Cheverly residents hope to get town its own ZIP code

Group says change could lower insurance rates, create identity

Councilman Micah Watson (Ward 2) said the Cheverly Zip Code Committee plans to reorganize in September under the leadership of resident Dan Scott. Watson said the majority of the town's more than 2,200 housing units are zoned for the 20785 ZIP code while 5 to 10 percent of homes are within the 20784 ZIP code. These ZIP codes are also shared with Hyattsville and Landover.

Watson said because the town shares ZIP codes with areas that tend to have higher crime rates, their car and home insurance rates are much higher than if the town was based on its own rate of crime.

In 2007, there were a total of 783 crimes in District 1, which covers Hyattsville, and 892 in District 3, which covers Landover. Cheverly, which has its own police force, recorded 344 total crimes in 2007.

Cheverly residents are not the only county residents seeking their own ZIP code. Residents in Adelphi made similar arguments in October 2007 to get their own ZIP code, saying that even though Adelphi had low crime, their insurance rates were higher because they were given a Hyattsville ZIP code and their area had no clear identity.

Watson said getting the town its own ZIP code has been a topic over the past decade and recently there was a group of six people who met bi-monthly to gain community support. Scott said the process means garnering a huge amount of community support in the form of resident petitions and getting local businesses to come on board. Scott said this type of request would require the United States Postal Service to examine existing mail routes.

A USPS employee directed ZIP code boundary inquiries to the Web site, which states community organizations or municipalities must submit a letter to the local district manager stating why the town needs its own ZIP code. The district manager reviews the letter with the postmasters who would be affected if the request was granted.

If a group or municipality is denied its request, it can appeal it within 45 days to the USPS offices in L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. In the case of an appeal, the vice president of area operations has to determine whether the original decision to deny the request was reasonable.

"The post office has always said, ‘We run the ZIP code system but what other people do with them is not our fault. It's not fair for you guys to come to us, the postal service, and say we need to do this because of what somebody else is doing with ZIP codes,'" Watson said. "I won't dispute this but at the same time, this is reality."

Resident Daphne Levitas said since moving to her home from Chevy Chase two years ago, she switched car insurance providers, noting if she stayed with her previous provider, her rates would have doubled. Additionally, she said neighbors either receive mail with Hyattsville or Cheverly on the front, whereas municipalities such as Greenbelt, Mount Rainier and Bladensburg do not have to deal with the confusion.

Levitas said it is too early to tell how successful the residents will be in accomplishing this goal.

"I think it would take all kinds of discussions with council members and have a substantial local effort," Levitas said. "But there's certainly an interest in doing it."

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net