Concerns of residents,
environmentalists
swept aside in vote
Regency Centers, in a new development, has agreed to pay the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission $500,000 within 60 days of reception of the Use and Occupancy Permit for the new Giant store. There's some irony in that, given that the $500,000 Regency partner EYA paid the commission earlier this decade (as a condition of approval of the Little Falls Place development) did not end up going to the improvement of the Willett Branch watershed, despite County officials having loudly and falsely claimed they would.
In taking the quick vote, commissioners briefly considered a few of the concerns raised by residents, environmentalists and the owners of the small businesses in the existing shopping center. But they ultimately took no binding action beyond the language already present in the plan and master plan documents.
Considering that the chairman of the board shared a celebratory handshake with executives from Regency's development partner seconds after the County Council approved the Westbard sector plan in 2016, it's not surprising the board warmly endorsed the plans. But in doing so, the board did not even employ some of the tools it had at its disposal to allay the concerns of the public regarding this massive remaking of an established community in southwestern Bethesda. Stack-and-pack apartment buildings and dozens of townhomes will bring over 1000 new residents and over 1000 new vehicles to the neighborhood's already-congested schools and commuter highways. Ultimately, over 3000 people and over 3000 cars will be added to a block-and-a-half area about 2 miles from the nearest Metro station, far beyond the quarter-to-half-mile international standard for "smart" transit-oriented development.
Here are the key issues raised today before commissioners:
Parking shortage
Activists have identified a shortage of parking for the combined uses of shopping center patrons and residents of the new homes in the new development's site plan.
Board action taken: None.
Dog park
Residents want a dog park.
Board action taken: None.
Kenwood Place easements/Springfield Neighborhood Park
Easements owned by the Kenwood Place condominiums across the site designated for the Springfield Neighborhood Park in the redeveloped Westwood Shopping Center could prevent construction of the park. The park, while likely to wind up a green postage stamp at best, is a key amenity in both the sector plan and site plan.
With the late revelation of the legally-binding easements, that can only be released by an 80% vote of Kenwood Place, one has to wonder if this wasn't the cynical plan all along. Knowing they could not build there, place a park there in the plans, and then pull a bait and switch later on.
Lynn Battle, a resident of Westbard Mews, noted that the park was supposed to be a buffer between the new development and the single-family homes and condos that abut the Regency property line there. Many residents, especially those with small children, are concerned that the park will end up being located across busy Westbard Avenue from the shopping center - therefore requiring those kids to cross what will be an even heavier barrage of traffic to reach the park.
Battle also recalled that planners and the developer repeatedly stressed that the County was allowing other green spaces in the plan to be smaller explicitly because the developer was offering the (very-relatively) "larger" park on the shopping center site. "That's critical," she told commissioners this afternoon. Battle said that if the park moves elsewhere, the board should stipulate it be completed on the same time schedule as the shopping center, but that neighbors strongly oppose such a relocation. "Bottom line: this park has to stay on the Westwood I side."
Another key matter in the park/easements dispute is that the decision of where the park (which Montgomery Parks' Suzanne Paul said will have to be the same size no matter where it ends up) might move would be in the hands of planning staff, not the board with a full hearing and public testimony.
Perhaps most concerning of all, the Planning Department is - if anything - back to square one in negotiations with Kenwood Place. A planner told the board that there has been a major turnover on the Kenwood Place condo board, and "we've had to start over" in negotiations.
Board action taken: Commissioners verbally suggested that Regency will be coming back to them if they cannot obtain rights from Kenwood Place, but didn't actually stipulate that in new legal language in the site plan. One could make an argument either way using existing language in the site plan conditions, but judges rarely rule against developers in Montgomery County, even when there is a clear-cut violation of law such as in the Westbard sector plan greenhouse gas measurement law violation.
Civic Green
Is the proposed Civic Green across from the proposed new Giant store building as big as the developer claims? Regency promised residents a half-acre Civic Green at a public meeting in January 2018. A representative of the Kenwood Citizens Association questioned that in testimony, describing the actual size as "less than one-third of an acre when you add in the Jewel Box," a small glass building Regency shows on the green. That would be even less green space than previous developer Equity One proposed in 2014.
Board action taken: None.
Conveyance of Regency land
for Willett Branch Greenway trails
Resident Lloyd Guerci questioned the conditions for Regency's conveyance of land near the intersection of Ridgefield Road and River Road for future trails along the Willett Branch Greenway. He said commissioners did not include a "declaratory sentence of specific date" for that to occur.
