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.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Columbia Country Club Promises “Grass Roots Campaign” to Defeat Purple Line
In a letter to members of the Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, club President J. Paul McNamara promises to launch a “grass roots campaign” to defeat the Purple Line.
Part of the Purple Line transit project is planned to run along an abandoned CSX right-of-way that stretches from Silver Spring to Bethesda. The right-of-way is currently used as a popular pedestrian and bicycle route known as the Capital Crescent Trail but was originally intended to be used at least partially for transit. The right-of-way runs through the country club’s golf course and thus defeat of a rail line is one of the club’s top priorities. Just Up the Pike ran an epic series on the issues surrounding the Purple Line and the trail last year and Silver Spring resident Wayne Phyillaier covers the trail-rail relationship regularly on his Finish the Trail blog.
In his letter, McNamara tells the country club members:Regarding the issue of the Purple Line and the proposed light rail connecting Bethesda, Silver Spring and New Carrollton, as I indicated at our annual meeting, this is a very critical issue for our Club. As a result, we have increased our community and government relations effort at both the state and federal level and will be working on several different fronts to promote the Club’s position and protect our long term interests. Specifically, we will be helping to launch a grassroots campaign to identify and organize a broad and diverse coalition of opponents to the current proposal for the Purple Line. Once organized, we will be partnering with neighborhood associations, citizens groups including those working to save the trail, as well as businesses and elected officials who will be impacted by this issue.
As you would expect, the implementation of this effort requires a commitment of financial resources. The Board of Governors believes that it is in the best interest of the Club to fund this effort. However, we are doing so within the context of a balanced budget for the fiscal year. We do not expect that this expenditure will have a material impact on the long term finances of the Club. We will keep a tight control on the spending for this effort and all funds will be allocated from our capital budget.
The Columbia Country Club has a long history of fighting the Purple Line. Between 2001 and 2006, four of the club’s current officers – President McNamara, First Vice President Joseph J. Brigati, Second Vice President Eugene A. Carlin and Secretary Martin Wiegand II – collectively contributed $4,600 to former Governor Robert Ehrlich and $550 to Senate Budget and Taxation Committee Chairman Ulysses Currie. (One can only imagine how much more was donated by the club’s full membership.) In September 2003, Ehrlich reciprocated, declaring that the Purple Line “will not go through the Country Club.” Robert Flanagan, his Transportation Secretary, explained, “The Governor happens to love golf.”
At the same time, then-District 18 Delegate and Chevy Chase resident John Hurson struck a deal with Ehrlich to route buses along Jones Bridge Road as a substitute for the Purple Line. In return, Hurson reversed his position on slots from opposition to support, matching Ehrlich’s agenda, and was promptly rewarded with a fundraiser by racetrack owner William Rickman Sr. Hurson and Ehrlich’s arrangement infuriated many Montgomery County politicians but no doubt delighted the country club’s members. The club’s announcement promises the potential for more events like the above.
To evaluate the club’s letter fairly, MPW readers need to remember three facts.
1. There is plenty of genuine grass-roots opposition to a Purple Line alignment on the trail. Whatever the country club’s membership, it is surely less than the 10,000 signatures collected by rail opponents.
2. Non-grass-roots interests exist on both sides. Ed Asher, President of the Chevy Chase Land Company, serves openly on the board of Purple Line Now. Asher is no mere train enthusiast – his company seeks to develop the land around a proposed Purple Line station on Connecticut Avenue. Asher is a prolific contributor to politicians, giving $12,000 to state and local candidates since 2000. The Chevy Chase Land Company gave $5,950 more.
3. The truth is that while the country club and Asher participate in Purple Line campaigns, neither controls them. Organizational leaders like the heads of the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coalition and Action Committee for Transit are the true strategists and seek suitable allies when they are available. This is a reasonable approach for anyone seeking to organize a civic (or labor) coalition.
But the universal rule of coalitions is this: you are judged based on your associations with other coalition members. If Purple Line opponents publicly (or even privately) embrace funding from the Columbia Country Club, they will damage their credibility in the long run. No Democratic Party or civic activist from outside Chevy Chase will harbor any sympathy for an effort they perceive to be connected to wealthy country club members – or through them, to former Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich.
