outlets.htm
[4] ob. cit.  Request to Eliminate...

"The Environmental Setting of the Salubria Historic Site of 2.7 acres was established in 1995 through the HPC’s review of a (conceptual) site plan for the development of townhouses (SP-95020). At that time, although the frame plantation house was in ruinous condition, several other outbuildings in the vicinity were in better condition. In 1993, the HPC initiated a demolition-by-neglect proceeding for the property based on the seriously deteriorated main house and immediate outbuildings. A citation was issued by the Department of Environmental Resources (DER) on February 17, 1993. In 1994, DER issued a violation notice for the main house and a non-contributing accessory structure."
[5] ibid.

"Historic preservation staff provide support to the Historic Preservation Commission through the review of historic area work permits, preservation tax credits, the preparation of architectural surveys, historic district studies, and preservation outreach. Staff also provide advice to historic property owners on property maintenance and preservation. The section produces historic preservation plans and publications on community history and development, architecture and architectural history, and design guidelines. The Historic Preservation Section maintains a resource library that has files on all documented properties."  

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