Currently, the land is supposed to be conveyed when occupancy permits are issued for 55 townhomes across Ridgefield on the site of the vacant Manor Care nursing home. Guerci suggested making it contingent on the occupancy of the multi-family building that will be built adjacent to the greenway. He also urged commissioners to make the easement access from the Bowlmor site down to the Greenway open to the public, and not just for Park & Planning maintenance crews.
Board action taken: No new binding condition was added regarding the conveyance of the greenway trails land.
Stormwater management
Such a waiver "sets a precedent we think could weaken the county's ability in the future" to mandate on-site stormwater management, LFWA's consultant told commissioners. A study LFWA used half of its annual funds to commission found that Regency could treat all stormwater on-site, without changing any of the structures they plan to build. "We have a chance to do this right," LFWA Executive Director Sarah Morse said. "Regency Centers is on the record saying it wants to do this right." But the current plan is not in the best interests of the stream nor the community, she added.
Kenwood Place resident Carl Petty provided some compelling testimony regarding the challenges of runoff from the sloping site today, and I can back up what he said from my own experience. He said that during heavy rain events, 1500 gallons a minute flow from the walkway to Kenwood Place Entrance 8 down to the shopping center parking lot below the condo property. It's unclear if a swale blocked by a fence could handle this volume between Kenwood Place and the future townhomes.
I can back this up, because the standing water and flooding can be significant in the parking lot in front of Giant, the liquor store, and Anglo Dutch, to name a few, during heavy rains. One time last year, I had to divert to Safeway because the water was too high to reasonably cross between Giant and the parking spaces.
Board action taken: No binding action, just some non-binding exhortations and recommendations.
Small business retention
An owner of Fashion Craft Cleaners in the existing Westwood Shopping Center said the long planning process and uncertainty about the future has been a heavy burden for the small businesses there. "We have major concerns we will not be invited back as a small business," he told the board, after 32 years at the shopping center. Commissioner Natali Fani-Gonzalez said she could not force Regency to make such decisions, but that is actually not true. The board previously required a "high-quality restaurant" be included in the Stonehall condos in Bethesda, before waiving the requirement at the developer's request later.
A Regency representative told commissioners "we are in discussions" with the business tenants about their future at the center. But that's not exactly true, either. In fact, one request the owner of the dry cleaners made of commissioners was to facilitate just such a meeting between Regency and tenants.
Fani-Gonzalez and Commissioner Tina Patterson did strongly encourage Regency to bring those businesses back, but no new actual conditions were added to protect existing tenants. In full fairness to Regency, one positive thing they did over Equity One was to add small retail spaces into the new Giant building. Along with their plan to demolish the center in stages, rather than all at once as originally-planned, this theoretically makes it possible for the existing businesses to stay open and then move to the new spaces when their section is leveled.
The question is, will Regency take full advantage of that potential by grandfathering rents for existing tenants?
Board action taken: None.
Traffic light at Ridgefield and realigned Westbard
In our supposed dedication to Vision Zero (surely it's not just to benefit developers, right?), and with a rabid War-on-Cars mentality on our County Council, it's shocking that those officials could endorse an uncontrolled intersection of this level of danger. Dunner cited the County Department of Transportation's letter that acknowledged this will be a dangerous intersection. "We should do no less," Dunner said.
When commissioners discussed this issue, Regency and staff said that a signal study is required of the developer after the new development opens. Just one problem - when the Westwood I site opens after the redevelopment, Westbard won't have been realigned yet.
Board action taken: None.
Westbard lawsuit
Several residents urged the board to table the vote until a court rules on residents' lawsuit against the County regarding illegal actions taken by the County during the approval process of the Westbard sector plan. That decision could come as early as next month. Springfield resident Robert Weaver suggested the board "should delay this decision until the court rules."
Commissioner Patterson was the only member to side with residents on that question. She said that as a long-time arbitrator, she would like to avoid all parties involved having to be dragged back into Planning headquarters if the case goes against the County. For their part, Regency maintains no decision will impact their plans.
Board action taken: None.
75 comments:
"Stack-and-pack apartment buildings and dozens of townhomes will bring over 1000 new residents and over 1000 new vehicles to the neighborhood's already-congested schools and commuter highways. Ultimately, over 3000 people and over 3000 cars will be added to a block-and-a-half area about 2 miles from the nearest Metro station, far beyond the quarter-to-half-mile international standard for "smart" transit-oriented development.
