The public process to introduce and potentially approve a Minor Master Plan Amendment to the 2017 Bethesda Downtown master plan will begin next week. Three community events will provide information to, and take preliminary feedback and commentary from, the public. The first will be held during the Bethesda Central Farm Market at Bethesda Elementary School at 7600 Arlington Road this Sunday, May 19, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM. Two more events are scheduled for Wednesday, May 29 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM at the Connie Morella Bethesda Library at 7400 Arlington Road, and on Saturday, June 1 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Chevy Chase Town Hall meeting room at 4301 Willow Lane.
Minor Master Plan Amendments have been controversial for three reasons. They have an abbreviated public process compared to a full sector plan. Second, there is often a particular developer seeking to redevelop a particular property beyond what current zoning allows, and - to get around the illegality of benefitting one property owner - a map is drawn up including a few properties around that site to provide a veneer of legitimacy to the amendment. Finally, the Montgomery County Council and Planning Board have failed to extract significant concessions or public benefits and amenities in exchange for the upzoning that typically results from an MMPA.
Case in point for the latter is the MMPA that covered the redevelopment of the Apex Building at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue. The Council could have, but did not, require a replacement cineplex for the Regal Bethesda 10 that was in the ground floor of that now-demolished building. It also did not mandate that the developer provide the replacement Capital Crescent Trail tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. As a result, we now have neither.
The CCT tunnel? It's now very likely never to happen, especially as long the County budget continues to favor the developers and "non-profits" run by Friends of the County Council over the residents and taxpayers. The whole point of the MMPA process is to wrest at least some public benefit out of the upzoned development, in exchange for the greater profits being realized by the private developer. It's safe to say the Council failed spectacularly in that last MMPA, despite holding 100% of the leverage, and it's clear the failure was intentional.
Now, the MMPA being proposed this time is said to be focused on the cap on development allowed by the 2017 plan's Bethesda Overlay Zone. When development since 2017 comes within 2,000,000-square-feet of the 32.4 million cap, the plan recommends the County Planning Department "check in with the County Council to see if additional recommendations are needed to help implementation of public amenity and infrastructure recommendations like new parks and transportation-related improvements."
So far, despite the lofty promises of the Planning Board and County Council, the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan has delivered zero amenities and zero new parks. At the same time, it has provided substantial real estate development for tremendous private profit. Keep this in mind if you participate in this MMPA public process. Demand you get a return for your tax dollars that are being spent (the County's structural budget deficit has raised your property taxes every year except FY- 2015, in which the average homeowner received a $12 tax "cut") and the noise, higher housing costs, inconvenience, overcrowded classrooms, traffic congestion and net loss of existing affordable housing created by all of this development.
Tower cranes. blocked roads and night noise wavers forever.
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Montgomery County Council
Takoma Park
It's their world; we just pay taxes and live in it.
ReplyDeleteLots of new MPDU’s have been created since the BOZ was enacted. The park impact fees have added up from many built projects, and are committed for approved but unbuilt projects, some already used to purchase land, and will soon fund the Capital Crescent Civic Green, the Eastern Greenways, the new and improved parks near Elm Street Park, and hopefully someday Veterans Plaza.
ReplyDeleteThe Downton Bethesda Design Advisory Panel has carefully reviewed every BOZ project that has been submitted, requiring dozens of changes required by developers to enhance design excellence, which is obviously a subjective construct. Energy efficiency, tree cover, green roofs, storm water management, streetscape improvements, locations of loading docks, parking entrances have all been enhanced by the BOZ process. The minimization of parking close to transit has also been a huge effect of the BOZ.
This minor master plan amendment to increase the allowable construction cap was inevitable given the highly successful BOZ process that encourages dense thoughtful development, close to transit.
Finally, an intelligent response on this forum.
DeleteHahahhahaahahaha. I love the spin. In the last few years downtown Bethesda has added so many thousands of new jobs, so many thousands of new units, so many billions of dollars in private investment that "Mr. Moribund" himself is now doing a complete 180 just to continue having something to complain about.
