Montgomery County Council PHP Committee recommends against funding Office of the People's Counsel

The Montgomery County Council's Planning Housing & Parks Committee has recommended against restoring funding for the Office of the People's Counsel in the FY-2024 budget. Not funded since 2010, the Office of the People's Counsel provided a land-use attorney who could assist the public on land-use matters, and represent their interests at administrative hearings. Committee members Andrew Friedson (D - District 1) - who serves as chair, Natali Fani-Gonzalez (D - District 6) and Will Jawando (D - At-Large) extensively criticized the office of County Executive Marc Elrich for not working with the Council to define what the People's Counsel position should be, despite the fact that the office falls under the legislative branch and not the executive branch.

It was claimed that a tight budget year would also be a hindrance to restoring funding. In reality, the funding sought by Elrich for the People's Counsel represents only 0.0004% of the entire FY-2024 operating budget.

Committee members had some novel ideas as to why the office should not be restored at this time. Jawando appeared unfamiliar with the Office of the People's Counsel as it was constituted in the past, claiming the executive branch had failed to enlighten the Council on this since it was discussed a year ago. He also echoed a talking point used by a lobbyist for developers, that certain resident groups whom he did not identify would use the office to stop development.

Fani-Gonzalez, amid chewing out executive branch representative Meredith Wellington, said there is no need for a People's Counsel to assist and represent residents' interests in land-use matters because the councilmembers already do that. Alas, none of the eleven councilmembers is a licensed land-use attorney, which is the whole point and defining characteristic of the People's Counsel. Fani-Gonzalez also created an awkward moment while chastising Wellington. One of the youngest past commissioners on the Montgomery County Planning Board, and now one of the youngest people to serve on the County Council, Fani-Gonzalez described septuagenarian Wellington as having been on the Planning Board "thirty years ago. A long time." "I was there until 2008," Wellington responded. "Oh, there you go," Fani-Gonzalez replied. "It feels like ages ago." 

Friedson, who has been feted at fundraising parties hosted by developers, had made his revulsion toward the Office of the People's Counsel clear long before the committee meeting. He actually introduced a bill this spring to permanently kill the position altogether. Everybody who has been paying attention knows what the office was, yet the Council keeps hiding behind a musty, old Office of Legislative Oversight report that didn't even say what they claim it said about the position. In fact, the OLO report never suggested defunding the office!

The unanimous opposition of the PHP Committee to restoring the Office of the People's Counsel was particularly astonishing given that 90% of the residents who testified on the matter before the Council last month favored funding the position. Once again, the Council - like the Planning Board - is openly legislating against the wishes of a majority of its constituents. How long this thumbing of the nose at residents can continue is ultimately up to the voters of Montgomery County.

All eleven councilmembers will vote on the question of the People's Counsel at their Thursday, May 11, 2023 meeting, and will have to go on the record at that time. The vote will be especially awkward for councilmembers who had promised the Montgomery County Civic Federation to restore the Office of the People's Counsel in interviews prior to the 2022 election. 

There is a palpable fear among some on the Council, and their developer sugar daddies, of having an Office of the People's Counsel in place during the upcoming process of ramming through the zoning text amendments that will weaponize the controversial Thrive 2050 plan. Those ZTAs that will make it possible to build market-rate multifamily housing within single-family home neighborhoods, a tactic that has failed to lower housing costs in the few jurisdictions that have employed it.

Maryland taxpayers to sink $166M into Baltimore Harborplace scheme

It's deja vu all over again in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. A great gem - a doorstep to the city, if you will! - has somehow fallen into disrepair. But it's not up to the property owner, nor the elected officials who've run the city it's the doorstep to the whole time, to sacrifice for a solution. No, it's you, the hardworking taxpayer of Maryland who must step in, and share your hard-earned dollars with very wealthy developers. Stop me if you've heard this before. 

Are we talking about Union Station in Washington, D.C.? No, it's the Harborplace development in Baltimore. But both now share a special pedigree. These properties have failed...twice. And each time, the taxpayer has involuntarily-volunteered to pick up the tab for "renewal" and "rejuvenation." 

You can't entirely blame the political machines of Charm City and the District of Columbia. They know both cities are more transient than most in America. And both are rapidly gentrifying African-American residents out of their homes and neighborhoods, to make room for more luxury condos for rich, white people. Why, you probably haven't lived here long enough to realize this isn't the first time the city's gemstone was tarnished.

Except, some of us have. I remember when Union Station and the Inner Harbor were said to be in desperate need of revitalization. Some years, and many more taxpayer dollars later, we were told the effort was successful. Shops! Restaurants! Gleaming and new!

Three decades pass.

And suddenly, it's happened again.

Union Station and Harborplace are derelict! They're outdated and have fallen behind the times! Nobody goes there anymore! Wealthy development firms are standing by to save the day, but...they're going to need your help. So they're going to cut us in on the deal? We'll earn a dividend for the tax dollars we're putting up, just like the other investors?

Oh, no. And your investment is not optional. We just rammed it through in Annapolis. The taxpayers of Maryland - yes, even you in the hinterlands, are going to fork over $166 million. And Baltimore City residents, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck, get to hand over an additional $1 million.

Why are Union Station and Harborplace "derelict and underperforming?" The tenants! Well, wait a minute. Union Station has Shake Shack, Pret-a-Manger, Au Bon Pain and CAVA, names about as hip as train station commercial retail can get. Tourist-driven Harborplace has tourist traps like UNO Chicago Grill, Johnny Rockets and Hooters - it even has The Cheesecake Factory, for Pete's sake! What else would you want to eat by the water? 