"Stack-and-pack" is just ridiculous hyperbole. The apartment buildings will be 5 stories, barely half of the height of the Fairmont Plaza.
The area is not "a block and a half".
It is not "two miles" to the nearest Metro station.
There is no "international standard for smart growth" that says anything about heavy rail or even light rail transit.
Same bullshit, different day.
At least you backpedaled on your previous claim that each new resident would result in more than one car for each.
2:49: 5-story buildings in the suburbs are indeed stack-and-pack buildings. Some of these will be over 5 stories.
The area is a block and a half - one block of Ridgefield, and half a block of Westbard. Do the math.
How dumb do you think people are to claim there's no widely-accepted standard of TOD as one-quarter to one-half mile from a rapid transit station? Your buddies on the Council and Planning Board may not accept it, but that hardly nullifies the standard.
This is suburban sprawl growth far from Metro.
So sad to know that I won't be able to see all those Land Rovers, Car Carriers and box trucks anymore.
3:29: Trust me, you'll be seeing plenty of Land Rovers going into the luxury apartments. Though most units, as I've found in my undercover investigation, will likely be used as hotel rooms, dorms and contract housing by corporations and the military. That's the case in other new County buildings.
"Though most units, as I've found in my undercover investigation, will likely be used as hotel rooms"
You mean AirBnB? I thought you were a fan.
"undercover investigation"
LOL
"The area is a block and a half - one block of Ridgefield, and half a block of Westbard. Do the math."
Well, I just "did the math". Again. One-quarter mile (1,400 feet) along Westbard Avenue, and 200 feet along Ridgefield Avenue (which does not actually run contiguous to the site, but a few hundred feet to the north).
If your use of the word "block" is to be consistent, then by saying that stretch of Ridgefield is "one block", that means that the section of Westbard Avenue adjacent to the site is SEVEN blocks, not "half a block".
"This is suburban sprawl growth"
Increased density in a close-in neighborhood is NOT "sprawl". Sprawl and density are opposites. Previously you've argued that increased density is an effort to wipe out the suburbs. These can't all be true at the same time. Words mean things.
"How dumb do you think people are to claim there's no widely-accepted standard of TOD as one-quarter to one-half mile from a rapid transit station?"
You have never, EVER been able to cite anything that supports your claim.
Um, hello. Have these people ever been to Westbard? It's ugly af. Quibbling over whether green space is a dog park or not is ridiculous.
Once again Dyer's critics have nothing better to do other than to make crude insults about mental health. Certainly not very progressive. Clearly these developers hide behind progressive platitudes to support their agendas.
The liberal county council, liberal county planning board, and progressive deep pocket out of town development contractors are kind of like the same people was there really any doubt of the result?
Good time to remind everyone that:
Westbard is not walking distance to metro
Westbard homeowners don't have to be saved. Housing values are already in the stratosphere and won't increase because a developer adds a bunch of apartments and maybe a Panera down the street
4:42: Isn't that the County Council's and successive shopping center owners' fault for neglecting the area for decades? Why did they wait until 2014 to begin this process? Why didn't they add restaurants on pad sites in the parking lot?
4:34: Here comes the Carpetbagger Express again! A block is a block is a block. They are not uniform length, but a block is a block. Here we have one and a half blocks.
Ridgefield IS contiguous on both sides to Regency properties.
The increased density to wipe out the suburbs is sprawl when it is not near a Metro station, because it generates many more car trips.
Wikipedia states: "The densest areas of a TOD are normally located within a radius of ¼ to ½ mile (400 to 800 m) around the central transit stop."
You can do an internet search to find hundreds of citations of that being the standard distance from a rapid transit station. Look it up, Saul!
"Here comes the Carpetbagger Express again! A block is a block is a block. They are not uniform length, but a block is a block. Here we have one and a half blocks."
Using a "block" as a unit of length, or as you use it, area, is meaningless if you don't use it consistently.
Also, your "Carpetbagger" insult is absurd and childish. Having lived in the same house all your life is no accomplishment.
"The increased density to wipe out the suburbs is sprawl"
#ArgleBargle
"Wikipedia states: "The densest areas of a TOD are normally located within a radius of ¼ to ½ mile (400 to 800 m) around the central transit stop."
