PLANNING COMMISSION TO VOTE ON ROCKVILLE PIKE PLAN JUNE 18

The Rockville Planning Commission will vote next Wednesday on its final recommendation to the Mayor and Council regarding the Rockville Pike Plan. That discussion and vote will take place during the Commission's meeting at 7:30 PM, June 18, in the council chambers at City Hall.

Prior to that, however, the Commission will meet in executive session to obtain legal advice on master plan processes. That 7:00 PM session, in the Diamondback Terrapin Conference Room, will not be open to the public. The 7:30 session, is open to the public, and will be broadcast live on Comcast Channel 11.

WEAK OFFICE MARKET LEADS JBG TO ASK FOR UPPER ROCK PLAN CHANGES

More evidence of Montgomery County's abysmal office market was on display at this week's Rockville Planning Commission meeting. Developer JBG is requesting an amendment to its Pre-Development Plan for 5 Choke Cherry Road, in the Upper Rock District off Shady Grove Road.

When the plan was approved on May 23, 2005, it included 293 residential units, retail and restaurant space, a community park, and 73,700 square feet of office space, with a surface parking lot.

Devon Lauer, Senior Development Analyst for JBG, said the company wants to replace the 73,700 SF office space component with 35,000 SF of retail and restaurant space. This would be arranged in four, single-story structures, with surface parking serving all four. Potential tenants under discussion include CVS and MOM's Organic Market.

The applicant's attorney, Bob Harris of Lerch, Early & Brewer, said the change is needed due to the poor office market. Residential would not work either, Harris said, due to “the evolution of the residential marketplace in this area,”  noting that such units would have to compete with Crown Farm, the Reed Brothers project, and others on the east side of MD 355, around the Shady Grove Metro. That "softness in the office market” is being felt by existing office building owners near the Upper Rock District. JBG believes that adding retail and restaurant amenities will help it attract new tenants to its existing office space in Upper Rock, as well as to nearby office buildings. Harris recalled another office owner saying he’s struggling to keep his tenants, and could use the retail nearby to help retain them.

JBG will return at future sessions with more detailed information for the commissioners regarding the request. Once again, the weak office market is casting doubt on whether smart growth can be applied in Montgomery County, if there are not adequate, high-wage jobs nearby these new developments.

TOWN CENTER II DEVELOPER TAKES "HORSEWHIPPING" FROM ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION

A request for a parking waiver by JBG entity "Hungerford Retail II, LLC" failed to convince a skeptical Rockville Planning Commission last week, leading the development's attorney to request a deferment of the petition. The project is a 2-story, mixed-use building with office and restaurant space, where a former Giant grocery store was recently demolished. A 41% decrease in parking spaces was requested for the structure, which will include a one-level, below-grade garage.

The waiver request stumbled out of the gate, with the last-minute revelation that the applicant had not apprised nearby residents of the parking changes. A communication from the West End Citizen's Association earlier in the day suggested neighbors were not yet informed of the plan, and requested a postponement of the decision. “It is with some puzzlement that I’ve learned that WECA was not involved, was not notified about this parking waiver," Commissioner Jack Leiderman said. "We did receive a letter from the president of WECA to postpone the waiver. As a commission, we need to slow down and get the input of the community." Commissioner John Tyner concurred, characterizing the applicant's failure to inform WECA in advance as "a strategic error." City planning staff member Cas Chasten said that, while waiver applicants are not required to notify neighbors, city staff had strongly advised them to do so.

Commissioner Dion Trahan was equally concerned about neighborhoods that would be affected by parking changes in East Rockville, such as Lincoln Park. The failure to notify them made the applicant appear "insincere," he said. "Whenever the citizenry talk about these back room deals going on in City Hall, this is what they’re talking about,” Trahan added.

The applicant's attorney, Erica Leatham, said they apologized to WECA and the Planning Commission for the lack of communication.

Another major concern among commissioners was the relevance and accuracy of the parking studies submitted by the applicant, which were designed to support approval of the waiver.

The wheels came entirely off when the applicant's parking consultant, Edward Papazian, was caught off-guard during cross examination by Leiderman.

Papazian had stated that the high volume of parking recorded in a study of Rockville Town Square garages on Thursday, December 12, 2013, was atypical. Demand would be less on the average night, Papazian claimed, because the city's Christmas tree lighting event had inflated the numbers on the 12th.