Want local, small businesses instead? Charge a rent they can afford for the empty storefronts. 

Well, it's not the tenants or the times, you see. Why don't people want to go to Harborplace or Union Station?

It's that the D.C. government let crime and the homeless take over Union Station. Columbus Circle at sunrise can resemble a giant bedroom, as the least-fortunate of Washington awake from slumber among scurrying rats and trash. Baltimore City let crime run rampant in the Inner Harbor, with tourists often the target. At some point, elected officials have to be held accountable. This is a novel idea in Washington and Baltimore.

$166 million? You could put 415 homeless people into permanent homes in the D.C. area, and even more in Baltimore, for that amount. It could be a not-insubstantial down payment on building the Red Line, especially the Dollar General version of the Red Line pols are cynically trying to pass off on West Baltimore these days. "By the time the buses start running, those voters will have been gentrified out of there, anyway," elected officials must figure. Imagine the parks you could build. Or schools that actually have air conditioning!!

But a better recipient than the general public has been found - wealthy and well-financed developers. The public involuntarily gives generously. Buildings are demolished. New ones rise in their place. The property is sold. Profits are made. Elected officials fail to execute their basic functions to provide a strong business climate, maintain city infrastructure and ensure public safety. 

And the cycle starts over again. We've seen this here in Montgomery County, where a greedy mall buyer along with County officials allowing crime to get out of control led to the demise of Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg. As long as our elected officials get away with directing our money to their developer sugar daddies, we'll see it again.

Inner Harbor crime:

"Inner Harbor Mayhem"

"Death at Baltimore's Inner Harbor"

"Dangerous at night"

"3 people robbed at gunpoint in Inner Harbor"

"New Jersey family attacked at Baltimore's Inner Harbor"

"If this is what a Saturday night at the Harbor is going to be like, we will not be going there"

Montgomery County residents overwhelmingly favor funding Office of the People's Counsel

Peggy Dennis and Ruben Meana Paneda
testify before the Montgomery County Council

Ten of the eleven residents who testified before the Montgomery County Council yesterday urged councilmembers to restore funding for the Office of the People's Counsel in the FY-2024 operating budget. All ten also spoke in strong opposition to the bill that was the subject of the public hearing, a legislative move to permanently eliminate the office, which the Council has failed to fund since 2010. Bill 18-23, introduced by Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D - District 1), would kill the position of People's Counsel, an attorney who could advise residents and civic associations on land-use and zoning issues, and represent their interests in administrative hearings. Friedson's bill would replace the People's Counsel with a toothless resident advisor, who would not have to be a licensed attorney, and who would not be allowed to participate in administrative hearings, would be unable to call or cross-examine witnesses, and would be forbidden to introduce evidence or point out violations of zoning law in those hearings.

Resident Sue Present said Friedson's developer-friendly bill "keeps the fat cats fat, and throws neighbors and neighborhoods under the bus." Friedson has received extensive campaign contributions from development interests, and developers have hosted fundraisers for him. 

The only resident to testify in favor of Friedson's bill to eliminate the People's Counsel was Jane Lyons-Raeder of Silver Spring, who has previously been employed as a lobbyist by the developer-funded Coalition for Smarter Growth. Lyons-Raeder said the quiet part out loud, expressing concern that a restored People's Counsel "could quickly turn into a free lawyer for people who oppose development in their neighborhood." She argued that Friedson's proposed advisor position would be preferable, as it would not "allow for free legal representation" for residents.

But the small way in which the Office of the People's Counsel takes a tiny step toward leveling the playing field with development interests who can afford high-priced lawyers is precisely what the 90% of residents who testified in favor of restoring the position yesterday see as its central appeal. Resident Max Bronstein pointed out that in a land-use dispute he was engaged in from 2007 to 2012, the developer had two lawyers, and a team of five land-use specialists. Montgomery County government has over 100 attorneys who represent it, he added. "Should not the 1 million people of the county have 1 lawyer representing them?" Bronstein asked the Council.

Bronstein said the Office of the People's Counsel was "a great aid" in his case up until 2010, when the Council defunded the office. He pointed to the Office of Legislative Oversight report on the OPC, which recorded that the People's Counsel participated in an average of 44 land use cases per year, and provided information on zoning and land use to residents an average of 347 times per year before being defunded.

Nowhere in the OLO report was it recommended the Office of the People's Counsel be closed, Bronstein noted. He said the People's Counsel will be particularly needed in the coming years, as the Council attempts to implement the controversial Thrive 2050 plan, which will allow attached housing and small apartment buildings to be constructed in existing single-family home neighborhoods.

Rick Meyer of the MoCo Coalition for Control of Cell Towers concurred that expert advice is needed for zoning text amendments, and not just for residents, but for the Council itself. A Council ZTA to allow 5G antennas to be placed in locations that were off-limits to such equipment at the time was later found to be in violation of the County's own laws. If even the five-year head of a Council committee couldn't understand the zoning laws, Meyer suggested, it indicates the need for just such a knowledgeable land-use attorney as the People's Counsel. In fact, one of the People's Counsel's duties and powers is the ability to point out when a developer or the County itself is in violation of the law during adminstrative proceedings.

Elizabeth Joyce of the 
Montgomery County Civic Federation

Elizabeth Joyce and Alan Bowser of the Montgomery County Civic Federation both recalled that several of the sitting councilmembers had promised their organization that they would restore funding for the Office of the People's Counsel during candidate interviews the federation held last June. Joyce said money is not the issue, because the funds Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has earmarked for the office in his proposed FY-2024 budget amount to only .0004% of the total budget.

