4824 Edgemoor Lane development meeting rescheduled at last minute

What's the deal with the new fad of
developers canceling meetings?!

Moved to new date, location

less convenient for neighbors

of property in question

Last night's scheduled and advertised public meeting regarding a proposed redevelopment of 4824 Edgemoor Lane was abruptly canceled at the very last minute, and rescheduled for September 4, 2019 at 6:30 PM. The rescheduled meeting, strangely, will be held at a location much further away from the property - the cafeteria at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, at 4301 East-West Highway. In addition to being highly unprofessional, the 11th-hour cancellation and site change raise questions about both this gaffe, and an apparent new strategy of canceling these public meetings.

To state the obvious, the new location at BCC HS will be much less convenient for residents of The Chase, The Edgemont, The Christopher, The Metropolitan, and other nearby buildings to attend. Instead of walking down the block or across the street, they'll either have a long walk or slow rush hour drive to BCC. This move particularly seems to target those whom some developers refer to disparagingly as "the grey heads," older residents more invested in their property, who are more likely to turn out for these meetings. Those in The Chase who may be getting a 12-story brick wall outside their window would likely have the biggest concerns.

Second, I've been covering these meetings for many years. This year is the first I can recall a publicly-advertised pre-submission meeting being canceled. In fact, this is now the third such canceled meeting this year. All three were canceled at the last minute, with no public notice. The signs posted at 4824 Edgemoor displaying the time and date of the meeting were not updated Tuesday to announce the cancellation.

Perhaps someone in the industry can suggest how rudely and unprofessionally canceling advertised public meetings at literally the last minute helps a developer. It hasn't been done by any of the biggest names in real estate, like Federal Realty, JBG Smith, or Toll Brothers, for example. But then again, it's never been done before this year. Does it reduce turnout? What is this new trend about?

No one has forced these companies to schedule these meetings. So why in God's name would you advertise a public meeting if you aren't ready to present the project? It makes no sense at all.

The Planning Department should address this issue if it continues to be a new trend. Canceling an officially-advertised public pre-submission meeting should require an approval from the department, at least. This is a serious matter. The public has much more important things to do with their time than travel to the meeting to find it has been canceled. There is a process.

Respect that process. Show some professionalism. As they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. If this is how much you respect the neighbors of your property - having them show up to find a paper taped to a door - how do you expect to have a productive relationship with them during the years ahead, as your project goes through the process and is built?