"Would it surprise you, sir," Leiderman asked, "to learn that the tree lighting event was actually a week before, on Thursday, December 5th?”

"We were there, our people were there," Papazian insisted.

Leiderman begged to differ, citing official transcripts of a Mayor and Council meeting three days before Papazian's claimed tree lighting ceremony.

"It’s a matter of public record," Leiderman said. "I have The Mayor and Council meeting [transcript] of December 9th, [during which] Councilmember [Beryl] Feinberg reported that she attended the Rockville Christmas tree lighting on Thursday, December 5th."

Leiderman said the false information regarding the parking counts called the whole report into question. "I don’t trust your report, with all due respect. If I had more time, what other junk would I find in it?" Leiderman asked. "You’re coming here with this report that’s filled with numbers, and we’re supposed to base important land use decisions on the accuracy of them. You’re attributing [numbers] to something that didn’t even happen, some data that could have just been a routine Thursday night with [it being] hard to park in the city. You’re saying it’s [the tree lighting]. It didn’t happen. So, I’m looking at this report going…”, Leiderman concluded with an expression of disbelief.

Many commissioners, including Chairman Don Hadley, expressed concern that the urban parking concept was out of sync with the reality of Rockville as a suburban city of residential neighborhoods. Using Montgomery County parking studies and practices would put future growth in Rockville on a course more in line with denser areas like White Flint or downtown Bethesda, something the city does not want, Hadley suggested.

"The assumption that this is an urban area…probably misses the mark on what we deem or believe to be the reality in Rockville, now and for the future," Hadley said. "[I]f [people] want an urban area, they can go to New York, Chicago or L.A." Large parking garages may not be preferable to suburban clientele, Hadley said. Most families with children won't ride bikes to the town center, he argued, saying most will "hop in the car." Moreover, between existing transit options, and those on the drawing board, many suburban residents "won’t have public transportation that is desirable for their preferences” anytime soon, he said. Hadley noted that Montgomery County Government's perception of urban is “vastly different” from Rockville’s definition.

Leiderman expressed similar skepticism of the applicant's smart growth predictions. He pointed out that previous town center projects were held to a higher standard than the applicant was proposing for itself. Urbanization proponents, Leiderman said, are "wanting to buy in to the aspirational goal that Rockville will no longer be a suburb, it will be an urban center, and everyone is going to be on a bike, and walking, and 75% of the people working here will use transit…that’s not what the numbers for the Choice Hotels site were based on." Leiderman predicted "people are going to park in the residential neighborhoods,” or take their business elsewhere, if parking is difficult.

Commissioner Charles Littlefield expanded on Leiderman's reference to the impact on businesses, warning that one bad parking experience is enough to send patrons elsewhere to dine and shop. Littlefield cited the free and ample parking at Gaithersburg's Washingtonian Center as a better model. "I’ve never once not been able to find parking” at Washingtonian Center, Littlefield noted. Leiderman said difficulty and inconvenience locating parking would deter customers, "as things get built out, having a harder time finding parking, having to go higher and higher” in the garages, he said.

The idea that customers could park in other garages would be shifting the cost of parking to taxpayers and other adjacent property owners, Leiderman said.

By this point, the applicant had also lost Commissioner David Hill's support. Considering that the applicant had already received significant exemptions on parking for the project, Hill said, "I as a public official can’t countenance making that number bigger. He said Bethesda or White Flint-style development is not what Rockville wants for its future.

"I'm not comfortable passing our responsibility onto the chief of planning," Hill said. "I have no problem with the argument that you qualify for the waiver [but] I would like to see us leave this in a position where we can continue talking."

In addition, Hill felt that the city is facing a larger issue with this and future parking waiver requests, which the city's zoning code is currently unequipped to address. "I think that what we should be doing right now is having a legislative discussion about changing the zoning ordinance," Hill suggested. He also doubted the numbers regarding how many customers would indeed be on-site, as opposed to traveling by car. "You haven’t cleared the very high wall" to justify an exemption, Hill concluded.

With the request obviously heading for rejection, Leatham then asked the commission for a deferral. After some discussion among commissioners as to how citizens could best be heard, and to whether or not it would be best to extend this petition, or require a new one, the commission voted unanimously to defer the waiver request, and leave the public record open.

The applicant was advised to gain public input from residents of nearby neighborhoods before returning. Leatham said there was no guarantee the specifics of the request would change, but that the applicant would gather more data in support of a waiver.