Given the recent scandals that ended with the resignation of the entire Planning Board, Bowser questioned why Friedson would suggest eliminating a tool of equity and transparency like the Office of the People's Counsel. "Why in this moment of broad distrust, why would any of you want to exacerbate this situation" by proposing to eliminate the OPC? Bowser asked. Comparing Friedson's OPC-killing bill to a similar one that failed to pass seven years ago, Bowser concluded, "This was a bad bill in 2016; it's a terrible bill in 2023."

Resident Susan Labin pointed out that Friedson had ironically recently complained that a state bill that would have increased the County Executive's authority over planning and zoning was "a power grab," while Friedson is now attempting to grab power away from residents by killing the Office of the People's Counsel. "It seems like at every turn the real power grab is by the special interests," Labin said.

Nicole Williams

"I'm speaking from painful experience," Potomac resident Peggy Dennis said at the beginning of her testimony against Friedson's bill, and in favor the Office of the People's Counsel. She spoke of the many hours residents in her community spent fighting a gigantic assisted-living development that was in violation of the area's sector plan and County law, which was proposed by "a well-heeled developer." Had the OPC been in operation at that time, Dennis argued, "all of that time would have been saved...That person could have introduced evidence in a hearing, called witnesses, pointed out" illegal violations. 

Such time investment is beyond the means and availability of most residents, Nicole Williams said. "We shouldn't have to" spend time trying to interpret zoning and land-use laws while developers have the advantage of expensive attorneys. After 13 years of failing to fund the People's Counsel, Williams said, it's "time to stop giving residents the runaround."

The reality, as Bronstein noted during his testimony, is that there are hardly any land-use attorneys who will represent residents, even when wealthier neighborhoods have the money to pay them. This is absolutely true. For years, Norman Knopf would take such resident and civic association cases. After he retired, his partner David Brown continued in that role. But Brown refused to represent the Westbard residents who sued Montgomery County over illegal actions during the approval of the Westbard sector plan. Michele Rosenfeld took the residents' case. With her victory on Kensington residents' behalf in the Costco gas station case, and partial victory in downsizing the density of the Westbard Square development, Rosenfeld is now the preeminent land-use attorney representing residents and civic associations in court and in administrative proceedings. 

But that can only help if you can afford to hire an attorney. With the large number of newer residents in the County either being low-to-moderate in income, and many not speaking English as their first language - as Present noted in her testimony, a public resource and representative like the Office of the People's Counsel becomes more vital every day. And with the Planning Board and County Council increasingly ruling against majority sentiment and ignoring resident and civic association testimony, it can be argued that - if anything - the role and power of the People's Counsel should be expanded and made more muscular.

Why Montgomery County needs an Office of the People's Counsel more than ever

The great irony of the attempt by some on the Montgomery County Council to permanently kill the long-dormant Office of the People's Counsel, is that the position is needed even more today than when the Council defunded it in 2010. Developers seized majority control on the Council in 2002 through their well-funded "End Gridlock slate" of candidates, and by 2010, controlled 8 out of the 9 seats. Yet there was still at least a cosmetic veneer of an idea that growth and land use issues were up for some debate. For initiatives or major master plans that were a heavy lift, County planners had to gin up elaborate presentations and supporting ideas like "smart growth," and "transit-oriented development," and even falsely state that rail transit lines, new highways and "vibrant town centers" would be part of "smart growth" communities like Clarksburg and Watkins Mill.

Once the Office of the People's Counsel - held by an attorney who could provide zoning and land-use advice to the public, and represent residents' interests at administrative hearings - was defunded, the public role in land-use decisions was rapidly phased out. An incredible series of events began to unfold. The Columbia Country Club - which had successfully held off construction of the Purple Line for decades - was defeated in that struggle by the county political cartel in 2013. That same year, the Planning Board stifled a potential Maryland Attorney General Investigation of the criminal Farm Road scandal, by appointing an investigator who had donated thousands of dollars to the Attorney General. 

In 2014, the County Council approved a new zoning code that essentially rezoned everything except single-family home residential neighborhoods as mixed-use. 2016 witnessed unanimous Council passage of the controversial Westbard sector plan, despite overwhelming resident opposition. From 2017 to the present, the Council, Planning Board, and Housing Opportunities Commission would continue to stymie and suppress all efforts to conduct archaeological studies on the Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda. And last fall, the Council passed the controversial Thrive 2050 over countywide resident opposition, a plan that will end single-family home zoning across most of Montgomery County.

Had there been an Office of the People's Counsel over these thirteen years, it's likely that none of these events would have transpired in the way they did, if at all. The People's Counsel would surely have tangled with County officials on the complex zoning matters at stake. Instead, we've seen a Planning Board and Council that completely ignore public input from individual residents and civic associations, and steamroll ahead with whatever developers want to do.

If anything, the Council needs to scrap Bill 18-23, and get about the business of restoring funding for the Office of the People's Counsel. You won't be surprised to know that the author of Bill 18-23, Councilmember Andrew Friedson, isn't just the recipient of developer campaign donations - - developers even host fundraisers for him.

What's needed is not just the return of the People's Counsel, but a beefed-up version of the office, with expanded authority. Sector plan updates should once again require a committee to be formed with representatives of all stakeholders, including residents, not the sham charrette process that replaced it. 

