Wednesday, December 20, 2006

New Town Signed By All 12 Council Members

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The New Town proposal (to replace the Florida Avenue Market) went before the Council again yesterday (not the last time) & it doesn't appear to be going away. One provision that could make or break the bill is a recently (last time arount) inserted provision from David Catania that requires approval from owners of at least 50% of the land (as opposed to 50% of the landowners) within 120 days after the passage of the emergency legislation. Check out this great Washington Post article on the lingering problems with the proposal and the way it came about.

Recent Market News Round-Up (not links previously posted here):
1. In Shaw: Where the Fk is Litteri's?
2. Rebuilding Place: The Real Issue With The Florida Market (Revised)
3. Rebuilding Place: The Florida Market Bill Before City Council
4. Rebuilding Place: Not the Last Word on the Florida Market
5. Rebuilding Place: Back and Forth Conversation About the Florida Market
6. Blue Coyote Laughing: Politics Photography and Art and... (Click around to find more of her photos of the Market. She shoots there a lot.)

And not new, but very infomative is this DC North piece "Is New Town the End of the Florida Ave. Market?: Market Unlikely to Survive Proposal Say Vendors" (also appeared in the Hill Rag) from last summer.

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This post previously said something about 50% of merchants. Sorry, I must have already lapsed into vacation mode. I've made the correction above. Apologies, because the two are really not the same. Merchants will have no voice under this provision unless they happen to also be landowners.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This could be a great opportunity for everyone involved, as long there's plenty of thought behind the future direction of the market.

I wonder if 50% of the merchants will agree. From the talk on this board, it seems like no one will agree, but I find that hard to believe....

inked said...

Please see the corrected post above. The merchants thing was juyst me typing while distracted. The rule is owners of 50% 0f the land (as opposed to 50% of the landowners). The merchants don't come into this provision at all.

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I wonder how this impacts the potential for this deal to go through.

The owners criterion for selling is likely very different from the merchants.

I bet it boils down to $$$, as usual.