Hadley somewhat jokingly apologized to the applicant's representatives, for having to take a "horsewhipping" during the four-hour meeting.

ROCKVILLE RESIDENTS TELL PLANNING COMMISSION: CURRENT BIKEWAY PLAN WOULD BE "DISASTER"

The president of Regents Square's condo board told Rockville planning commissioners that the draft Bikeway Master Plan would be "a disaster for our community," at last week's public hearing on the document. Joe Covey said his community of 252 townhouses on Azalea Drive, and Nelson Street, were planned with street parking designed to complement off-street lot parking. Woodley Gardens Civic Association President James Reschovsky shared Covey's concern, although both emphasized that their communities are not opposed to improving bike mobility through their neighborhood.

A primary issue is the plan for a .4 mile bike climbing lane on Azalea Drive, that would displace existing street parking. Reschovsky said he did not have the precise number of parking spaces that would be lost, but estimated them as 50-75. "What I can say with confidence," Reschovsky added, is that "the street is totally parked, the off-street parking lots are full [and] there’s already a parking problem now." "50 to 75 is a substantial number of cars," Planning Commissioner Jack Leiderman said, describing the parking elimination as "a major change."

Reschovsky suggested the city examine alternative routes for the new bike connection between Nelson Street and Gude Drive. Pressed by commissioners for specific routes, Reschovsky said it would be inappropriate to speculate, without input from Woodley Gardens residents. He said Crocus Drive and Aster Boulevard would be possible alternatives, but that residents had not had a chance to address that specific question yet.

Montgomery College also expressed opposition to the draft plan's route that passes through its Rockville campus. Don Smith, director of the college's Evening and Weekend Office, and a member of its bike task force, said the college "strongly supports" biking, noting its participation in the Capital Bikeshare program. But "it cannot compromise security by opening the perimeter fence" in the northwest area of the campus, Smith said. "Controlling access is critical to the prevention” of crime on campus, Smith argued. The college "does not endorse" the plan's proposed through-campus route for that reason, Smith said.

The solid opposition of the college to opening the fence needs to be taken into account before passing the draft plan, two commissioners argued. Commissioner John Tyner said the campus is "not to be breached in any place." Leiderman pointed out that, while the city can put any route into the plan, the college cannot be compelled to open its property. To go forward with the college segment as written, would be "exercising futility, to put something in a master plan that cannot be," Leiderman argued.

Proponents of the plan stressed the importance of bike route connectivity both within the city, and to bike infrastructure outside of it. Rockville is already ahead of most in the county in its number and route miles of bike trails. It seems realistic that the goal of more connections could be accomplished while addressing community concerns, such as those expressed at the hearing.

Leiderman moved to hold a second public hearing after the commission holds work sessions, and to keep the public record on the plan open until after that hearing is held. That would ensure the public can comment on finer details not yet known, he said. Tyner agreed, and urged citizens to get involved on the issue. Commissioner David Hill recommended the record close one week following the second hearing. Leiderman and Tyner concurred. Leiderman's amended motion passed unanimously.

JBG ASKS ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR PARKING WAIVER IN TOWN CENTER PHASE II

At next Wednesday's meeting of the Rockville Planning Commission, attorneys for JBG's Hungerford Retail II, LLC project at 275 N. Washington Street will seek a waiver to eliminate 46 parking spaces at the 2-story office/restaurant building. The applicant says the waiver is justified because of sufficient garage parking within Rockville Town Square, and the percentage of clients who will not drive to the bank and restaurants planned for the development.

The waiver request documents, submitted by Ballard Spahr attorney Erica Leatham, include numerous exhibits and citations of both national trends, and specific parking studies conducted recently in Rockville. They also reference a parking waiver recently granted to the 1800 Rockville Pike development.

Leatham argues that most customers will walk to the restaurants from nearby office buildings, and the adjacent residential neighborhood. At the same time, the letter notes that parking tends to be available around the clock in the Town Center garages. JBG's petition also cites the high percentage of Americans who now do their banking online. Of course, this trend does not seem to have stopped a current explosion of new bank branches opening in lower Montgomery County.

The building will have a single below-grade parking garage.

The meeting will be Wednesday, April 23, at 7:00 PM in City Hall.

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA FOR APRIL 9 - DRAFT BIKEWAY MASTER PLAN

The agenda for the April 9 meeting of the Rockville Planning Commission will be dominated by the potentially controversial Draft Bikeway Master Plan. Citizens may comment on the draft during a public hearing, which will be the first item on the agenda at 7:00 PM. Commissioners will then discuss the plan, and the public input, in preparation for any direction or changes they may choose to forward to the Mayor and Council.

