West Montgomery’s mission, at least as I’ve observed it since I first became active in the organization as Secretary at the behest of Mary Ann Thane in the late 80s, has been the promotion of responsible growth in our subregion and the County as a whole through the careful implementation of our Master Plan, support for the Master Plan concept and the General Plan of Wedges and Corridors on which the Master Plans are based.
WMCCA has worked extensively on both the 1980 and 2002 Master Plans, and we have supported the underlying principle of the Green Wedge concept which is intended to protect the water supply for the region both along the Potomac River and the Anacostia River on the east side of the county.
The last election has brought an ominous turn to the County Council in a pro growth, pro road construction majority on the Council, which could potentially alter the basic reliance on Master Plans, which have guided development in the County for many years.
The Annual Growth Policy, which used to attempt to temper the pace of new development to what the infrastructure (schools, roads, services) could support (note the word, “attempt,” it rarely worked as we would wish it to) has been modified to permit new development with even less review than the rather ineffective former policy.
The Council is looking at a strategy called ‘Housing Montgomery,’ which could call for opening all Master Plans to increase density, ostensibly to provide so-called affordable housing, and the County Executive has proposed a Strategic Plan on Economic Development which he tried to have approved by the Council with no public hearing (thus no input), which was only narrowly avoided through the efforts of Citizens groups who got agreement from the Council to hold hearings.
Policies which would require developers to build affordable housing through the MPDU program, (moderately priced dwelling units), are diluted by a buy out program which allows developers to pay a fee to escape the requirement for far less than the cost of the units they would have been required to build.
So we find ourselves facing challenges that threaten the very fabric and structure of our planning and zoning, and we need to understand the forces and interest groups, which are behind these challenges.
If we are to have any hope of preserving the quality of life and the environmental health of our community we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the powerful special interests which are very effectively seeking to undermine that which we have worked so long to protect.
Nominating Committee: The membership will be asked at the April meeting to approve the nominating committee which will present a slate of officers and directors for a vote of the membership at the May meeting, the Annual Meeting of the association. The committee members are:
Ginny Barnes - Chair
Suzanne Lee
Jonathan Burnworth
Mark Barnes
Sunny Beetham Hernandez
Normandie Farm rezoning request: The Board of Directors heard a presentation from the owners of Normandie Farm who are seeking a change from the existing RE-2/TDR zoning to the new Country Inn zone. Included in the zoning change are plans for fairly major changes to the property including a new building which would be constructed behind the existing restaurant, and which, according to the owners would not be visible from Falls Rd., the relocation of the parking lot further away from the neighboring housing and the spring located on the fear of the property, and improved low level lighting.
The problem which the Board sees with the new zone, which is a commercial zone instead of a residential zone are the permitted accessory uses which include antique shops, art sales, and handicrafts, plus saddlery, blacksmith shops, and recreational facilities primarily for the use of guests. The difficulty could come in determining what is meant by "accessory". There is also no lodging component to the request, one of the attractive features of the new zone when it was discussed by the Planning Board staff at the time the new Potomac Master Plan was drafted.
The Planning Board will review the request prior to a hearing before the Hearing Examiner at the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings. We will, of course, be notified of both of these hearings. We look forward to hearing the thoughts of the membership. The Board of Directors will consider a formal position at our next Directors meeting.