The Chevy Chase Land Company's efforts to create an ersatz "community" group to present support for its plans that find little favor in the actual community--see the articles in the Gazette and Patch--has been a terrific flop.
"Friends of Chevy Chase Lake" described itself as a "community organization formed and run by residents of Chevy Chase Lake." Except the manner of its debut (not to mention a more recent letter from Land Company President David Smith) destroyed this claim. This new group announced its existence on materials handed out by representatives of the Chevy Chase Land Company at the meeting organized by the Land Company--not the Planning Board Staff--to present its own plans as shown in this photo of the handout:
At the Land Company's meeting, one of the very first people that Land Company President David Smith just happened to call on in the 30 minutes of the two hours allotted to questions was the young leader of this "group" who also coincidentally just happens to live nearby to David Smith. Smith overlooked residents from a neighborhood adjoining his proposed project sitting right in front of him until the end of the meeting when they demanded to be heard.
"Friends of Chevy Chase Lake" has received only desultory support in the community. The following is a screenshot of its Facebook page from the day after the Land Company's meeting:
They haven't gained much traction since--just 6 people "Like" Friends of Chevy Chase Lake as of May 13th.
And 9 as of July 19th:
The few supporters of the group do not appear to live at Chevy Chase Lake. Among the three identifiable people who have posted on the Wall of this Facebook group are (1) a builder who lives in Washington, D.C., (2) a resident of Rockville, and (3) an architect who lives in Silver Spring.
Copies of the Land Company's plans appeared very quickly on the site of this "independent" group. The info page of this Facebook group doesn't contain any information at all about the group.
And the advertised web page doesn't exist:
It will be amusing to see if they try to generate new support for this group or the plans in the wake of this post. See Part I for how the CCLC is trying to revive this failed effort.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Fiends of Chevy Chase Lake II
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Fiends of Chevy Chase Lake I
The Chevy Chase Land Company appears to be attempting to revive its failed attempt (see tomorrow's post) to create a community group in an effort to attack the Planning Staff's proposal for transit-oriented development at Chevy Chase Lake. The group is to be called "Fiends of Chevy Chase Lake" as explained in the letter from Land Company President David Smith reproduced after the jump.
The Land Company's proposal for a series of five community meetings to produce a "consensus plan that seeks a middle ground between the current Chevy Chase Land Company plan and the MNCPPC staff plan" strikes me as odd for several reasons:
(1) Meetings are open only to select parties
The Chevy Chase Land Company made no effort to contact the Connecticut Avenue Corridor Committee, an existing organization with over twenty participating communities. They appear to have reached out only to select people and communities.
(2) Community consultation has already occurred
The Planning Board Staff held several meetings open to all to seek input before crafting the Staff Plan for Chevy Chase Lake. A wide range of people participated, including representatives from the Chevy Chase Land Company.
(3) Contrasting missions of CCLC and MNCPPC
While the Planning Staff at MNCPPC is charged with coming up with the best possible way to fulfill the vision embodied in the Master Plan, the Land Company's main responsibility is fiduciary--to seek the highest and best use of its land. The Planning Board Staff is presenting a vision for the future and has worked hard to figure out the tricky job how to integrate the Purple Line and substantial new development into an already well-established community.
At a public meeting to unveil the Staff's plan, several residents expressed the view that substantially less should be allowed than proposed by the Planning Board Staff, so the meeting in the middle may well have already occurred. Smart growth proponent and Montgomery Planning Director Rollin Stanley presented and defended the outlines of the Staff's basic plan to the community.
(4) High summer meetings
Late July and August are a heck of a time to organize community meetings if one desires community input.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Chevy Chase Lake Construction News
Last night, Chevy Chase Land Company President David Smith and I spoke at the Rollingwood community association's annual meeting about the review of the sector plan at Chevy Chase Lake. David asked me to let people know that the Land Company supports having no construction at Chevy Chase Lake "until after the construction of the Purple Line."
I am sure that the community will appreciate this commitment and hope that it is embodied in the final revision of the Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan. Elza Hisel-McCoy, the member of the Planning Staff overseeing the revision of the Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan, also came and outlined the sector plan review process.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Community on Chevy Chase Lake
The Planning Board Staff has been working hard to reach out to members of the community to find out what they would like to see around the proposed Purple Line stop at Chevy Chase Lake. Following are their conclusions from meetings open to all that included representatives of the Chevy Chase Land Company as well as lots of people who live in the area; you can compare and contrast with the Land Company's proposal here:
Future development in the commercial area of Chevy Chase Lake should remain “local” in character and identity, not a destination. Existing residential areas should be left alone. The commercial area should be a low- to medium-scale village center with expanded affordable housing, a diversity of community-serving retail and restaurants, and a central green space.
Traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, along Connecticut Avenue is a major concern. The plan should look at improving vehicular flow, while at the same time enhancing the pedestrian experience along and across the avenue. Future development at Chevy Chase Lake should be tied in some way to transportation/transit improvements.
Access, primarily pedestrian and bicycle, from the surrounding residential neighborhoods to both the commercial area and nearby trails should be improved and expanded. New development should feature wide landscaped sidewalks. Transit opportunities and facilities should be similarly improved and expanded.
Chevy Chase Lake should feature a diverse network of open spaces, centered on a space in the commercial area that could accommodate community events, such as a farmers’ market, and should include links to the surrounding residential neighborhoods.
Land uses should focus on expanded affordable housing and community-serving retail, restaurants, services, and entertainment. New office space should be limited to small-scale professional and/or doctor and dentist uses. Any new hotels should be small, at the scale of an inn. Community-oriented civic and arts uses, including a farmers’ market, community center, and new library were suggested. Parking in the commercial area should be structured and hidden and should feature easily accessible short-term parking. Increased opportunities for recreation, primarily playgrounds, should also be considered.
PreserveEnhance
- Existing neighborhood character and “community feel”
- Community-serving retail, particularly a supermarket
- Existing affordable housing (e.g., HOC property, garden apartments, townhouses)
- Convenient parking
- Environmental identity (e.g., Coquelin Run, trees)
- Existing residential neighborhoods
Create
- Open space network
- Selection of community-serving retail and restaurants
- Connectivity, particularly pedestrian and bicycle
- Walkability, especially pedestrian safety
- Affordable housing
- Transit service (e.g., bus and Bus Rapid Transit) and accessibility of the Purple Line station
- Coquelin Run
- Recreation opportunities
- Traffic management on Connecticut Avenue
- Open space network centered on the commercial area
- Community Center
- “Circulator” shuttle
- Arts and entertainment events and/or facilities
- New recreation opportunities
- New library
- Safe and attractive sidewalk network
- Activities for teenagers
- Better traffic flow on Connecticut Avenue
- Lake
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Chevy Chase Land Company Unveils Its Plans
Red Numbers Indicate Number of FloorsLast night at the 4-H Center, the Chevy Chase Land Company unveiled its vision for the land it owns at Chevy Chase Lake near the proposed Purple Line stop. They proposed 4.3 million new square feet of development, including 900,000 square feet of commercial office space, 200,000 square feet of retail space, 3000 new residential units (over 3 million square feet), and a hotel with 150 rooms.
The photo above shows the Land Company's proposed new street grid with the main street paralleling the path of the Purple Line which goes above ground due to the need to cross Connecticut Ave. The Land Company's plans includes 12 high-rise buildings of ten stories or higher, 4 mid-rise buildings of five to nine stories, and 3 low-rise buildings with four stories--the red numbers in the photo indicate the number of stories. (There is a somewhat larger photo of the central area plans after the jump.)
The following is an artist's rendition of the Land Company's proposed development presented at the meeting at the 4-H Club. The strip rising toward the Purple Line with the biker on it is the Trail.
The Land Company did not commit to limit the number of parking spaces per housing unit or for the office space in response to a question by Richard Hoye--former aide to former Councilmember Trachtenberg--about parking and encouraging transit. There was discussion of potential widening of Connecticut Ave. in a manner similar already planned for Jones Bridge Rd. to handle increased traffic. I did not learn about the availability of short-term parking for retail shoppers, though it was stated that there would be no long-term parking for people wishing to commute--the latter is consistent with the current plans for the Purple Line light-rail station.
I do not know if the plan includes any bike lanes on either Connecticut Ave. or the new internal street grid beyond the possibility of biking on the Trail. The Land Company stated that their plans included wide sidewalks, particularly along the proposed Main Street. Some of the high-rise buildings are very close to existing neighborhoods, such as the Hamlet and the townhouse development on Manor Road.
The Land Company stated that there was no land set aside for schools or plans to expand existing schools in response to a question from the audience expressing concern because of overcrowding issues at B-CC High School. Mr. Dalrymple, the attorney for the Land Company who ran the meeting, said it would be up to the County to address these issues.
The Planning Board Staff are expected to deliver their vision for the area at a public meeting sometime in May. Elza Hisel-McCoy (Elza.Hisel-McCoy@mncppc-mc.org) is the Project Manager for MNCPPC. (By the way, kudos to Dale Tibbets, Chief of Staff to Councilmember Marc Elrich, for giving someone a neighborly jump start after their car battery died when the meeting ended at 9pm.)