#ArgleBargle
From the same Wikipedia article you cited on "TOD":
"A TOD typically includes a central transit stop (such as a train station, or light rail or bus stop)"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit-oriented_development
Sorry, I accidentally repeated some text - ignore 7th paragraph. Wikipedia is of course not "Argle Bargle" unless someone has vandalized it. :)
Your repeated use of the white supremacist term "carpetbagger" is disturbing.
4:15: They are referring to a BRT bus stop. There are bus stops in suburban neighborhoods and rural farm areas. They do not qualify as rapid transit, as anyone who rides Metrobus or Ride On can tell you.
4:24: Carpetbagger is not a "white supremacist term." It's a historical term for people like you and Hans Riemer who suddenly move into an area to take advantage of the people who live there for your own financial or political gain. Of course, maybe we should have a look at your and Hans' yearbook photos. Have you ever entered a dance contest?
"They do not qualify as rapid transit"
No one said they did. Not all transit is rapid transit. The second is the subset of the first.
You didn't say "rapid-transit oriented development". You said "transit-oriented development".
Which includes bus stops.
the thing is, when people object to everything, it becomes white noise--nobody listens anymore because everything provokes "no no no."
Westbard is the armpit of Bethesda. It's run down, shoddy, and unpleasant to drive through or spend time in. I think most of Bethesda is becoming overbuilt, but its long past time for some improvements in Westbard. NIMBY all you want, it's a good plan.
Carpetbagger IS INDEED a white-nationalist term. For heaven's sake, the White Nationalist blog is called "The Carpet Bagger's Journal"
Even its definition mentions it as a derogatory term. You, of course, are well aware of this, and purposely use it because you think it upsets the Dems, when in reality it makes you look weak and intolerant and racist.
Webster’s Dictionary definition of Urban Sprawl:
“The spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city”
Westbard is clearly not UNDEVELOPED land, and the property is not NEAR a city, it is IN a city. The proposed plans can be properly defined as urban (or if you prefer suburban) infill, but certainly not sprawl.
You sir, continue to be uninformed.
Transit-oriented development, or TOD, is a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation. At Reconnecting America, we believe it is essential that TOD creates better access to jobs, housing and opportunity for people of all ages and incomes. Successful TOD provides people from all walks of life with convenient, affordable and active lifestyles and create places where our children can play and our parents can grow old comfortably.
Some of the benefits of TOD include:
Reduced household driving and thus lowered regional congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Walkable communities that accommodate more healthy and active lifestyles
Increased transit ridership and fare revenue
Potential for added value created through increased and/or sustained property values where transit investments have occurred
Improved access to jobs and economic opportunity for low-income people and working families
Expanded mobility choices that reduce dependence on the automobile, reduce transportation costs and free up household income for other purposes.
The proposed improvements to Westbard are all of the above, and TOD is not tied to MASS transit, but to PUBLIC transit, which clearly includes bus stops. The new Westbard will include an enhance public transit station at the intersection of Westbard and the proposed B Street, which will include a covered waiting area for public buses, many of which connect to Metro stations. Also discussed was the possibility that that a privately operated shuttle bus could be operated to one or more Metro stations.
Did Robert testify at the meeting? I didn’t watch the whole video on the planning website.
6:19
This is a true carpetbagger if they think wealthy Westbard range rover, chevy suburban, and cadillac escalade driving soccer Mom's will all of a sudden start taking smelly, filthy transit buses as a means of transportation around town.
They will continue to drive traffic will go from bad to worse cause the 1950's roads are the same or narrowed (Little Falls) because of the wacky progressive council's hatred of cars. We will soon have gridlock like you've never seen.
"This is a true carpetbagger if they think..."
Do you understand how to use pronouns?
"smelly, filthy transit buses"
When was the last time you were on a Ride-On bus, Metrobus, or the Bethesda Circulator?
I like how the owner of Fashion Craft testified and was worried. Westbard would be better off without that business that's literally falling apart. Walk in some time -- no air conditioning, ceiling tiles dangling, dust all over everything, and signs from 20 years ago. The guy (who is nice enough, I will admit) should spend time on his business and making it competitive. No one wants to walk into that aging claptrap of retail.
carpetbagger - political candidate who seeks election in an area where they have no local connections.
The left tries to control speech through absurd allegations that words and phrases they don't like are racist.
