Riverdale Park Council Concerned with Tires R Us' Expansion

Martin Achu wants to expand his Kenilworth Avenue business. Achu's , is currently a tire sale and installment store, but he thinks that if he could expand his business to include mechanical repair, it may be more worthwhile.

Yet, Riverdale Park's mayor and council isn't so sure.

that they would send a letter to the county's zoning examiner noting that they had major concerns about Tires R Us' business expansion.

Tires R Us has numerous zoning violations not only with town but with the county, according to Colleen Ferguson, with town code enforcement. Council members have also noticed the business' issues with maintenance.

Achu noted his issues with code violations, but said Tuesday, whenever code enforcement has asked him to resolve an issue, he has.

Achu came to the council last year to pitch the idea and at that time no one was opposed to his request. However after taking his plans to District Council, they felt like there wasn't enough information and sent the proposal to the zoning examiner.

According to the remand order, District Council didn’t believe there was enough information on the business’ plans, they were concerned about the lack of a sidewalk and its proximity to a flood plain.

Councilman Chris Henry was also concerned with the business’ upkeep, saying its location on Kenilworth Avenue – a major artery through town— does reflect how people might view Riverdale Park.  Henry is concerned with the debris and trash regularly seen on the Tires R Us property as well as the scrap metal, discarded tires and vacant vehicles. Also Henry noted work was currently being done on vehicles outside the bays in a parking lot — something not allowed in the property’s current zoning.

“My concerns for your business is it's not always kept up in harmony with what this town is focused on,” Henry said. “Our mission is to continue to improve our town’s aesthetics.”

Achu said Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission did not have a concern about his business’ proximately to the Anacostia River.

He added that he had hired a planner to add a sidewalk and a landscape engineer to make the appearance of his business look better. He’s also contracted with companies to remove scrap tires and metal from his site.

Councilman Jonathan Ebbeler also expressed his frustration with the business’ code violations. Ebbeler said he’d rather not have anything mechanical happen in a 100-year-old flood plain, either – agreeing with District Council.

“I’m a hard working person,” Achu said, pleading for council to support him expanding his business. “You’re penalizing the wrong person.”

Most of council decided to send a letter to the zoning examiner stating that they had concerns with the project, but the one dissenter was Councilman David Lingua.

Lingua said Achu should not have to put a sidewalk in—something that is usually the responsibility of the town or county—unless other neighboring businesses are asked to do the same.

“Appearing before the council a second time, I did not see an organized effort on the owner's part in crafting a coherent business plan for the expansion in which issues brought up previously were explicitly and definitively addressed,” Lingua told Patch later in an e-mail. “I opposed the amendment and the resulting resolution because the owner needs to demonstrate clearly his plans for the business.”

Lingua, serves as the council’s representative on the CKAR CDC, a non-profit working to revitalize Kenilworth Avenue.

The town did testify at the hearing for Tires R Us Wednesday, according to Town Administrator Sara Imhulse, however, due to flood damage and the closing of the county administration building in Upper Marlboro, Patch has not learned the results of the hearing.

Attached to this post is the remand order from District Council.