It's also time that a new layer of protection that District of Columbia residents enjoy is added to Montgomery County: Publicly-elected, non-partisan Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. As stated on the D.C. Board of Elections website, "Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners advise the District government on matters of public policy including decisions regarding planning, streets, recreation, social services programs, health, safety, and sanitation in their respective neighborhood commission areas. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected to two year terms every election year."

In an era where development interests are supercharged, it's time that residents also get a power boost from a People's Counsel, sector plan committees, and the establishment of ANCs.

The Council will hold a public hearing on Bill 18-23 tomorrow, April 18, 2023 at 1:30 PM. If the Council presses ahead with a vote on the bill before it adjourns for the summer, voters will want to watch closely. There haven't been enough votes on land use issues by this new Council to determine how many of the 11 seats are now controlled by developers. Any member who votes to kill the Office of the People's Counsel will have made crystal clear who controls their seat.

Marc Elrich explains veto of Montgomery County Planning Board member

Most residents became aware of Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich's veto of the appointment of Rockville resident James Hedrick to the County Planning Board not through a formal announcement by Elrich's office, but through the reaction of Hedrick's supporters after the County Council was informed of the executive decision. The first press release would come from Council President Evan Glass, who was displeased by Elrich's rejection of the Council's choice of Hedrick. It's unclear if Elrich did not anticipate that Glass would go public with the issue over the weekend, as the executive did not lay out his thinking in the public realm on Friday. But whatever the reason, Elrich did respond Saturday by posting his Friday letter to Glass online.

"I met with Mr. Hedrick for almost two hours on Friday, March 10," Elrich wrote, "and have reviewed his participation in land use issues in Montgomery County, his comments on social media, and other work. After this review, I have decided to disapprove his appointment to the Planning Board." Elrich noted that the recent replacement of the entire Planning Board due to a series of scandals, none of which have been investigated by the County Council or Maryland attorney general to date, made restoration of confidence and public participation in land use decisions essential to establishing a functional board.

"In the nuanced work of planning, there is a need to recognize the opinions and lived experiences of others and to come to the table ready to work together," Elrich wrote. "During my interview with Mr. Hedrick, he made it clear that he has no interest in doing this difficult work. Instead, his comments to me, as well as on social media, demonstrate an ideological close-mindedness as well as a disdain for those whose views do not comport with his."

"Mr. Hedrick’s view is that we need greater housing densities everywhere, that he has 'heard the same arguments' from those who oppose his view, and that he 'doesn’t have a lot of patience with those people,'" Elrich continued. "He seemed unaware that over the past 16 years, master plans have been used to substantially increase housing densities. He also seemed unaware of the fact that the forecasts for population growth in the county are based on the densities adopted in these master plans. This demonstrates a basic lack of understanding of the county’s master plan process, one of the most important elements of the Planning Board’s responsibilities and one that requires balancing sometimes competing policies – what rezoning is needed to encourage buildout; what steps must be taken to promote racial equity and social justice issues such as displacement and gentrification; what consideration must be given to the environmental consequences of increased land coverage."

Elrich has long pointed out that Montgomery County has already approved sufficient new housing units to meet the forecasted need by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments by 2030. He has also sought to highlight a number of projects that would either preserve or create new affordable housing that his office has orchestrated since 2022. And many note that developers haven't even begun to fully build out all of the available "smart growth" areas near Metro stations in downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring alone - nor the numerous "dumb growth"areas not within walking distance from Metro that the Council has deemed "activity centers," such as Westbard. In this context, Elrich and other slow growth advocates are perplexed as to why developers are now seeking to rezone existing single-family-home neighborhoods for multifamily housing, before even cashing in on the many land-use victories they've already won since 2002.

The controversial Thrive 2050 plan approved by the Council and previous, scandal-ridden Planning Board will provide only more luxury housing at market rates, despite claims that the plan was designed to increase housing opportunities for those who can't currently afford to live in the county. Even the Council's own consultants warned councilmembers that they had failed to adequately solicit and obtain feedback from people of color on racial and equity issues surrounding Thrive 2050. While proponents said Thrive 2050 would increase options, it in fact reduces options, by eliminating the single-family-home neighborhoods that are the main draw for homebuyers who choose the suburbs. Home prices in the few cities that have eliminated single-family-home zoning have not fallen as proponents have promised, but only continued to increase. The ultimate winners have been developers, not homebuyers or the poor.

However, Hedrick was not the only Council appointee to support Thrive 2050. Elrich wound down his letter to Glass by emphasizing the need to reduce the "toxic atmosphere" of the previous Planning Board, arguing that the appointment of Hedrick would not contribute to that effort. The boards of the last decade have been seen by many residents as only responding to the desires of developers and their paid lobbyists, very few of whom have registered as such with the state. Resident concerns were typically ignored, or even belittled, by planning commissioners. 

"The appointment of a new Planning Board is an opportunity for a fresh start, removed from the toxic atmosphere that permeated the defunct Planning Board at all levels, including social media," Elrich wrote. "Unfortunately, Mr. Hedrick perpetuates, rather than alleviates, that atmosphere. He has made insulting and dismissive statements about those with opposing viewpoints. When asked about this, he disappointingly expressed no regrets."

"Such rigid views are anathema to restoring the reputation of the Planning Board and the public’s confidence in its decisions. Land use planning in Montgomery County is at an inflection point that will determine how we move forward in addressing housing and community building mindful of the important role land use decisions play in ameliorating the increasingly apparent effects of climate-driven storm events on our homes, businesses, and transportation systems. We need Planning Board members with good judgment who are open-minded, constructive, and, above all, interested in hearing from all sides in a fair and transparent process before they have reached a decision. Mr. Hedrick does not meet those standards."