Are you gung-ho about getting a bike lane on your street? Or concerned about what impact that will have on your street, regarding parking, lane width, safety, etc.? While few details are given in the draft, now would be a good time to make your concerns known to the commission.

The meeting will be held in the Mayor and Council chambers at City Hall next Wednesday.

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSIONER QUESTIONS LACK OF DETAIL ON BIKEWAY MASTER PLAN

Can you tell what impact
bike facilities will have
on College Parkway
from this map?

Would you buy a car sight unseen, if the salesman said he could only tell you it was a 4-door sedan? Rockville residents are being asked to comment on the draft update of the Rockville Bikeway Master Plan at a public hearing on April 9. But critical information is missing from the draft, according to Rockville Planning Commissioner Jack Leiderman.

While the document illustrates many common on-road bike facilities, and lists a recommendation for specific roads within Rockville, Leiderman noted that residents have no way to know how the proposals will affect parking, the width of existing travel lanes and other relevant details.

Andrew Gunning, the city's assistant planning director (and staff liaison to the planning commission) said planners hadn't gone into that level of detail at this stage. "I'm requesting it," Leiderman responded. "How am I going to comment" on the plan without knowing the details, he asked.

This situation is virtually identical to that of the recent Montgomery County Transit Corridor Master Plan process. With relatively few details worked out on the specific design and traffic impact of the county's proposed bus rapid transit system, the plan was rammed through by the council, with promises that the details would be known later. But if some of the potential impacts were untenable, why would a citizen allow the BRT Master Plan to pass?

The same applies to the bike plan. Should the plan be approved, it will become the document that can be referenced to justify a wide range of changes to city roads. Once adopted as a master plan, those changes - like BRT - will become "a fait accompli," as Leiderman put it Wednesday night.

"I'm not just going to rubber stamp a list of streets," Leiderman said.

Also at Wednesday night's meeting, Planning Commission Chair Don Hadley discussed his upcoming  appearance before the Mayor and Council at their April 7 meeting. Hadley invited his fellow commissioners to attend, but said he has not yet been informed of the format of the discussion. Commissioner John Tyner somewhat jokingly suggested Hadley review the comments of Councilmember Tom Moore on the topic prior to the evening. Moore was critical of the commission's pace last week.

Leiderman advised Hadley to emphasize the importance of taking time to get the plan right: "Measure twice, saw once," he said.

SOME ON ROCKVILLE COUNCIL IMPATIENT WITH ROCKVILLE PIKE PLAN PROGRESS

Is the Rockville Planning Commission taking too long to produce the final draft of a new Rockville Pike Plan for approval by the Mayor and Council? The answer varies among city elected officials. Councilmember Beryl Feinberg brought up the issue at the March 17 Mayor and Council meeting, under the Future Agendas item.

Feinberg requested that an update on the commission's Pike Plan progress be scheduled for a future meeting, saying that - in her view - "it's been stalled." Mayor Bridget Newton said her perception is directly the opposite. "I don't think it's stalled at all," Newton responded, adding that the "Planning Commission has been working hard on that."

"They have had this plan for years," Councilmember Tom Moore countered. Moore said recent decisions by the commission to further study some elements of the plan "alarmed some of us."

Several councilmembers reached a consensus that summoning Planning Commission Chair Don Hadley to provide an update at a future meeting would be satisfactory. Feinberg said she is seeking a "timeline for completion," and the ability of the council to "have our input to what's going on."

"What's going on," of course, is really more a projection of underlying tension between factions, with very different visions for future development in the city of Rockville. It's also an interesting study in the specific power, and influence, the office of mayor holds in the city. While the outcome of November's election appeared to favor the more pro-development Team Rockville faction, the ability of a mayor to strongly influence the makeup of commissions can allow him or her to still have a significant impact on major decisions.

Choices made by former mayor Phyllis Marcuccio have had just such an impact on the Pike Plan, and the process. When the plan process was, indeed, started "years" ago, there was a much more favorable majority for a high-density plan on the Planning Commission. There was a sense that the process was, if anything, moving too swiftly for some at that time. But with the exception of Jerry Callistein, Marcuccio's approved nominees have taken a decidedly more skeptical view of whether or not Rockville should rush to be just like White Flint.