MAGA
God Bless America
Radical Islam
According to Zillow, the median listing price for a home in the "Westbard area" is well over a million dollars. The cheapest house for sale at the moment is $850,000.
Wow, I guess that old shopping center is really holding down house values.
12:06: Exactly.
9:19: I think you are misinformed - Fashion Craft is doing very good business. That's why the owner is concerned about the uncertain future for the current tenants, who are the ones driving the massive foot traffic and jammed parking lot that provides Regency's current revenue from this property. He wants to ensure that the cleaners can transition to the new building at an affordable rent.
If you have complaints about the building condition itself, that is the responsibility of the landlord, not the tenant. Other tenants have reported water damage caused by the landlord's failure to maintain their property. Including not unclogging sewer drains in the parking lot, I might add!
9:11: I've ridden Metrobus and Ride On recently, and public transit is often dirty and smells bad. If you think otherwise, you must not actually use it that often. Who was the "stable genius" who decided to use cloth seats on Metrobus, anyway? Disgusting!
6:19: You really think people are that dumb? You actually quoted the group above stating it must be within a half mile of a transit station - and then proceed to claim that Westbard meets the criteria! LOL
No, sir, a bus stop for a regular bus does not qualify for TOD. Never has, never will. If it did, you could build apartment towers in rural areas.
Think about how dumb something sounds before writing it, ok?
The transit center you claim is coming to Westbard was deleted from the sector plan by the developers' buddies on the County Council, who also removed the requirement of a shuttle bus. There is no mandate for a shuttle. You appear to be a compulsive liar, as everything you've claimed is completely false.
6:07: Whoaaaaaaaaaaa. Westbard is not "in a city." Not even close. It is a low-density suburban residential area, nowhere near a Metro station.
5:55: More evidence you are not who you claim. You seem to have written in your Antifa persona as "Anna." I've never even heard of the publication you cite - how do you know about it? Meanwhile, check a dictionary for the actual definition of "carpetbagger," which is legitimate term that has nothing to do with white nationalism.
5:16: It's a very uninspired plan. I hope I will be proven wrong, but based on the renderings, I see 5 boxes placed down along the same Westbard Avenue. For a developer who controls the entire property on both sides of the road, there could have been an exciting re-imagining of the area with a road moved aside for bigger green space and a manmade stream and lake.
The question is, why didn't the Council and Planning Board require such a higher level of design quality? Answer - they're controlled by the developers.
4:38: No, sir, it does not include regular bus stops. Only rapid transit like Metro or true BRT.
"jammed parking lot"
LOL, where is this? That lot completely empty once you get more than five spaces from the front.
"Westbard is not "in a city." Not even close. It is a low-density suburban residential area, nowhere near a Metro station."
Lots of cities don't have metro stations.
10:23: We do, and you have to be within a half-mile of one to qualify as TOD.
7:01: Carpetbagger alert. You obviously are lying, or only visit the shopping center after 10 PM at night.The lot is full up to the ring road all afternoon through rush hour, and still way beyond "five spaces" from rush hour's end to 10.
Mr Dyer, I used the Google machine. It was a link when I went to read definitions of carpetbagger, so I could speak with authority and knowledge rather than just guessing or taking another's opinion as fact.
There's an interesting split that came into play between the idea or image of the carpetbagger developed by white supremacist opponents of Reconstruction and the reality concerning Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War.
I don't post as Anonymous. We've been over this.
Over 2 years you've been accusing me of something I'm not. That's a real long time for a delusion. It's creepy.
The Westwood parking lot indeed is full from 9am until late at night.
The Giant and other stores are quite popular. Not exactly a center in decline.
Google Satellite View says you're wrong.
Check out in particular the lot south of the Rite Aid.
It's not so much that the Giant and the other stores are not "popular", but rather that the lot is ridiculously oversized relative to actual needs.
Interesting how Dyer @ 4:43 PM responds directly to the question that was asked to "Duck".
"No, sir, a bus stop for a regular bus does not qualify for TOD. Never has, never will. If it did, you could build apartment towers in rural areas."
The reason apartment towers are not built in rural areas is because of the lack of market demand. Not because of your completely imaginary definition of "TOD".
However if you're referring to previously rural areas which have over time become suburban or even urban, then of course "apartment towers" could be built there.
