Bethesda residents who sued Montgomery County for breaking three laws in its approval of the Westbard sector plan will file a petition to appeal the
recent decision by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals that went in the County's favor. They seek to find if residents no longer have legal standing to challenge sector plans in court, as the unreported opinion by the court suggests.
Plaintiffs also note that the County itself admitted in court that it had not performed the required assessment of the greenhouse gas impact of the Westbard sector plan. That assessment is required to be performed by the Planning Board under the County's own law.
Save Westbard, the citizen organization that has spearheaded the legal effort, has additionally noted that the County Council has deceptively slipped a loophole that would remove the firm requirement to conduct such assessments into new "racial equity" legislation. That is shocking, given the strong pushback by African-American activists nationwide against governments and businesses that increase pollution in their communities. A public hearing on that bill and the greenhouse gas provision will be held before the Council on October 29, 2019.
"The County Council has deceptively slipped a loophole that would remove the firm requirement to conduct such assessments into new "racial equity" legislation. That is shocking, given the strong pushback by African-American activists nationwide against governments and businesses that increase pollution in their communities."
ReplyDeleteHow is the decrepit shopping center an "African-American community"?
Because Robert says it is
DeleteRacial equity will not replace Robert
DeleteIts over Dyer - let the construction begin!
ReplyDelete6:51: The racial equity bill is NOT about the shopping center. It would apply to the whole county. It would mean that increases in greenhouse gas emissions in sector plans that ARE in communities with high African-American population would NOT have to be measured and publicized.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, the proposed loophole is a hot button issue for directly siding with those who profit from placing higher pollution levels in black or Latino communities, which is a major political issue in those communities.
I look forward to the Council explaining that vote in 2022!
Haven’t you been listening to Trump at all? Greenhouse gasses and global warming is a hoax! You used to say that yourself that climate change is a lie.
DeleteNow you cry about pollination and the Africa Americas? When did you start tuning into a liberal snowflake soy boy?
Back to say now you care about the Latino community? Since when? And is it only the legal ones? What about the HORDES streaming in? Trump, who you know never lies, has told us all about it.
ReplyDelete2:42: You seem to forget that I majored in Latin American history in college.
ReplyDelete2:38: "Pollination and the Africa Americas..." Lay off the LSD, man.
Majoring in it is one thing.
ReplyDeleteHave you been keeping up with it in the 25 years since college? You don't mention it much here except to wave your major around like it makes you important.
5:47: Of course I have. It's one of a thousand areas of expertise where I massively outqualify and outstrip the current County Council. Very stable genius.
ReplyDelete"Very stable genius." - By Robert Dyer about Robert Dyer
ReplyDeleteAnd that ladies and gentlemen is all you need to know.
His entire being is based on an image of superiority & omnipotence that has no basis except in his own mind.
6:27am "we are the dream team of local reporting" actual quote from a failed local blogger.
DeleteLol
Whataboutism - always a clear sign people that use it are out of rational arguments to sustain their opinion.
ReplyDeleteOne has nothing to do with the other. It's simply bringing up an issue with the sole purpose of belittling or changing focus from another issue.
(1) I'm not a fan of Riemer and some other council members and I agree that waiving greenhouse requirements for no reason doesn't make sense. However, its a remarkable stretch to tie this to issues of environmental equity, since the impacts of CO2, greenhouse gases & climate change operate on a much larger scale and impact everyone in MoCo and around the world.
ReplyDelete(2) IMO, The entire lawsuit has been a huge waste of money and the appeal appears to be a continuation of this boondoggle. The only person benefiting from the lawsuit so far is the lawyer representing Save Westbard who appears to be remarkable entrepreneur & marketer, even if self-serving. Even if successful, highly unlikely, the suit would at best provide a short term delay. I raised questions about my neighborhood association spending money on this previously and would strongly oppose it spending additional community money on it.