IN-PERSON WMCCA Meeting December 10, 2024 – 7:15 p.m.
SPEAKER: Meredith Wellington – Land Use Policy Analyst to the County Executive
As attorney turned grass roots activist, Meredith Wellington volunteered to work on the Friendship Heights Sector Plan (FHSP) and helped secure a community center, built by the developer when the project was realized. Today, the Wisconsin Place Community Center is on top of the Friendship Heights metro. She then applied to the Montgomery County Planning Board. Appointed in 1999, she served for 8 years. She has been involved since in numerous land use issues, including the rewriting and approval of the Zoning Code in 2014. Hired by County Executive Marc Elrich in 2020 to serve as a Land Use Policy Analyst, she works with Claire Iseli, special assistant to the County Executive, to deal with constituent issues as well as the major land use issues that have arisen in the last four years. Deeply involved in the Attainable Housing Initiative (AHSI) since 2021, she has shaped County Executive Marc Elrich’s opposition to the proposal. She will present his view on this controversial issue and answer questions.
Attainable Housing Initiative (AHI), Where Is IT ???
President’s Letter by Ginny Barnes
At the WMCCA General Meeting in October, we featured a presentation by the Planning Board on their recommended 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 approved the proposal 5-0 on June 13, 2024, and transmitted it to the County Council. The final Planning Board report can be read online: https://montgomeryplanning.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-AHS-Final-Report.pdf
Of greatest concern is that the plan will allow developers to replace single-family homes with multi-family structures “by-right,” i.e., without any public or community participation, and potentially without any appreciable increase in attainable housing. Our meeting drew a large turn-out and many heated questions. The major concern was not only breaking the single-family zoning code of long standing but that the public was so unaware of this initiative and explanations for why it is needed have been far from adequate.
Subsequently, WMCCA has sought to secure a speaker from the County Council since this is where the proposal now resides. To date, no legislation has been proposed but Council listening sessions have revealed strong opposition by the public countywide. Our efforts to engage our Councilmembers has fallen short. However, County Executive Marc Elrich has been one of the few government voices to come out in strong opposition to this sweeping change. So, we asked his office to come give their view on the dangers the change presents throughout the County. Such a radical proposal will certainly weaken regional master plans refined over decades. It will alter the smart growth efforts undertaken to curtail sprawl and protect regional water quality. It is imperative that the public be given an adequate perspective on what this actually means to citizens and neighborhoods.
Ours is a diverse and growing county and we do need additional housing, but is this the way to provide it? Meredith Wellington is well versed in the ramifications of adopting such a change. Arlington County has been held up in their efforts to do the same by a court ruling. Will Montgomery County citizens also have to resort to lawsuits to be heard? Please attend this critical meeting to educate yourselves and your neighbors.
Post-Election Environmental Work Continues
Submitted by Carol Van Dam Falk
As we look to the future and a new administration after the November election, we must remember that the work to preserve and protect our environment goes on, with renewed vigor toward ensuring that Maryland state and Montgomery County laws on clean air, clean water, and preservation of parks and protected land are enforced. It all goes back to caring about communities. We, as members of WMCCA, have a duty to keep our eyes open and speak up when we think local ordinances such as conservation easements or the tenants of the Potomac Master Plan are being violated. The WMCCA Executive Board of Directors plans to do so, but we can’t do it alone. Reach out to us, your local Montgomery County Council representative, state delegate, or the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services if you have questions about an activity occurring in your community that could be violating local regulations. We would be wise to follow the advice of Marcia McNutt, President of the National Academy of Sciences, who says let science be our guide. McNutt is concerned that “science has fallen victim to the same political divisiveness tearing at the seams of the American society,” and calls it a tragedy since science is arguably the best approach humankind has developed “to peer into the future.” For more, read her entire statement: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu4907
Avenel Equestrian Center Update
Submitted by Kathy Petitt
Two new groups have been formed to pursue the preservation of the Avenel Equestrian Center for the public. One under the Avenel Farm Development Plan Master Agreement (‘Master Agreement’), which was executed on July 3, 1984, by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), the PGA Tour, Montgomery County, and the Rock Run Limited Partnership. Tom Natelli, Natelli Communities Limited Partnership, the successor-in-interest to the Rock Run Limited Partnership, has advised us that they are initiating the formation of the Coordinating Committee pursuant to Section IV of the Master Agreement. Based on discussions with Montgomery County and the PGA Tour, individuals have been identified in each of those organizations to serve on the Coordinating Committee with a representative of WSSC and Tom Natelli. Mr. Peter Fosselman will serve for Montgomery County and Mr. Ned Graff will serve for the PGA Tour. In addition, Neal Gillen has informed us that the Avenel Equestrian Center Corporation, that was originally recognized by WSSC as the community organization to advise WSSC on the operation of the facility, has been reactivated.
REMINDER: IT’S TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2024-2025!
Please renew or become a new member of WMCCA. Go to our website www.wmcca.org to download a membership form or join using PayPal: Individual: $25 / Family: $50. We encourage donations to our Legal Fund. While we strive for positive results without litigation, sometimes it is unavoidable and highly effective. Contributions from members enable us to join efforts to successfully address multiple issues regarding the Potomac Subregion Master Plan, zoning, and environmental threats to the “Green Wedge”, our creeks and water supplies, and the Agricultural Reserve. If you have any issues or concerns in your neighborhood, please contact WMCCA. We appreciate the input from our neighbors. Our Membership year runs from October 1st to September 30th. Thank you for your support !!
Let us know if you are willing to go paperless. E-Newlettters save the expense of rising postage and printing costs. Thank you!! Please email: hooverb@msn.com.
West Montgomery County Citizens Association Newsletter
P.O. Box 59335, Potomac, MD 20854-9335
President – Ginny Barnes: President@WMCCA.org
Website: WMCCA.org – Thomas Fahey, Newsletter Editor – Nancy Madden
West Montgomery County Citizens Association 