Robert, once again, you are wrong on your understanding of TOD and SPRAWL. You use both incorrectly. Westbard is indeed considered TOD, and it is certainly not SPRAWL.
Once again, transit-oriented development, or TOD, is a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation.
"Quality public transportation" can be provided by "frequent public or private bus service", and does not need to be light rail, heavy rail, or commenter rail. TOD does not need to be near mass transit, just quality public transit. The T in TOD refers to transit, and not necessarily Mass Transit, or it would be called MTOD!
The densely DEVELOPED area of Westbard is considered part of a "city" when referring to the use of the term SPRAWL.
Again, Webster’s Dictionary definition of Urban Sprawl:
“The spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city”
Only development on UNDEVELOPED LAND is considered SPRAWL. Westbard is not undeveloped, it is a poorly developed strip shopping center. The added density at Westbard would be considered URBAN or SUBURBAN INFILL not SPRAWL. You are incorrect to define the proposed increased density at Westbard as SPAWL.
I'm not going to tell you this again. You should think about how dumb something sounds before writing it, ok?
"Sprawl" is the development that would result from building the Outer Beltway through our Agricultural Reserve.
Dyer saves his craziest commentary for his other blogs:
"Hug a tree on Piney Branch Road as Purple Line tree removal to begin March 18"
"Montgomery County cartel chainsaws will fire up on Piney Branch Road beginning "on or about" March 18, 2019 to cut down trees for the Purple Line light rail project. The trees being removed are located between Garland Avenue and Barron Street. Tree removal will take place between 7:00 AM and 5:00 PM on weekdays and weekends, Purple Line Transit Partners says.
Anonymous: "You get dumber and crazier with every post. For one thing, the MTA is a state agency, not a county agency."
Robert Dyer: "Hogan didn't even want to build the Purple Line. It's a MoCo project all the way."
Anonymous: "Actually more than half of it is in Prince George's County. Hogan signed off on it and broke ground for it."
Anonymous: "What? Hogan's many comments tell a very different story and the state of Maryland has committed far more funding to the line than the county. It's the Red Line in Baltimore that Hogan didn't want to build."
Robert Dyer: Hogan opposed it, then flipped after being badgered by criminals while weakened by cancer treatment. Do you not realize that most of Maryland's money comes from income taxes in Montgomery and Howard counties? That our money. Ironically, the Red Line was a better project than the Purple Line."
Anonymous: "How much of that that income tax money comes from you?"
Robert Dyer: "Much more than from you, hobo."
Saith Dyer: "Do you not realize that most of Maryland's money comes from income taxes in Montgomery and Howard counties?"
Actually that is wrong. The State of Maryland collected a total of $8,475,036,840 in 2017. Of that, 2,152,096,945, or 25.4%, came from Montgomery County, and $635,917,077, or 7.5%, came from Howard County, a total of 32.9% for both counties. "Most" means "more than half", i.e., greater than 50%. 32.9% does not even come even close.
However if you had said, "the greatest share of Maryland's income tax revenues come from Montgomery County" - double that the next greatest-contributing counties - you would have been correct. So much for "the rich are fleeing".
7:29: You failed Math 101 - there are more taxpayers in MoCo than in Howard. But Howard is one of the 10 wealthiest counties in America. MoCo is not. So, yes, the rich are fleeing. You were wrong in both of your arguments.
5:28: Understandable that to you facts are "crazy commentary." Explain how anything I said there is not fact. Go back and read the accounts at the time - Hogan was in the middle of cancer treatments, was said to be suffering great pain and fatigue, and suddenly made a 180 on the Purple Line.
MoCo cartel chainsaws are clearing trees on Piney Branch. Facts.
5:01: LOL - Development in the Ag Reserve is already forbidden, moron. We would just be building a bridge and highway.
4:33: Take your own advice - Westbard is not "densely-developed." It is not only not part of a city, but the closest downtown of an actual city is several miles south in D.C.
"Infill" is a developer term putting a good spin on suburban sprawl. The only legitimate use of that term would be if you were redeveloping a shopping center near Metro in downtown Bethesda. Westbard is squarely suburban residential, and not near a rapid transit station.
TOD is absolutely NOT "quality transit." It is RAPID transit: BRT, subway, light rail or streetcar. TOD has never been defined otherwise by any credible academic or urban planner.
Not only is Westbard not TOD, but it isn't even quality transit. There isn't even a direct bus to downtown Bethesda! There is the T2 and Ride On 23 (which cuts off before midnight), with 30-60 minute headways to Friendship Heights.
