Residents of Bethesda condo building up in arms over Ridgewells expansion proposal

Photo of Ridgewells trash area taken by resident of
The Kenwood and submitted to the
Montgomery County Planning Department

Famed Washington D.C.-area catering company Ridgewells has proposed expanding its facility at 5525 Dorsey Lane in Bethesda to 18,805-square-feet. A filing with Montgomery County, which seeks to combine Ridgewells' current property with an adjacent parcel into a single lot, was to be reviewed by the Montgomery County Planning Board this morning at its Wheaton headquarters. However, that agenda item has been converted into an extension request, so that Ridgewells can have an additional two months to review and address complaints submitted by next-door neighbors living in The Kenwood condominium building at 5101 River Road. Planning staff are recommending approval of that extension request.

Virtually every letter, message, or voicemail received by the Montgomery County Planning Department on the proposed expansion cites the same problems: food and cooking odors seeping into the condo units, delivery traffic conflicting with parking and loading bay operations at The Kenwood and Macedonia Baptist Church, and a rodent invasion of The Kenwood that the corresponding residents blame on Ridgewells' trash disposal operations. One letter also mentions that bright lights on the Ridgewells building have forced all residents on the west side of the building to purchase blackout curtains.

"To summarize," one resident of The Kenwood writes, "living next to Ridgewells means the residents of the Kenwood Condo must endure 24/7 noise, truck traffic, food smells, enormous amounts of trash, rats and mice which are attracted to the trash overflow." "Ridgewells is assaulting us with food smells 24/7," another message states. "You cannot be serious in considering approval of them expanding their production into a buffer zone."

A former City of Dallas, Texas Planning Commissioner who moved into The Kenwood a year ago writes that he is "appalled at the multiple Code Violations and lack of enforcement in regard to the operation of a large food manufacturing and distribution center 50 feet away from a Multi Family Building of 300+ residents. From the moment I moved in a year ago, I began writing the Montgomery County government departments in regard to correcting Ridgewells' negligence." 

The former Texan notes that, despite a large sign posted along Clipper Lane between Ridgewells and The Kenwood declaring it a "Noise Sensitive Area" - where a 55dba sound limit must be observed during quiet hours, "all night long after returning from Washington parties the catering trucks are beeping in reverse and then hooked up to refrigeration generators that far exceed decibel standards and are deafening all night long." He also cites the large generators and rooftop fans that operate during the night without noise-reduction shielding, and urges they be relocated to the west side of Ridgewells' property.

Trash piled outside of Ridgewells on Clipper Lane, the former Dallas commissioner adds, "has caused a regular rat problem at The Kenwood Condominiums." He recommends trash operations also be moved to the west side of the catering facility.

This is indeed a clash of titans, as you have a legendary local business that is regularly called upon by the elite of Washington, D.C. for catering services, in conflict with residents of an upscale high-rise that was originally constructed in the late 1960s to serve as a luxury hotel. Two things to watch after the extension period, if it is granted today: First, will the Board approve the Ridgewells request to allow the larger facility, and if it does, is there a way that can be found to allow Ridgewells to expand while using that expansion to address the complaints from The Kenwood?