Newsletter – July 2024 – Summer Edition

Archive, Newsletters,

Welcome to the New Summer Edition

by Nancy Madden, Newsletter Editor

For the past 75 years WMCCA has always taken a summer break from July through September from Newsletters and Community Meetings as residents and our government slowed down and enjoyed vacations. It seems that this year there are a number of ongoing issues that we want to continue monitoring over the Summer, and we want to update residents of the Potomac Subregion about them to keep you informed. This will primarily be an e-newsletter, and we will only mail the newsletter to those of you for whom we do not have email addresses. I hope you enjoy our new Summer Edition Newsletter!

Introduction

The Potomac Subregion Master Plan designates our area as a ‘Green Wedge’ buffer to the Agricultural Reserve. The Master Plan states, “As Potomac has evolved from rural and agricultural to a semi-rural and suburban subregion, it has retained much of its green character and environmental qualities. These qualities are under threat. Inexorable population growth continues to foster intense development pressure on the Potomac Subregion.” The first two articles below describe threats to the Ag Reserve and to the Potomac subregion.

Two Large Commercial Solar Proposals Attempt to Circumvent MoCo Zoning

WMCCA has renewed our support for the balance struck between renewable energy and protected farms/forests/water resources in ZTA 20-01, confirming our support for the same letter we signed in 2021. As a reminder of what happened in 2021, 62 organizations plus many more individuals successfully advocated for a policy that balances solar energy generation with farming in Montgomery County’s Ag Reserve. ZTA 20-01 passed, and solar was sited with care within the nation’s foremost farm protection area. Since then, 2 solar projects have been approved under the provisions of the ZTA and started construction – along with 50 farms taking advantage of the 200% accessory solar generation policy to create their own power and sell some back to the grid.

There are now 2 large commercial solar development proposals that are attempting to circumvent Montgomery County’s zoning and go straight to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to approve large 4-5 MW solar arrays in the Ag Reserve on prime soils – in conflict with the county’s policies that carefully safeguard this protected farmland area. Both are in the Poolesville-Dickerson area. Please note – these solar arrays will not provide power to Montgomery County but will instead be distributed to another grid.

It’s worth asking – what has changed since 2021? The state of Maryland has lost many thousands of acres of farmland since then and the prices commercial solar developers are offering to pay landowners are now 15-20+ times instead of 10 times the going rate for leased land for farmers – but everything else that made this a sound and balanced policy has remained the same. WMCCA believes that the state PSC should defer to county law, especially in this case and on this issue.

The state PSC is required to hold public hearings on the two commercial projects. The first meeting has already occurred. A virtual public hearing for the Dickerson project is scheduled to be live streamed on Wednesday July 10th, at 7:00 pm.

You can take action by going to the Montgomery Countryside Alliance website and signing on to a letter to reaffirm the commitment to balanced solar policy that protects the prime soils of our treasured Ag Reserve. You can also submit comments on the proposed project electronically through the PSC’s website. All comments to the PSC must include reference to Case No. 9726. Check the PSC’s website for guidance on how to submit written comments.

New ZTA To Make Campgrounds a Conditional Use Moves Forward

Councilmembers Balcombe and Luedtke have been working with Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MCA) and other farm support groups to craft a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) that would allow campgrounds as a conditional use on farms. The goal is to balance the potential for overnight stays in the Ag Reserve while protecting farming in the Reserve.

The resulting ZTA 24-02 represents a marked improvement over ZTA 23-09 that would have allowed motels on protected farmland under the definition of farming. ZTA 24-02 makes campgrounds a conditional and commercial use. This ZTA will have a public hearing on July 16th at 1:30 pm. Go to this County website to sign up to testify.

MCA states that it is important to strike the right balance between agriculture and agritourism. You can share your thoughts with MCA at Info@mocoalliance.org

Key Features of ZTA 24-02 Include:

  • Conditional Use – requires Hearing Examiner to review all proposals for compliance
  • Campground must be located on a property used for farming of at least 25 acres
  • No more than 10% of the property or 5 acres, whichever is smaller, may be used
  • No heating, ventilations, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems permitted
  • No kitchen or sanitation facilities are permitted within the same structure as the sleeping quarters, unless inside a recreational vehicle (RV)
  • Maximum number of tents, RVs, or removable structures used for sleeping is 5 for a property between 25 and 100 acres and 10 for a property more than 100 acres
  • Maximum size of each tent or removable structure is 400 square feet
  • DPS-approved sanitation facilities permitted only in a structure separate from the sleeping quarters, unless inside a RV
  • A guest may stay a maximum of 2 nights
  • Sound levels must satisfy the County’s Noise Ordinance

New Bullis Lower School Construction Update

You have probably seen the massive construction project currently underway at the Bullis School along Falls Road. The new Lower School will include a three-story building planned to accommodate grades K-5 and will feature art and music classrooms, a library, a commons, and a maker space. This project includes a new loop road and athletic field. Work is scheduled to be completed in the Summer of 2025. Here is a short video with interesting ariel views of Bullis.

