Bleak forecast for West Hyattsville. Flickr photo by democracyinaction.org.

Hyattsville has seen a great deal of promising development in the last few years. The crown jewel, the Hyattsville Arts District, has inspired the moniker “the new Bethesda,” insinuating good houses, potential for retail, and transit access. It’s one place in Prince George’s County where elements of transit oriented development are starting to flourish. Hyattsville hosts two Green Line stations. Adjacent Riverdale Park hosts a Camden Line MARC station and two future Purple Line stations.

Recently on Imagine, DC, I featured the West Hyattsville Metro Station, opining that transit oriented development could continue across the Anacostia River/Northwest Branch Park into nearby Chillum. At the heart of that area, less than 900 feet from the Metro platform, is an industrial area west of the intersection of Chillum Road and Queens Chapel Road. A commenter pointed out toward this Gazette article which tells of Washington Gas’s plans to construct a liquefied natural gas plant on the site.

There are several major issues with such heavy industry being placed at this site. Low and medium density residential development completely surrounds the site, much of it even closer than the Metro platform. Heavy industry this close to residences has proven highly detrimental to health and quality of life, such as in River Terrace in Northeast, adjacent to a coal power plant. Residents there are 3 to 5 times more likely to have cancer, asthma, or chronic bronchitis than other DC residents. On top of this, Chillum residents’ real estate values will also plummet.

Since residential development surrounds the site, industrial traffic will need to drive through residential areas to reach the new Washington Gas facility. Neither Chillum Road nor Queens Chapel Road are exactly industrial corridors. Though there is already other industrial traffic induced by the site’s current uses, a fuel plant on the site will undoubtedly increase the amount of HazMat cargo on these residential roads.

The site also sits atop the Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park about a mile and a half from where it connects to the Anacostia River. This is disturbing considering the horribly polluted state of the Anacostia, and it could potentially counteract efforts to clean up the river.

Finally, and most importantly, locating heavy industry so close to mass transit is a very poor use of land. This spot ought to hold a mixed-use transit-oriented development, being just a 5-minute walk to the Metro. There is even a pedestrian bridge over the Northwest Branch, almost anticipating this type of development. Heavy industry on that site could very well deter people in Chillum from walking to the station, which would in fact counter efforts to redevelop the north side of the Metro station.

Washington Gas needs to build this plant to meet rising demands, and this is their most cost effective alternative. But is it worth it to sacrifice a community of this sort? Industry such as this ought to be constructed along industrial corridors or near interstate highways that can better facilitate industrial traffic. Plots of land surrounded by residences and near parks and mass transit should be used for something better for the regional economy than a fuel plant.