ReplyDeleteI want to agree with you, but I also know "new jobs" are often temporary construction jobs, not real long term jobs. New units, what are the rates of these units finding occupancy? Billions in investment, definitely, but is it investment in the community or just in temporary speculating in a property that really doesn't consider the best for the community. I think Robert, sorry Robert no offense, does have a bit of sour grapes, but how do you answer the real concerns of all of us who live here?
Delete7:13, your ignoring literally all facts. No one is talking about "temporary" jobs (though of course the construction industry is a huge one). Two million sqft of new office space has been built in downtown Bethesda for office workers. Apartment vacancy rates are low (hence developers and banks constantly building and financing more of them).
DeleteEven if amendments do occur, a decent number of these "new developments" will either just never happen or be substantially delayed. Between the current interest rate environment, the insanely high cost to finance new construction and then on top of it all waning demand after all of the new deliveries between 2022 - 2025, the opportunities just are not appealing to developers. And that's before I even get to the rent control measures the county council recently passed.
ReplyDeleteThat said - I absolutely agree that we need to see these new "amenities and parks" we were promised. At least the park behind connie morella library is underway and I actually think the design looks good. The park that is supposed to go behind the development of the women's farmers market looks awesome too but who knows when all of that happens.
I'd really like to see Veterans Park improved. It's super bland right now and could be so much better. You could easily add some tiered seating (think very miniature ampitheater) while still leaving plenty of room for tables. That plaza should be a feature and not an afterthought.
@5:54 You got it -- the process is total BS and performative only, checking a box so the County Council and Planning Board can say they heard feedback from the community, but not, of course, that they actually listened to us.
ReplyDelete7:26: Who is on this "Downton Bethesda Design Advisory Panel"? How are they selected?
ReplyDeleteDoes this council include old time residents. I am seeing higher concrete, not much green that wasn't already there. I do miss the Wisconsin Ave tunnel.
Learning.
I don't know about other master plan amendments but you're wrong about 7272 Wisconsin Ave/The Elm which provided a brand new train station shell under the building..where the previous theater was and which precluded the developer from using that space for a theater , parking or any other revenue generating space. and there have been three years (and many more to come) of non stop construction and closures at the apartment entrance on Elm Street.
ReplyDeleteYour comment about the tunnel is 100% false. The developer paid for and built a brand new tunnel and bike storage for the Capital Crescent Trail beneath the building. It was THE COUNTY that county failed to provide the connecting portion underneath the Wisconsin ave publicly owned right of way and to the east. You can thank Marc Elrich for that.
And what did the developer get in exchange? 50' of additional height. No subsidies or tax breaks for construction expenses for space that will be completely in the public realm and benefit transit riders, walkers, and bikers.
And a movie theater? Seriously? How is a movie theater a public benefit? If there's a market in Bethesda somebody will build one. Government should stick to providing things like parks, schools, bike lanes, fire stations etc, not movie theaters.
Great points! The developer paid $110M for that site, and still had the expense to demo the existing office and theater building, and was required to give up a massive amount of the site and construct the large Purple Line tunnels and station, and a large Metro exhaust shaft. They had to design and construct the upper part of the Purple Line station and the very large plaza.
DeleteThe DAP is comprised of a registered architect, an urban planner, a landscape architect, a local resident who is also an architect, a representative from local developer, and a representative from academia. They are all appointed by the Planning Board and confirmed by the county commission. They serve either 3, 4 or 5 years terms, and not paid.
ReplyDeleteMost of these building have large green roofs and at least 20% of the site as public open space. Streetscape design standards mandate street trees at about a 30’ spacing, in large tree wells for root growth. Most of these new projects are replacing 60 year old, one story high commercial buildings and surface parking lots with very little greenspace or vegetation.
6:54: Thank you for your detailed reply.
ReplyDeleteIMHO they should have more community member involved preferably from the same area where buildings are being proposed. I'd like to see more governance from the perspective of current residents. Green roofs do not are not an aesthetic or recreational benefit
to the general public. Not the sort of open space where kids can play. The old one story building are yes old but on a more human scale and more light gets to street level.