Attainable Housing Efforts Upset Single-Family Neighborhoods

After years of attempting to increase attainable housing, MoCo planners have recommended a set of zoning modifications that would allow for structures such as duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, small apartment buildings, and other types of Middle housing to be built within single-family zoned areas in the County.  The Planning Board has approved this proposal 5-0 on June 13, 2024.  The final Planning Board report can be read online:  https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-AHS-Final-Report.pdf.  Appendix C, starting on page 60, lists the many stakeholder concerns – this list is worth reading to understand some of the issues surrounding this proposal.  Of greatest concern is that the plan will allow developers to replace homes with multi-family structures “by-right,” i.e. without any public or community participation, and without any appreciable increase in attainable housing.

“Missing Middle” refers to the range of housing types that fit between single-family detached homes and mid-to-high-rise apartment buildings.  Missing Middle housing is typically a two-to-four story multi-unit, clustered housing such as smaller townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, quadraplexes, detached courtyard cottages, attached courtyard apartments, or smaller apartment buildings (typically with fewer than 20 units) that are typically in walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods.

As recommended by the Planning Board, these zoning changes will apply to all R‑40, R‑60, R‑90, and R‑200 zones in the County.  There are “priority zoning districts” that are within a one-mile area surrounding Metro and Marc line stations that allow for quadraplexes and reduced parking requirements.  There are numerous R-90 and R-200 neighborhoods in the WMCCA area, especially in the northern and eastern boundaries abutting Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Bethesda.  You can find out which zone you live in by checking the https://mcatlas.org/zoning/ and type your address in the upper right corner.  We highly recommend that you familiarize yourself with this complex proposal.  There is an “Affordable Housing Explainer” at https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/AHS-Explainer-2024-Final.pdf 
Next Steps for this proposal:  Last week, on June 24th, the Planning Board briefed the Planning, Housing, and Parks (PHP) committee on the initiative.  There are two work sessions planned with the PHP committee (July 8 and July 22).  During the work sessions, the PHP committee members will give feedback to staff on the direction of the initiative.  After the work sessions in July, the Planning Board spend August crafting a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA), for introduction sometime in the Fall.

Update on WSSC Closure of the Avenel Equestrian Facility

On June 25th representatives of WMCCA attended a meeting to hear WSSC present the results of their structural assessment of the Avenel Barn.  At stake is the future of 170 acres of green space in the heart of Potomac.  With the closing of the Potomac Horse Center in North Potomac, the Avenel Equestrian Center remains one of the few equestrian facilities available to the community in Montgomery County, outside of the Ag Reserve.  WSSC stated that they are still considering their options for the property and have posted two RFI’s (Request for Information) – one requesting information on interest in making capital improvements to the facility, the other requesting information on interest in operating the equestrian center: www.wsscwater.com/Avenel.

The engineering report distributed during this meeting listed an itemized estimate of the repairs to the existing facility totaling $5.6 million.  WSSC stated it would cost about $750,000 for demolition and removal of the old barn and a new 40 horse-stall barn would cost between $600,000 – $800,000.  Several people in the crowd loudly objected to WSSC’s statement that the barn’s poor condition was due to lack of upkeep – that they had repeatedly asked for repairs over the years with little to no response from WSSC.  The RFI process should help to clarify what WSSC is considering.

Starting in October 2024 our Meetings will be held in the Potomac Library

We are very happy to be able to hold our meetings in the recently redecorated Potomac Library meeting room.  The only thing that is changing will be some of the days of our meetings.  Below please see our scheduled Community meetings through December 2024.  If you have thoughts or ideas about what you would like to see presented at our meetings, please email President@WMCCA.org.

  • October 8, 2024 (Tuesday), 7:15 to 9:00 PM
  • November 12, 2024 (Tuesday), 7:15 to 9:00 PM
  • December 10, 2024 (Tuesday, 7:15 to 9:00 PM

Please join WMCCA! Go to our website www.wmcca.org to download a membership form or join using PayPal: Individual: $25 / Family: $50.  Reminder – Let us know if you are willing to go paperless. E-Newsletters save the expense of rising postage and printing costs. Thank you!!  Please email:  hooverb@msn.com.

West Montgomery County Citizens Association Newsletter – Summer Edition
P.O. Box 59335, Potomac, MD 20854-9335
President – Susanne Lee: President@WMCCA.org
Website: WMCCA.org – Thomas Fahey, Newsletter Editor – Nancy Madden