More Metro Woes

Today was another sad day in the area, with two more deaths in the Washington, D.C. area Metro system. These mounting fatalities add to the question of how well-equipped Metro will be to handle the tens of thousands of people planned to use the White Flint Sector on a daily basis. The article in The Examiner, here, by reporter Kytja Weir, provides details on this tragedy.

Each day we read about this failing system. In just two days this week The Examiner ran the following stories about Metro. ‘Area Transit Riders pinched amid budget crunch; and ‘New Metro Board member sees serious disorder’ in transit agency.’  The last highlights comments by Mortimer L. Downey, former director of the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, who was recently appointed to the Metro Board by the feds.  Downey said that our system is in 'serious disorder,' and 'things are not good.'

Those of us who ride the red line daily know things are not good.

So, how can a plan be ‘in balance’ when it is relying on a fantasy transit system?

PHED Committee Meeting on the CR zone

Today I attended the PHED Committee meeting on the CR zone and even with a layman's understanding of the issues was able to determine some positive and some negative actions.

I am most pleased that the PHED Committee voted 2-1 (Elrich and Knapp in the majority) to remove the Transit Proximity Level 3 as a density incentive. This was proximity to a bus stop. I totally agreed with Councilmember Elrich when he said that transit proximity was a given, not an incentive density.

I remain concerned with the provision that allows averaging of density over one or more CR zones, believing that if you allow increased density in the lower zone closest to the community, you take away the certainty that a Master or Sector Plan is supposed to provide. Councilmember Floreen disagreed with me, stating that the community is concerned with height, not density.

There was a lot of discussion about allowing the Planning Board to approve changes to a sketch plan at the time of site plan review, but the wording proposed by the Planning Board was accepted,

The biggest surprise change came with the staff proposal to delete six criteria for density bonuses: community gardens, floor plate size, bio-retention and stromwater recharge, rainwater reuse, dark skies, and LEED rating. Some of these I had previously suggested be eliminated. Staff was not going to pursue their recommendation to delete these incentives because there is now a provision in the zone to allow the Planning Board to add density incentive criteria, but Councilmember Knapp suggestted deleting them. Councilmember Elrich concurred and Councilmember Floreen was out of the room. So to the chagrin of the Planning Board, this passed.

That ended the meeting on a very liveely note.

Natalie

For whom is White Flint Intended?

It is ironic that the same day that the PHED committee is considering how to allocate $895 million for White Flint infrastructure the County Council is considering a resolution offered by the same PHED committee to make Workforce Housing optional instead of required. Perhaps this isn't surprising since I've heard developers indicate that they can't afford to build workforce housing, but I wonder what is happening to the priorities of this County. If we can't afford to build housing that a schoolteacher or a policeman can afford, is "smart growth" really smart? Are we building a community to enrich the developers, serve the affluent, and ignore the core worker in the County? Where is our value system?

PHED Committe Hearing 1/19

Today's PHED committee hearing was a pleasant surprise for the communities who have long struggled to make sure that the White Flint Sector Plan was more than a developers' dream. In today's meeting, PHED members Floreen, Elrich and Councilmember Berliner (not part of the PHED but intimately involved as the District 1 Council Rep), can fairly be characterized as going out of their way to address constituent concerns. Nancy Floreen, in a surprise but welcome move, openly addressed the concerns of adjacent communities by asking staff to come back with language that would ensure that traffic mitigation measures in adjacent communities were part of the Sector Plan.

The Library Department, whose head, Parker Hamilton, has shown an unusual willingness to engage community dialogue, recommended that the Plan not proscribe the size or composition of future facilities. This willingness to recognize that Master Plans should preserve rights while ensuring flexibility, is the heart of good planning and good governance.

Additionally, today's hearing preserved the public's right of access by requiring that the four private grid streets in the Staff Report be subject to closure 'with DOT's concurrence". This is importnat, as it ensures the free flow of traffic, barring a reasonable closure ( a marathon, art festival, etc.).

Transportation Analysis Staff Report Out: The Plan is Out of Balance

The staff reports are out for the January 19 Montgomery County Council Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee work session.  You can read them here and here.  Of great surprise, Dr. Glenn Orlin, Deputy Council Staff Director, has analyzed the transportation sections of the plan and in his report, has stated that,

“Planning staff and Council staff concur that to reach 40% RAM (ed. note: Residential Arterial Mobility), only the proposed development in Phase I of the staging plan can be approved now: 3,000 dwelling units and 2 million square feet of non-residential development.”

And,

“…the Council has decided in the Growth Policy that the balance point should have RAM drop no lower than D, and Council staff will not recommend a plan that is out of balance.”

Surprise, surprise. While our coalition does not have the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the developers do, we do have this on our side: the unvarnished truth.

Please make sure to attend the January 19 PHED Committee Work Session and support our community.

DATE: Tuesday, January 19, 2010
TIME: 2PM
LOCATION: County Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville.  Parking available in parking garage at rear of building.

The High Line Park in New York, lessons learned

A few months ago I had the opportunity to stroll along New York City’s newest park, the High-Line. This is the park that had been for years an abandoned elevated rail track, but instead of being torn down has become a breath of fresh air, innovative and appealing, in New York City. The weekend I was there the park was full of people strolling, children playing, and others sitting on the inventive park benches that imitated beachfront chaise lounges. The view of course was tremendous too.


The park designers had thought of everything. There were kiosks selling hot chocolate, coffee and snacks. There were benches to sit on. The weeds that had been part of the abandoned tracks had been saved and were labeled and replanted and interspersed with other native plants. The flooring design emphasized the outline of the rails. Every detail was well thought out, to delight the eye.

How did this happen? How did an abandoned piece of railway become such a wonderful vibrant place? We see the usual story. Property owners wanted to tear it down; then community activists and neighbors stepped in to lobby for reuse of the high line as a public space. Next, an “open ideas” competition, ‘Designing the High Line’ was held, in 2003. The award was let and ground was broken in 2006. In 2009 the park was open to the public.

This is a story of planning gone right, in the heart of New York City. City Council, planners, and civic activists all worked to make it happen. We can do this here in Montgomery County.

This is what we want for the White Flint Sector. Vibrancy. Innovation. Intelligent Growth.

MoCo Planning Board Lifts 6-month Building Moratorium

Wow, that was fast! Like we said, folks, money is no object. Don't be fooled by those politicians who say we are in a budget crunch. As the philosopher (Groucho) Marx once said, "Who are you going to believe? me or your lying eyes."


Montgomery Board Lifts 6-month Building Moratorium

"Montgomery County's planning board has lifted a six-month building moratorium in Bethesda and Germantown."

and,

"The board unanimously agreed Thursday to lift the ban after the county council tentatively approved $27.5 million for more classrooms in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase school cluster and those served by Northwest and Seneca Valley high schools."

and, from the Post, in an article by Miranda Spivack,

"School officials cautioned that money for more classrooms will not be ensured until the council votes on its budget this spring, but the allocation of the money means that the moratorium could be lifted and new developments can be approved."

Read all about it here and here.