Not only have the originally-proposed building heights come into question, but aspects of the plan glossed over by the well-paid consultants - and in the initial discussions - have come under more scrutiny. Hadley took a deliberate, thoughtful approach as a commissioner, and his elevation to chair has permitted the commission to operate in a similar fashion. New commissioners Jack Leiderman, Charles Littlefield and Anne Goodman have brought a fresh approach. Leiderman in particular has convinced many colleagues, and even city staff, to question points in the draft plan that had previously just been accepted as fact or fate. And many more of the concerns raised by the majority of citizens, who opposed the draft as written, have been taken into account.

As a result, the plan that will be sent to the council will be notably different than the one many had expected to be approved by 2012. While at this point still far more urban than today's Pike, many fairly radical proposals have been scaled back.

A plan that will have major impacts on the city, and particularly upon the neighborhoods that border the Pike Plan area, deserves a thorough process. With White Flint's radical changes still unproven to be financially sustainable or wise planning, there's no urgent need to rush completion of this document.

HADLEY WILL CHAIR ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR 2014

Rockville Planning Commission Chair Don Hadley was reelected last night to continue in that position for a full term in 2014. Hadley was nominated by Commissioner John Tyner, and his nomination was seconded by Commissioner Jack Leiderman. The nomination was approved by the commission 4-0, with Hadley himself abstaining.

This will be Hadley's first full term as chair of the city's planning body. He was nominated as chair this year, after former Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio declined to reappoint former chair Jerry Callistein to the commission when his term expired. Hadley has been critical of pressures from development interests to urbanize the city as a commissioner, and as a 2013 candidate for the city council.

DUBALL ROCKVILLE TOWN CENTER CONSTRUCTION UPDATE (PHOTOS)

Here is the latest construction progress on the first Duball tower at Rockville Town Center. As you can see, building has well passed street level at this point.

This tower will contain luxury apartments, and a 140-room Cambria Suites hotel.

Meanwhile, developer Duball, LLC has submitted an application to the Rockville planning department asking permission to increase the number of apartments in the future second tower from 222 to 400. This will be achieved by simply making the apartments smaller, which Duball claims is better suited to today's market.

Aside from changing the potential number of residents and vehicles at the site, it would also bring the total number of residential units to 663. Add in at least 140 hotel guests, many with rental cars, to the equation as well.

The matter is scheduled to come before the Rockville Planning Commission at its November 13 meeting, at 7:00 PM at City Hall (and broadcast live on Channel 11).

OCTOBER 23 ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING TO INCLUDE PIKE PLAN WORKSESSION, APFS DISCUSSION

Rockville's Planning Commission will continue to discuss, and update, the draft version of the Rockville Pike Plan during a worksession at its next meeting on October 23.

The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM in the Mayor and Council chambers at Rockville City Hall.

Also on the agenda, is a discussion of possible Mayor and Council changes to the city's Adequate Public Facility Standards (APFS), under Old Business.

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION NOMINEES SKEPTICAL OF ROCKVILLE PIKE PLAN

A very significant item on the agenda of tonight's Rockville Mayor and Council meeting (7:00 PM at City Hall) is the appointment of two citizens to vacant seats on the Rockville Planning Commission. Those who fill the seats could well determine the outcome of the Rockville Pike Plan, and the future of the city's APFO.

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio, who has been critical of plans to promote urban density in suburban Rockville,  has had mixed success with her previous appointments. While Marcuccio has had the opportunity to completely shift what has, in recent decades, been a pro-development body, there is still not a solid majority in opposition to the Pike Plan.

If one were to place bets on the 5 sitting members' potential Pike Plan votes, well, that would be difficult.

Only Jack Leiderman is a likely NO vote. David Hill and John Tyner II are likely YES votes, if the changes they've suggested are approved.

But Dion Trahan and Don Hadley have yet to reveal their hand. Both have been skeptical of the urbanization concept the plan represents.

2 YES, 1 NO, 2 UNKNOWNS.

Enter 2 new members:

Mayor Marcuccio has nominated Charles Littlefield and Anne Goodman. Both are skeptics of the Pike Plan. Littlefield served on the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance committee in 2011, and issued his own Minority Report that dissented against attempts to weaken the ordinance.