Elrich concluded his letter with an almost-Trumpian touch of all-caps, declaring "the appointment of James Hedrick to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is DISAPPROVED." It was not immediately clear if the meeting between Elrich and Hedrick was recorded in any fashion, so that Elrich's characterizations of Hedrick's responses could be verified. Elrich's sizeable constituent base among homeowners countywide appeared to be satisfied by the decision, based on social media reaction. The move by Elrich was exactly the sort of action his voters put him in office to take, and puts the Hedrick holdouts from the February 28th Council approval vote on the spot this coming Tuesday, when Glass promised the Council would discuss Elrich's veto.

New redevelopment proposal for Rockshire Village Center property in Rockville

A new chapter is opening in the complicated and contentious story of the Rockshire Village Center property in Rockville. The onetime neighborhood shopping center that was anchored by a Giant grocery store has been sitting vacant, as previous developer visions for the site have failed to align with the concerns of the Rockshire community. There is also a legal requirement for the current and future property owners to provide 29 spaces for users of the Rockshire pool and clubhouse. Developer EYA is now proposing a new plan to redevelop the site with a mix of single-family homes, townhomes, retail space, and a park.

The EYA plan would include 60 homes, 31 of which would be single-family homes, and the rest 3 or 4-story townhomes. 5000 square feet of retail would be built, including outdoor dining space for restaurants. The most recent redevelopment proposal that fell through had proposed 112 townhomes with no retail. Under EYA's new proposal, there would not be a full-size grocery store. Convenience stores, salons, full-service "sit-down" restaurants, fast-casual takeout restaurants, coffee shops, fitness boutiques like yoga studios, pet stores, banks, clinics, and dental offices are all among the possible retail space tenants the KLNB real estate firm has advised EYA are possible here.

EYA would provide 35 parking spaces for the Rockshire community pool and clubhouse, 6 more than legally required. 27 parking spaces would be provided in a small lot next to the retail center. And the main street running through the development from Wooton Parkway to Hurley Avenue would be made wide to allow for street parking on both sides. That would be in addition to the parking reserved for residents of the development.

The small park proposed would have somewhat of an amphitheater grading to it, as it slopes from the residential area above down to the retail center. Single-family homes would front directly onto Hurley Avenue, in an attempt to blend in with the existing SFHs in the Rockshire neighborhood. The stair access from the parking area to the Rockshire pool would be retained.

EYA hopes to receive approval of its Project Plan from the City of Rockville this October, and of the Level-2 Site Plan in Q2 of 2024. If that schedule holds, EYA plans to pull permits for the project in Q4 of 2024, and break ground in Q1 of 2025.

Renderings courtesy EYA

Rockville office building could be replaced by townhomes

A vacant office building at 2115 E. Jefferson Street in Rockville could be demolished and replaced by a townhome development, if the Montgomery County Planning Board approves. Missing Middle Jefferson, LLC, is seeking to build 93 townhouses on the site, stating it has had no luck finding new tenants for the building due to the poor office market and high office vacancy rates of the county. The townhome community will not provide any additional affordable housing beyond the 15% required by Montgomery County. It will provide much more than the required open space, however, with 19.65% green space rather than the 5% minimum. The Planning Board will review the proposal at its January 5, 2023 meeting; planning staff are recommending approval of the project.

Proposed site plan for the new
townhome community

Montgomery County Council has forfeited its privilege to "power" over land-use and zoning authority structure

Montgomery County Councilmembers who call the attempt to examine the county's current structure of land-use authority "a power grab" are implicitly acknowledging they have been wielding that power through the current Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission structure. The disastrous results of the Council's exercise of that power speak for themselves. Their hand-picked five members of the Montgomery County Planning Board were forced to resign this fall, under accusations of consuming alcohol in their County office building and pressuring others to do so, creating a "toxic misogynistic and hostile workplace," repeated violations of the Open Meetings act, letting individual commissioners' grievances implode the board, and engaging in staff firings as retribution. Those five people, in the Council's judgement, were the five best who had applied. That says as much about the Council as about the disgraced commissioners themselves.

Those issues that led to a regional embarrassment for the County this fall were hardly the only ones to stain the Planning Board and County Council. The Board and Council have routinely passed master and sector plans over the outspoken objections of the communities the plans will guide growth policy and zoning in.

Thrive 2050 was only the most recent example, a "blow-up-single-family-home neighborhoods" plan and developer fever dream the Council rubber-stamped into law mere days after declaring that it had "no confidence" in the five commissioners who drafted and approved every word of it. Virtually all of the support for Thrive 2050 came from people who do not actually live in the single-family home neighborhoods the plan would bulldoze, developers, and Astro-turf "YIMBY" activists. The plan itself was neither novel nor innovative, but a hodgepodge document plagiarized from the few other jurisdictions around the country corrupt and crazy enough to end the single-family home zoning most consider to be the American Dream. Other than generating more developer profits, those earlier Thrive-style efforts elsewhere have failed to realize any of the false promises their advocates had touted.

M-NCPPC, the Planning Department and Planning Board have a horrific record on racial bias, particularly with the African-American community. The most prominent examples of this have been the Farm Road scandal, the desecration and attempted cover-up of the Moses African Cemetery in Bethesda, and the repeated calling of multiple armed police officers to silence or remove African-American protesters at Planning Board meetings. The Council had full knowledge of those events, and never exercised their self-proclaimed "power" to criticize, investigate or remove any employee, commissioner or chair involved in those well-documented racist actions. Not even after the summer of Black Lives Matter in 2020 did the Council revisit these transgressions.