Learning
6:11: You are talking about the final MMPA and development approval for 7272 Wisconsin. The point of my commentary was the process of creating the MMPA at the Council level.
ReplyDeleteYes, of course, the failure to deliver the tunnel under Wisconsin is not any developer's fault because the Council did not require them to construct it. That was my whole point. The Council could have stipulated that whoever redeveloped 7272 would have to construct the whole tunnel, as one of the trade-offs for the extra height. They chose not to require it, and instead - with intention - dropped that cost onto the shoulders of taxpayers.
The whole premise sold to the public about demolishing the Apex for "a better Purple Line station" was a sham cover for a previous developer's desire to obtain the site, and build higher than zoning allowed at the time. That developer's project ended up falling through, but we were stuck with the weak MMPA.
Yes, movie theaters are very serious. As I testified to the Council during the MMPA process, a study was done that showed urban areas with cineplexes drew 20,000 more people per weekend, who dine and shop at the nearby businesses. The Council ignored my testimony, and we saw the results - soon after the theater closed, the parking garages at Bethesda Row that were "FULL" during peak evening hours suddenly had hundreds of parking spaces. This only got worse after Barnes & Noble closed, and eventually the County literally turned off the "spaces available" signs due to the embarrassment.
There's plenty of market for a movie theater, but it's unlikely a developer would ever include one, because they would rather make more money allocating that giant space to more profitable residential or lower-cost retail uses. There was a market for Putt-Putt golf in Rockville; it was always crowded when I was there. But there's an apartment building on that property now.
8:35: I'm afraid your math doesn't add up. Montgomery County has been near rock bottom in job creation in our region, beaten recently even by Prince George's County. We haven't attracted a new major corporate headquarters in a quarter century!
Despite all of the "private investment" you claim is going into downtown Bethesda, the County budget shows a net loss for taxpayers. That's primarily because residential housing generates more costs in new County services and infrastructure than it generates in revenue to pay for those.
Most of the "billions and billions" of "investment" has been in residential housing, not offices. And thanks to the County Council, now even offices are in danger of becoming a money loser. Rather than change its anti-business policies to attract big companies with high-wage jobs, the Council decided to subsidize lackluster, smaller tenant to (try to) fill empty office buildings at taxpayer expense.
In short, yes, we are still moribund. Our office vacancy problem long preceded the pandemic and WFH shift, but the Council can now try to use that as a cover for it longtime failures to fill office space.
7:13: No offense taken, but I don't think "sour grapes" applies here. The term usually refers to someone who is envious, and wants what the other party has. I've never been in the real estate development business, so I was not in competition to redevelop any of the properties in downtown Bethesda being discussed. Therefore, I cannot have sour grapes. Instead, I'm representing the views of residents and taxpayers, views that are rarely given time and weight by the local media.
"8:35: I'm afraid your math doesn't add up. Montgomery County has been near rock bottom in job creation in our region, beaten recently even by Prince George's County. We haven't attracted a new major corporate headquarters in a quarter century!"
ReplyDeleteFactually, over two million sqft of new office space has been added to downtown Bethesda since the 2017 master plan. I don't particularly care what you consider to be a "major corporate headquarters" or not, as the result of thousands of workers in downtown is the same either way.
And Bethesda does still have an eight screen cineplex that shows all sorts of films, not just “art house films” as you have previously stated. I stopped by last week on Tuesday at about 4PM and tapped on the glass at the box office. The sleeping ticket seller was startled awake. I asked him why they don’t fix their “now playing” sign, as I thought it would help draw in business. He said, they simply can’t afford it. He said they do OK on Friday and Saturday night, but at 4PM on a Tuesday, he said that there were only 12 patrons in the theater. Not many developers are building brand new movie theaters, especially those located in mixed-use buildings that are terribly expensive to build, compared to a one story high metal box in a big suburban parking. Had thr county required a cinema on the Apex site, the project would likely not have been built. But of course, we would still have a nice (vacant) Regal cineplex.
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