Berliner alternative Westbard plan not alternative enough for many residents

The alternative Westbard sector plan concept put forward by Montgomery County Councilmember Roger Berliner (D - District 1) would scale back many aspects of the plan forwarded to the Council by the Planning Board. But it doesn't go far enough for many residents who live near the area slated for redevelopment. The Citizens Coordinating Committee on Friendship Heights passed a resolution last week supporting the "Berliner alternative," but only if further changes are made to it. Some in the community who oppose the still-sizable Berliner plan are worried that, if those changes don't go far enough, that a CCCFH approval will be misinterpreted as community approval of it.

"The concern is that the Berliner Option will be viewed as 'the community-approved' baseline for further discussion in the eyes of the PHED Committee and the Montgomery County Council as a whole," Sumner resident Dennis Collins said in an email. Collins has prepared a detailed analysis of both the Planning Board draft, and the Berliner alternative.

"Is the Berliner option for you? NO!" says Save Westbard, a citizen organization seeking to retain the neighborhood's suburban, low-density residential character, in a new email. Citing Berliner's endorsement of urban living, and his promise that Westbard area residents will like it too, Save Westbard asks, "How does his experience have anything to do with our experience? If we liked and wanted to live in a mixed-use development, we would choose to move to Mr. Berliner’s neighborhood."

Collins says Berliner's plan still proposes an "absurd" amount of affordable housing in a location far from mass transit and services low-income residents need. He correctly notes that the current methodology the County uses to measure road capacity and congestion is highly inaccurate (I would add that the inaccuracy is very intentional, to allow more development). Moreover, he argues, the density and building heights Berliner endorses remain out of scale with the neighborhood around it. Collins advocates for a 50' height cap on new buildings, and 35' near existing single-family homes and townhomes.

Overall, Save Westbard and Collins are suggesting limiting the amount of new residential units to the 580 currently allowed under the 1982 Westbard sector plan. It's important to note, that all of the numbers and heights in these various plans are only a starting point. Even at 50', developers can obtain additional height and density using the bonus scheme approved by the County Council.

Also, while Berliner's plan does call for a senior center in the new Westwood Shopping Center, I would personally still like to see a recreation center for all ages somewhere in the plan - and it doesn't necessarily have to be on Equity One property.

The community has done well so far in staying united, and very effectively opposing the Planning Board version of the plan. It should be certain that any final Berliner alternative, which still has to be accepted by his colleagues on the Council, is in line with the desires of the neighborhood before it gets any official endorsement.

We don't want to end up in a situation like the Little Falls Place disaster, where EYA (ironically a partner with Equity One on their Westbard redevelopment project) represented a CCCFH endorsement as a community endorsement throughout the approval process. In reality, not a single public meeting was ever held by EYA on that proposal, as company president Bob Youngentob acknowledged under oath at a hearing before the County hearing examiner.