Now that County Executive Marc Elrich and State Senator Ben Kramer are attempting to formulate a process to examine a reform or replacement of the current land-use authority structure, the Council is attempting to end the discussion before it starts. It's too late for that, because residents affected by the land-use decisions made over the last two decades have already been discussing it. That discussion has led to increasing calls to rein in M-NCPPC and the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission. It's time to have this conversation, and explore the options.

Much like the County's outdated government monopoly on the sale of alcohol, the M-NCPPC is a highly-unusual arrangement for a land-use authority. It includes Montgomery and Prince George's County, two jurisdictions that just happen to have had many development-related scandals and outsized developer influence over the years. Those scandals - topped off last week by new questions about the ousted Planning Board's 2021 purchase of parcels in downtown Bethesda for $9.6 million for a park that now won't be built - have led us to the point that we need to look at how to make land-use decisions more accountable to all stakeholders, not just to those with the most money and power. 

The proposed commission, representing cooperation between county and state leaders, is a good starting point for this discussion. It's clear that those who have wielded the "power" in land-use and zoning decisions have abused that power, shown major errors in judgement, and failed to exercise their oversight role responsibly. They've lost their unearned privilege to continue to hold that power. 

Reforming the land-use authority structure could well mean transferring that power to others. It could also mean pulling Montgomery County out of the M-NCPPC. It should also mean restoring the Office of the People's Council and sector plan committees, and the creation of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions as Washington, D.C. has, to strengthen accountability to residents. We can't achieve reform until we take a hard look at the situation, through efforts such as the proposed commission.

A first step in being stripped of power is admitting you hold that power through a corrupt, antiquated and - on many occasions - racist structure of authority. The Council has made that admission loud and clear. Now is the time for adults in the room to chart a new way forward. If you openly state you have had the "power," you must also accept full responsibility for the wreckage that power is on the record as having caused, and not block the path to fixing it.

Montgomery County to host public meeting on jail project opposed by Rockville officials

Montgomery County will host a public meeting on the proposed construction on the County detention center property at 1307 Seven Locks Road in Rockville on Thursday, October 6, 2022 at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the "first floor lecture hall" at the County Council building at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville, and is scheduled to conclude by 9:00 PM. There will be a virtual option to join the meeting online for those who can't attend in person; log-on instructions will be posted prior to the meeting at www.rockvillemd.gov/SevenLocksProject, once determined. 

The project as currently proposed is opposed by the Mayor and City Council of Rockville. It includes a school bus depot, and a future Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Criminal Justice Complex and restoration center. Rockville elected officials have argued the proposal is inappropriate for a site that abuts eight residential neighborhoods. The existing Detention Center has been there since 1978; a police station there was built in 1963.

Montgomery County Executive, Civic Federation call on County Council to disapprove Thrive 2050 plan

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and the Montgomery County Civic Federation have both asked the County Council to disapprove the controversial Thrive 2050 growth plan. Elrich wrote in a memo to councilmembers that a new consultant report underscored his previous concern that there was insufficient outreach to residents of color, and of lower-income levels. He also noted that a survey touted by Thrive 2050 proponents used deceptive questions that referred to end goals of the plan, without disclosing the new zoning changes that would be implemented to achieve them.

Elrich advised the Council to put its political interests in passing Thrive 2050 before the November election aside, in favor of more outreach, and incorporation of more than 65 changes recommended by the consultant to prevent gentrification and displacement of residents of color and lower incomes. These proposed changes include Community Benefit Agreements, rent-to-own programs, and constructing more parks in areas that fit those demographics. Elrich said disapproving the current plan would also allow time for further public hearings.

A major complaint of Thrive 2050 detractors from the beginning has been the impression that the plan was rammed through by the County Planning Board while the general public was distracted by the pandemic. The most controversial aspect is that the plan would allow construction of multifamily housing in existing single-family home neighborhoods. This would drastically change the character of those neighborhoods, while the resulting attached housing units would be too expensive to help address the perceived lack of affordable housing in the county. 

Thousands of new housing units have come online countywide since 2014, but that surge in inventory has had no downward effect on prices. As volume increases, home prices and rents have only gone upward, creating skepticism that Thrive 2050's massive construction scheme will make housing affordable. In fact, based on the data of the last decade, it would likely only jack up prices further. If new townhomes sell for over $1 million in an industrial area of 20816, how much would a new larger duplex unit sell for in the same desirable zip code? Not less.

The resolution passed by the Civic Federation addressed many of the same concerns Elrich raised, as well as environmental sustainability and the need for broad community support for master plans. Thrive 2050 supporters have dismissed that idea, arguing that despite their six-and-seven figure investments in a SFH-neighborhood environment, County home buyers should have no say or leverage in the zoning or development of any property besides their own. 

New chapters should be added on each of the topics that the consulting team determined were shortchanged in the current draft, the Federation advised, including environmental, racial equity and social justice issues. A new public hearing should be held on each of those new chapters, its resolution added. The Federation also opposes universal upzoning and by-right zoning changes implemented through the controversial Zoning Text Amendment process, and notes that the consultant report suggests that a legitimate process to address the areas of concern it identified would take at least one year.

Other concerns that have been expressed throughout the Thrive 2050 process have included school overcrowding, loss of green space and tree canopy, inadequate parking spaces for the higher neighborhood densities proposed, and whether the existing infrastructure such as water and sewer can handle such a population increase in existing neighborhoods. 