In his report, Littlefield made clear that he feels a strong APFO is essential to protect residents from out-of-control growth:

"As a member of this Committee I witnessed an aggressiveness on the part of certain developers, elected officials and public planners to push through large-scale residential development regardless of public opinion. The impression they made on me left me firmly convinced that Rockville's APFO/ APFS should not be weakened. From the perspective of a Rockville resident/ homeowner, the APFO 'evens the playing field' between everyday citizens and organized, connected and financially powerful developers. Without this tool, it would be virtually impossible for citizens to stop an undesirable development project from occurring and negatively impacting our quality of life."

Goodman also expressed concern "about the potential for weakening the APFO to allow more development" in her Pike Plan testimony.

While Marcuccio and Councilmember Bridget Newton owe much of their political support to voters who favor limiting growth and building heights, councilmembers Tom Moore and Mark Pierzchala are running (for council and mayor, respectively) on a more aggressive development platform.

It could be a contentious meeting tonight, as a result.

If approved by the council, could strong arguments by Littlefield and Goodman lead to a 5-2 or 4-3 defeat for the Pike Plan? Can they get majority support tonight, with outgoing councilmember John Hall as the potential deciding vote?

Intrigue! Suspense! Stay tuned!

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION BRIEFED ON MONTGOMERY COUNTY BRT PLAN

Montgomery County Planning Department Master Planner Larry Cole told the Rockville Planning Commission last night that a bus rapid transit line along MD Route 355 would take "13-21%" of its ridership from Metro.

Why is this important?

For two reasons. First, it highlights the duplication of existing subway service by BRT. In fact, Commissioner David Hill questioned Cole on that very point at last night's briefing at Rockville City Hall.

Secondly, it confirms my argument from the beginning of this sham of a process regarding BRT:  the duplicative service will attract mostly those who already use transit. In the process, it will slash the already insufficient revenue of the Metro system.

Where will that shortfall be recovered from? From you and I, the taxpayers. And again from you and I, in the form of future Metro fare increases.

It begs the question again - if the county has a magic $5 billion in extra revenue to pay for the BRT system, wouldn't that money be better spent on projects that will actually reduce congestion? These would include M-83 Midcounty Highway Extended, the Rockville Freeway, a new Potomac River bridge, expanded MARC service, the Purple Line and an extension of Metro to Gaithersburg and Germantown.

In contrast to those projects, the ridership, density and demand numbers for BRT simply don't add up.  With no solid evidence that drivers will "get out of their cars," it's safe to assume Metro ridership will be the target audience for the Emperor's New Bus, thereby providing no congestion relief.

What could ultimately end up happening, is a small BRT ridership, taken in even greater numbers from Metro than Cole's projections suggest, riding $5 billion buses along a now even-more-congested Route 355. And Metro in even worse financial straits than ever.

Rockville Planning Commissioners were understandably skeptical of Cole's presentation.

Commissioner Jack Leiderman asked Cole if he was attempting to "punish" drivers by removing 2 car lanes from 355 for BRT. Cole arrogantly responded that drivers "don't own" those lanes.

Mr. Cole, those of us who live in Maryland not only own those lanes, but we paid for their construction, and continue to pay for their maintenance.

Cole made the mistake of comparing the seizure of 2 lanes for BRT to HOV Lanes on I-270. Anyone who actually drives on 270 knows that the HOV idea was a complete failure, and does continue only as a punishment for drivers. The HOV lane is that one which you turn to the left and see hardly anybody in, while you're crawling or at a complete stop on 270. Not only is traffic still jammed, but you're moving even slower, thanks to the loss of 25% of capacity in the Express lanes.  And during rush hour, many HOV drivers are using the lane illegally.

Cole wasn't done making odd comparisons.

When a skeptical Commissioner Dion Trahan quizzed Cole as to how losing already-jammed lanes would reduce gridlock, Cole referred to Ballston in Arlington.

Cole repeated a popular urban myth among "smart" growth advocates, that traffic on Wilson Boulevard in Ballston and Clarendon has actually decreased, despite massive, dense redevelopment.

This is an apples to oranges comparison, and complete bunk. First, the "less traffic" argument is hardly accurate as it relates to Arlington.

But, more importantly, there is no comparison whatsoever between Wilson Boulevard and 355.

The daily traffic count on Wilson is around 15,000 vehicles.

The daily traffic count on Rockville Pike is 43,000 to 46,000 cars.

Wilson is a lower-capacity road than 355.

And Wilson is not an arterial road of the scope of 355.  355 carries heavy traffic from Washington, Frederick, Carroll and Montgomery counties along a corridor that has only one alternative, 270.

