Little Falls Parkway — Current Issues
May 19, 2023 MoCo Needs the Office of the Peoples Counsel Read Article
May 18, 2023 County Council May Have Violated Law in Planning Board Swear In (per AG) Read Article
May 8, 2023: In response to Amendment by County Council member Andrew Friedson, County Council votes that “Any realignment of the remaining two lanes between Dorset and Arlington on Little Falls Parkway must be reviewed by the Council before funds may be utilized for this purpose. No funds may be utilized for the implementation of a linear park in this section of Little Falls Parkway.” Read Letter
Decline Funding for Little Falls Parkway and Linear Park: Send a letter
2017-2023: Time Course
Letter from the Kenwood Community: Coming Soon
Letter from CCCFH (November 28, 2022)
Petition to delay planning Board hearing: Petition to delay Planning Board Hearing
Video of some challenges on Little Falls Parkway: https://youtu.be/L5CjR9JPCYg
Potential solution for the Capital Crescent Train Crossing: Mission Statement of Bridge Coalition
Urban Friendship Heights Plans
Fact Sheet: Coming Soon
Ongoing Issues
Change.org Petition - Tell Montgomery County Council: Broad Community Input Needed on Residential Zoning Changes
Residents of Montgomery County have serious concerns about the “Draft Thrive Montgomery 2050 General Plan” now before the County Council. To implement the Plan’s housing goals and policies, current residential zoning will be changed to allow market-rate multi-family housing units (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes) in single-family neighborhoods as a matter of right without any public input, resulting in potential gentrification of neighborhoods and displacement of residents countywide.
Before any zoning changes implementing the Thrive Plan are approved, we ask the County Council to:
Establish Community Advisory Groups for all potentially affected communities to facilitate citizen input concerning the specific details of those zoning changes;
Mandate that all rezoning allowing development of multi-family housing types in single-family neighborhoods use the traditional master and sector plan processes in order to increase public support and avoid “one size fits all” results.
Thrive Montgomery Plan
Thrive Montgomery 2050 (TM2050) is the proposed County plan to guide land use, zoning and housing among other elements, for the next three decades. A main thrust of TM2050 is to increase housing density by allowing Missing Middle Housing (now called Attainable Housing) in neighborhoods of single family detached homes. Missing Middle Housing consists of such buildings as duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, apartment buildings with fewer than 20 units and condominiums. Although proposed as a means to provide more affordable housing, county planning officials have now conceded such housing instead will rent or sell at market rates. It will not answer the demand for affordable housing, because Attainable Housing will be built on expensive land and will necessarily be at full market price. CCCFH testified before the Montgomery County Planning Board about problems with the proposed Attainable Housing Strategy.
5500 Wisconsin Avenue
CCCFH favors redevelopment of 5550 Wisconsin Avenue. However, CCCFH opposes the current plan for several reasons, including that it does not conform to the Friendship Heights Sector Plan that CCCFH was instrumental in drafting. See CCCFH’s letter to the Planning Board here. See further comments filed by the Village of Friendship Heights and by Somerset House II Condominium Association.
Government During the Pandemic
Letter to County Council Regarding Citizen Access to Planning Board Meetings
CCCFH is concerned that citizen access to and participation at Planning Board meetings has been unreasonably limited. CCCFH wrote to the Montgomery County Council endorsing County Executive Mark Elrich’s proposal that the Board should postpone decisions on controversial issues that impact public policy and the environment until such time that the Planning Board can put in place a format whereby citizens can have a voice in the policies that impact their lives.
Tax and Zoning Issues
CCCFH opposes Zoning Tax Amendment 20-03 which would relax standards and impact taxes for certain townhouse developments. See the letter to the County Council.
CCCFH has joined several other civic organizations in opposing certain proposed changes to the Subdivision Staging Policy, which would alter building moratoria and taxes. See the joint letter.
CCCFH has also written to the Council in support County Executive Marc Elrich’s veto of Bill 29-20, the Housing at Metrorail Stations Act, as an unwarranted giveaway to developers. See the letter.
Capital Crescent Trail/Little Falls Parkway Crossing
The Parks Department reduced Little Falls Parkway from 4 lanes to 2 lanes where the Capital Crescent Trail crosses the parkway without notification, public signage, or public input. As advocated by CCCFH the Planning Board voted to reconfigure the Trail crossing to the Arlington Road traffic light and retain four traffic lanes on Little Falls Parkway. However, Planning Board in a work session rendered that decision moot by deferring implementation indefinitely beyond 2026. The process in this matter was dismissive of the citizens’ clearly expressed views which were enacted by a Planning Board decision of June 13, 2019. Such disregard of the public engenders an atmosphere of distrust of County policy. CCCFH continues to oppose this maneuver, which has ignored the public and its clearly expressed safer preference for the signal crossing.
Westbard
The Montgomery County Planning Board approved a Preliminary Plan submitted by Regency Centers for most of the commercial area on both sides of Westbard Avenue (Westwood I and Westwood II). The Westwood I site plan called for demolition of the bank and drug store in the Westwood Shopping Center, followed first by a commercial building with a new Giant and restaurants. In the Westwood II project, Regency plans to construct a 155-bed residential care facility (“Kensington of Bethesda”). Marnie Shaul, Council President, Town of Somerset, has prepared an analysis of the current state of those projects. CCCFH has submitted detailed comments on the Kensington of Bethesda (Westwood II) site plans (with accompanying illustration).
One component of the Westwood II plan is construction of a new stream valley park, the Willet Branch Stream Valley Park. The Litle Falls Watershed Alliance has prepared a detailed analysis the status and problems of plans for that park.
Dalecarlia Parkway
Under Construction