The Council currently has planned to vote on the Thrive 2050 plan by October 25.

New apartment building proposed by Twinbrook Metro station in Rockville

Development firm Hines, in partnership with WMATA, is proposing a new mixed-use development adjacent to the Twinbrook Metro station in Rockville, which would require approval of an amendment to the existing Twinbrook Commons project plan. The development would be built on an assembled lot of 1800 and 1818 Chapman Avenue and a portion of WMATA property at 1700 Chapman Avenue. A one-story auto repair business at the corner of Chapman and Thompson Avenues will remain in place, and is not part of the project sites being assembled.

The 120'-tall building proposed would include 437 apartments, 5,075 square feet of ground floor retail/restaurant space, a 7,800 SF courtyard and green roof, and a 437-space parking garage. 15% of the apartments would be moderately-priced dwelling units. Hines will work with the City to coordinate design of the public space on the property with a proposed future park and plaza to be constructed by the municipality. City staff noted that there is a lack of parkland in that area today. Unfortunately, the developer has not provided any renderings of the proposed architecture of the development.

New bus circulation routes proposed;
future building shown in gray

A new access point into the Metro station bus loop would be constructed off of Thompson Avenue as part of the project. Current city parking standards require 600 parking spaces for a project of this scope. The applicants are seeking a waiver that would allow them to provide only 437. City planning staff are recommending the waiver be granted, citing the location's proximity to Metro, multiple bus routes and Metro parking garage among the justifications.

One Twinbrook resident who lives on the other side of the Metro/CSX railroad tracks wrote to city staff in opposition to the parking waiver. He said overflow parking from the increasing number of multifamily developments with such waivers will spill over onto residential streets in Twinbrook. "I purchased my house in 1989 with my entire life savings as my down payment," he wrote. "I am convinced that my neighbors did the same thing. We should not be disrespected by the City by ignoring our concerns which directly negatively affect our daily lives." He also noted that there is already insufficient space for the existing bus routes that service the Metro station there, questioning how WMATA can afford to give any away.

There is currently insufficient
sewer capacity for the proposed
development, including this line
shown in orange far from the 
building site in Twinbrook

Another concern expressed by City officials, is sewer capacity.  On July 18, the city's Chief of Engineering, John Scabis, wrote that the Department of Public Works "has determined that portions of the City existing sewer system do not have adequate capacity to serve your proposed development." Scabis outlined several mitigation solutions that Hines will be required to fund and facilitate to receive approval for the project. The existing deficiencies extend to the sewer system in the Twinbrook neighborhood on the other side of the tracks, adding to resident concerns beyond the parking matter.

The sites proposed for assembly are currently home to two industrial buildings. You may recall that they were reviewed for historic designation last year, before the green light was given for their demolition. The project will be reviewed by the Planning Commission at its meeting tonight, July 27, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Staff are recommending approval of the amendment to the Twinbrook Commons project plan.

Rockville HDC to review demolitions at Montgomery County jail

Rockville's Historic District Commission will review the proposed demolition of seven unutilized structures at the Montgomery County Detention Center campus at 1307 Seven Locks Road at its meeting this Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 7:00 PM. The Montgomery County Department of General Services is seeking the demolitions, to clear the way for a potential Montgomery County Public Schools school bus depot. 

No formal proposal for the bus depot has been submitted to the City as of yet. The HDC will consider the potential historic significance of the seven buildings. But under the mandatory referral process for government projects, the City can only advise changes; it cannot stop a County project from moving forward.

Rockville Planning Commission to discuss new parkland requirements for developers

Anderson Park in Rockville

The Rockville Planning Commission will discuss a proposed update to parkland requirements for developments that include more than 25 multifamily, 20 townhouse or attached, or 15 single-family home units. Non-residential developments with 5000 square feet or more of floor space would also be under the new requirements. Options under discussion will include dedication of land, fees-in-lieu-of dedication and impact fees.

When the Mayor and Council discussed the issue, they came up with several recommendations for the new park requirement rules. They suggested the Parks impact fee apply to the affected non-residential projects. The impact fee should be only 75% of what was recommended by a fiscal consultant to the City, to reduce costs for developers. Impact fees should be indexed to the Engineering News Record's Capital Cost Index, as they are in several Maryland counties right now. And exemptions should apply to the moderately-priced dwelling units in a project, existing and pending projects already under review by the City, and developments that include three or fewer residential units.

Planning commissioners will hold the discussion at their March 23, 2022 meeting. The virtual meeting will begin at 7:00 PM.

Rockville Mayor & Council to be briefed on Montgomery County detention center plan tonight

Representatives of the Montgomery County Department of General Services will brief Rockville's Mayor and Council tonight at 7:00 PM on the County's future plans for the County Detention Center site at 1307 Seven Locks Road. The County has proposed demolishing some structures on the site, and renovating or modifying others, to make room for a school bus depot. While the work is done, the detention center will remain in operation. The plan will have to be reviewed by the Rockville Planning Commission, but as a "mandatory referral" government project, commissioners will have little power beyond an advisory role.

Developer seeks to convert Rockville office building to residential

The already-weak office market in Montgomery County hasn't been helped by the pandemic. Now a developer is seeking to convert a Rockville office building to residential apartments, and then add 17 townhomes to the surrounding property. A virtual public meeting on the proposal for 22 W. Jefferson Street has been scheduled for January 18, 2022 at 7:00 PM. 

