The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has postponed an August public hearing regarding the proposed permanent closure of Westbard Avenue at River Road in Bethesda. Originally scheduled for August 29, 2023 at an unpublicized time and location, the hearing is now scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at 2:00 PM in a virtual format only. To register for the public hearing, fill out the online form.
The closure has been requested by the "5500 Westbard Avenue Block Civic Association," whose petition filed with MCDOT also requests that the temporary closure in place now remain until a permanent closure is installed. Their petition also asks MCDOT to ignore the recommendation of the 2016 Westbard sector plan that any closure of Westbard at River include a mountable curb for emergency vehicles such as fire trucks.
MCDOT's decision to hold the hearing at 2:00 PM is odd, considering it is a time when the majority of people are at work. The deadline to register is September 15 at 5:00 PM.
MCDOT has not yet complied with the spirit and the letter of the law regarding community notification of the public hearing. The registration form asks you how you heard about the hearing. It indicates that the meeting announcement was printed in the low-circulation Washington Times rather than The Washington Post. It also mentions "MCDOT Signage at Abandonment Location." There are no signs posted at the abandonment location as of this morning. "Mail" is a third option. No notice has been mailed to residents of the surrounding community as of this morning.
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| No signage regarding the public hearing has been posted at the abandonment location |
After the public hearing, the hearing officer will file a report and recommendation with the County Executive. A final decision on the closure will be made by the County Council.
7 comments:
When the Moco county executive
Along with the county council
Meet and greet at council rock
Westbard Avenue will be potluck.
Residents of the affected block received notice via mail last week.
And I doubt there has ever been a public hearing for an abandonment/closure that did not occur during regular business hours. Many public employees are required to attend as part of their job description, and they generally work 9-5 M-F just like the rest of us.
5:31: The surrounding community also has to be formally notified by mail, as well as the residents on the block. You may well be correct about the times they tend to hold this type of hearing. I've attended a few MCDOT hearings that were held at 6:00 or 6:30 PM, but via Google search, I do find abandonment hearings in the past scheduled during business hours.
Actually, only the abutting property owners are recommended to receive notice per the statute. Here's the language from the county code:
After receiving an application under this Article, the Department must promptly notify by certified mail each property owner listed in the County assessment records whose property abuts the right-of-way proposed to be closed or abandoned. However, the fact that any property owner did not receive a notice under this section does not invalidate an otherwise valid closing or abandonment.
7:55: This closure/abandonment request is one of the few being requested by residents, whereas the majority tend to be at the request of developers, or by the County on behalf of developers. You can tell by the wording of the statute that it was written by a development industry lobbyist. Because most closures, like the Westbard closure proposal, impact property owners beyond those whose properties abut the right-of-way.
I couldn't say who wrote the statute. It's certainly designed to make it extremely difficult to get an abandonment or closure approved. The process tends to take a year or longer, with multiple public hearings, and the decision is ultimately made by elected politicians who are accountable to the voters.
I've got to disagree that this particular closure impacts property owners beyond those whose homes front onto the affected block. I don't think the property owners elsewhere in the county will notice any change whatsoever.
The newly realigned Westbard Avenue, when it is completed, will be extremely robust, with 5 total lanes. Take a look at the paving plans from Regency's filings. It is designed to carry ALL traffic moving between River Road and the core of Westbard.
The Springfield Civic Association, MCDOT, the Planning Board, and the county council all studied this issue back in 2016, and they concurred that there would no longer be any need for the 5500 block to be used to facilitate traffic between River Road and the core of Westbard. MCDOT recommended it, the SCA publicly endorsed it, the county council voted in favor of it, and MNCPPC adopted it as official policy in the sector plan. The residents of the block are simply asking the county to fulfill the promise it made 7 years ago.
The only conceivable logical use for this block would be traffic leaving the core of Westbard during rush hour, seeking to cut through Kenwood. It's illegal to go straight through the intersection onto Brookside Drive during rush hour, but drivers can skirt that prohibition by cutting through this block, turning right onto River Road, and then legally turning left onto Brookside.
By the way, if you're curious, you can read the SCA's endorsement of this permanent closure here: https://i.imgur.com/E1aRCJ3.png
Gee...I wonder where you live.
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