In contrast, drivers traveling west-east into Washington through Arlington have many parallel routes to choose from.  Rockville Pike is not Wilson Boulevard, and you can't make it so just to satisfy ideology or developers.

Speaking of which, Cole seems to favor both. Cole's recent suggestion to kill the grade-separated Montrose Parkway certainly revealed an anti-highway, pro-developer bias. That's not a good starting point for a planning department that is supposed to ensure adequate mobility of citizens via a multimodal transportation system.

But there's more ideological dreaming, "behavior-modification" scheming, and development cheerleading going on than planning in Cole's department.

Asked by the commission's chair, Jerry Callistein, why no planning has been done for BRT parking, environmental studies, BRT-Metro transfers, BRT vehicle storage, etc., Cole essentially responded that the dog ate his homework. It's hard enough to get the BRT plan passed without worrying about those little details, Cole suggested.

Unsatisfactory answers were the rule in a presentation on an unsatisfactory boondoggle of a BRT proposal.

ROCKVILLE PIKE PLAN PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT, 7:00 PM

The Rockville Planning Commission meets tonight at 7:00 PM at City Hall. Second on the agenda is a public hearing on the revised draft of the Rockville Pike Plan.

This is your chance to speak out. Do you like Rockville Pike the way it is, as a successful suburban commercial area? Or do you support the Plan's idea to urbanize the Pike with dense, mixed-use development?

Make your opinions known tonight.

First on the agenda, is a request from First Baptist Church at 55 Adclare Road. They are asking for a one-year extension for their church addition.

WILL TWINBROOK METRO PLACE BE A "BORG CUBE" AT 1592 ROCKVILLE PIKE?

Yes, an infamous Star Trek villain was invoked, and a citizen created some very minor drama, at last night's meeting of the Rockville Planning Commission at City Hall.

The final bell is tolling for the venerable retail center at 1592 Rockville Pike, home to Radio Shack, Fuddrucker's and Pier One. I'll be sorry to see it go.

In the near future, the property will most likely be known as Twinbrook Metro Place, and will rise over its namesake community at around 150 feet.

Last night, the applicant, Twinbrook Partners, LLC, presented its site plan to the Rockville Planning Commission.

One initial complaint by a speaker was that notification procedures had not been followed.  Unable to get the answer he wanted from city staff, he turned to the applicant's attorney, Heather Dlhopolsky, reminding her, "You're under oath!"

Planning commissioners corrected him, clarifying Dlhopolsky was not under oath.

Later, the same man rushed to the podium and interrupted commission deliberations on the project, prompting Chairman Jerry Callistein to respond, "You're out of order."

The building that will front to the Pike has a glass facade, which raised concerns about glare among some commissioners.

Beyond that, there was a question as to how well this fits in with 1-2 story structures nearby.

Commissioner Jack Leiderman found the proposed design "very different in architectural character" from its surroundings.  Leiderman pressed for design changes throughout the meeting, saying the city would not want to end up with a "Borg cube" in the middle of Rockville Pike.  He also questioned how the contrast in aesthetics would create a "sense of place."

Commissioner Dion Trahan asked planning staff if the site would be part of the region's growing bikesharing network.

City Transportation Planner Rebecca Torma said there are no plans for a Twinbrook bike sharing station. However, the project does have around 200 bicycle parking spaces.

Commissioner David Hill wanted to know if it was feasible to retain street trees along the Pike.

Assistant City Forester Elise Carey noted sidewalk expansion there will require removal of street trees.

Commissioner Don Hadley inquired as to how many street trees would be subject to removal.

"5," responded Carey.

Twinbrook Civic Association President Christina Ginsberg pointed out that Tilden and Farmland public school parents should be notified of development along this stretch of the Pike, as they are two schools that will have to accomodate children who live in these buildings.

A majority of the commission concluded that the site plan was worthy of approval, but requested two conditions: that the building  facade facing the Pike be altered to fit less-imposing city design requirements, and that any compartmentalizing of on-site parking facilities be approved by city staff.

ROCKVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA

The Rockville Planning Commission meets tonight at 7:00 PM, in the Mayor and Council chambers at City Hall.

Before the public meeting, commissioners will meet in a closed, executive session to discuss Rules of Procedure.

On the agenda tonight, is a site plan application from PEPCO,  for several "green" structures.

There will also be a discussion of the Municipal Growth element of the city's Master Plan.