To participate in the event, join the meeting at that time and enter Meeting Number (access code): 2633 580 7334 and Meeting Password: Y6MySgEaZ88. You can also join by phone (or for those joining by computer without a microphone) by dialing +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll, and entering Access Code: 2633 580 7334.

Rockville Planning Commission to review Fortune Terrace development this week

A proposed residential development on Fortune Terrace in Rockville will go before the Planning Commission this Wednesday night, January 12, 2022 at 7:00 PM. Developer EYA has proposed building 99 townhomes, 96 multi-family units and 213 multi-family senior housing units at 11511 Fortune Terrace. An existing office building would be demolished to clear the way for the development if it is approved; 70,000 square foot Lifetime Fitness gym would remain on the site. Planning staff is recommending approval of the plan, with conditions.

Duball, LLC seeks to convert ground floor retail into residential units in Rockville Town Center

Planned retail and restaurant spaces
boarded up at the Ansel apartments in Rockville

The developer of the Ansel apartments at 33 Monroe Street in Rockville is finding weak demand for retail space in the ground floor of the newest residential building in Rockville Town Center. Duball, LLC is asking the city's Planning Commission for permission to convert up to 20,153 square feet of ground floor retail space to residential loft apartments, which would have direct access doors to the sidewalk. 

Retail spaces currently on the market
for lease at the Ansel; the developer says
demand for them is weak at this time

Retail and restaurant uses on ground floors are considered beneficial in activating the streetscape in urban areas, and in making pedestrians feel more secure about walking in an area at night. Duball is making a counter-argument in its application, suggesting that having occupants living on the ground floor will activate the streetscape more than having empty, walled-up storefronts. It cites the pandemic retail market as a major obstacle to leasing these already-approved retail and restaurant units, and promises that the loft apartments can be converted back to retail use if demand rises in the future.

A virtual meeting on the matter will be held this Thursday night, December 9, 2021 at 6:00 PM. Access the Zoom meeting online by entering Meeting ID: 929 7347 6840 and Passcode: 894571. You can also join the meeting by phone at +1 301 715 8592 US.

Rockville Chase Bank branch project moving forward on Meixin Supermarket site

J.P. Morgan Chase is moving forward with its proposed Chase Bank branch on the site of the vacant Meixin Supermarket at 460 Hungerford Drive in Rockville. The Mayor and Council last month voted to deny historic status to the Jack Sullivan-designed retail structure, which will now be demolished. 

A Level 2 site plan for the branch will be reviewed by the Planning Commission at its virtual meeting this week on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, at 7:00 PM. Planning staff are recommending approval of the plan, but with a whopping 28 conditions, ranging from lighting that does not cause glare for drivers to compliance with master plan requirements for a shared-use path and future extension of Dawson Avenue.

Photo by Robert Dyer; rendering via City of Rockville

Rockville Mayor & Council to review recommendations for Wootton Parkway, Woodley Gardens, College Gardens in 2040 plan

Rockville's Mayor and Council will discuss sections of the draft Rockville 2040 comprehensive master plan at their Tuesday, July 6, 2021 meeting related to Wootton Parkway, Woodley Gardens, and College Gardens. In response to public testimony discouraging widening or other methods of increasing vehicular capacity on Wootton Parkway, The City planning staff report is recommending limiting such improvements to "creative solutions" at intersections.

The staff report is also recommending designating the property of the Woodley Gardens Swim Club at 850 Nelson Street as "Open Space Private." While sale of the property is under consideration, the staff report notes, one or more potential new owners have indicated they wish to maintain the existing pool operation. 

In regard to the College Gardens area, the report is supporting public testimony that called for reopening the walking/biking connection between Princeton Place and the Montgomery College - Rockville campus, leaving out any mention of a planned new roadway between W. Gude Drive and Yale Place, construction of a pedestrian path between College Gardens and Woodley Gardens, and for a new sound barrier along I-270 on the western side of Woodley Gardens.

However, the report does not support entirely eliminating a proposed new I-270 interchange with W. Gude Drive. The report recommends the Mayor and Council retain the draft's proposal for studying such an interchange, but to amend the language that would only endorse an interchange "that has minimal or no impact on the Woodley Gardens and College Gardens neighborhoods." A new interchange had support from residents in Fallsgrove and the West End who participated in listening sessions, and from businesses in the Southlawn industrial area, the report states.

Rockville Mayor & Council to discuss potential litigation regarding Maryland Express Lanes project in closed session

Rockville's Mayor and Council will discuss potential litigation related to "a construction project" and the "P3 I-270 expansion project" in closed session at its Monday, June 14, 2021 meeting, which begins at 5:30 PM for that purpose. The Mayor and Council have spoken against the I-270 Express Lanes project over the last few years, since it was proposed by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.

Curbside EV charging stations proposed
for multiple locations in Rockville

When the Mayor and Council reconvene in public session Monday night, they will consider approving increased fines for parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, a contract with Pepco for electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city, support for excavation improvements in the public right-of-way for the B.F. Saul Twinbrook Quarter project, and a $299,600 contract to install sewer grinders at the N. Horners Lane and Fallsgrove Sewage Pump Stations.

Proposed locations for Pepco
curbside EV charging stations

Also on the agenda is a public hearing on the Rockville 2040 Comprehensive Master Plan, and a project plan for a new retail center long in the works at 900 Rockville Pike. The Mayor and Council could choose to approve that project Monday night, or simply discuss it and recommend next steps to city staff.

Images courtesy City of Rockville