Planning Board Denies Approval for Metro 4

The Planning Board denied approval to the proposed sixteen story building in the location of the currently shuttered food court in the Bethesda Metro Plaza, saying that it did not conform to the Bethesda Master Plan. A central aspect of the dispute over the proposal centered on whether Meridien, the developer, had the right to the level of density under the Master Plan. Perhaps even more crucial was whether the developer could count one-half of the adjoining public roads, primarily Old Georgetown Rd. and Wisconsin Ave. as part of the gross lot area--an issue identified here by Adam Pagnucco which was hammered relentlessly by plan opponents.

Planning Board Staffer Josh Sloan had recommended approval for the project. The denial of the project now represents the second major project on which Josh Sloan has been rolled by the Board. Readers of MPW may recall that he also recommended approval of the original Woodmont East plan and the developer was forced to withdraw and resubmit their application. On that occasion, the nature of the open space in the project was a crucial issue and locals found Mr. Sloan's defense of the open space risible to say the least.

On this occasion, Mr. Sloan argued that the proposal conformed to the Bethesda Master Plan and that it was clear that the gross site area should include the portions of public thoroughfare which have origins as Indian trails predating not just the founding of Montgomery County but of the nation. The 80-odd page report provides little to no justification for the critical conclusion on gross site area which was heavily disputed by opponents of the project who were led by normally pro-development interests who own the nearby Clark and Chevy Chase buildings, an undoubted source of schadenfreude for activists who want the Master Plan and regulations to have meaningful life.

Regardless of the merits of the project--and I express no opinion here on it--the lack of nuance in the report should disturb County residents. Chairman Royce Hanson charitably said that Josh Sloan made a "reasonable argument" but also said that the same could be said for the opposite conclusion. It seems a pity that Josh Sloan could not acknowledge the same in his report and instead insisted that the conclusion was clear without any reservation. More consultation with community civic organizations representing local residents was also needed.

You can listen to a podcast of the transcripts--the Planning Board spent much of yesterday listening to testimony on this question--on the Planning Board website.