"Walkable community" is not the same as TOD, by a long shot.
2:43: It's not demand, it's land-use regulations that limit TOD to within half-a-mile of rapid transit stations. No credible academic or professional has ever claimed a regular bus stop nowhere near a rapid transit hub is TOD. Good God.
9:49: What time of day and on what day was the photo taken (I haven't seen it)? Sounds like the clowns who took photos of Trump's crowds long before the event started. Meanwhile, anyone reading this can confirm I am correct about jammed parking lots by going to the Westwood Shopping Center anytime between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM
BOOM
7:03: Now you're claiming every opponent of Reconstruction was a "white supremacist?" LOL. In reality, you post as "Anonymous" all the time, as your language and talking points can be easily recognized. Other times, you forget which website you posted something on, or which character you posted it as. These are the results of being a prolific troll.
"You failed Math 101 - there are more taxpayers in MoCo than in Howard. But Howard is one of the 10 wealthiest counties in America. MoCo is not. So, yes, the rich are fleeing. You were wrong in both of your arguments."
WTF does any of this have to do with your original claim that "most of Maryland's money comes from income taxes in Montgomery and Howard counties?"
"Hogan was in the middle of cancer treatments, was said to be suffering great pain and fatigue, and suddenly made a 180 on the Purple Line."
Hogan's change of opinion on the Purple Line actually happened a few weeks before his chemotherapy regimen started.
Perhaps if you had actually talked to Hogan, or any of the people who you (incorrectly) believe unduly influenced him, you could have avoided this rubbish.
– Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing.
– Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
Society of Professional Journalists' (SPJ) Code of Ethics (AKA "Journalism 101")
9:07: It's a fact that Montgomery County is a tax engine for Maryland - in sheer numbers of employed wage earners (most work at jobs outside of the County, however). Howard is a major contributor as home to the most 1-percenters in the state.
Nope - Hogan was under extreme duress at the time of the decision. Prior to his cancer treatment, he was opposed to the Purple and Red Lines. Nothing changed regarding either project since his election, but Hogan's health did.
"Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing."
LOL - you mean like "Leaving Neverland" did? Or Bob Woodward publishing a book about the White House without interviewing Trump for it?
"Identify sources clearly."
LOL - like the Post using CIA intelligence passed by Fifth Column operatives without disclosing that illegal action? Get Ed Snowden on line one. #PardonAssange #PardonSnowden
"It's a fact that Montgomery County is a tax engine for Maryland - in sheer numbers of employed wage earners (most work at jobs outside of the County, however). Howard is a major contributor as home to the most 1-percenters in the state."
Nope. That's not what you said. What you actually said was that "most of Maryland's money comes from income taxes in Montgomery and Howard counties". "Most" means "more than half". That statement is clearly incorrect - state income tax revenues from both those counties adds up to only 32.9% of the total. That's a big chunk for just two counties out of 23, but it is definitely not "most of the money".
"Hogan was under extreme duress at the time of the decision. Prior to his cancer treatment, he was opposed to the Purple and Red Lines. Nothing changed regarding either project since his election, but Hogan's health did."
This is sheer speculation on your part.
Once again, you incorrectly believe that mass or rapid transit is a requirement of transit oriented development. The only requirement is QUALITY PUBLIC transit, surrounding a walkable community. If Andy Griffith’s Maybury RFD had a frequent bus line, and someone built a new project that is easily walkable to that bus stop, it would indeed be considered TRANSIT ORIENTED DESIGN.
And development at Westbard is the exact opposite of the commonly accepted urban planning definition of sprawl. Sprawl is when any development is placed outside the developed area of a community, requiring the extension of new roads, services, utilities and school systems. Westbard is currently heavily developed as a nasty strip center, surrounded by acres of surface parking, multiple high-rise multi family housing projects and hundreds of very nice single family homes that will all benefit from enhanced density. You might argue that it might be too much enhanced density, and will stress some systems, but you are simply an idiot if you keep refering to it as sprawl.
By the way, I think if Westbard is not redeveloped, it should be more appropriately renamed Wastebard. Perhaps the most poorly designed shopping center on the planet, with all of its nasty loading docks, service doors, dumpsters, blowing trash, rodent traps, trailer trucks, and stacks of cardboard crates from Giant, all l0cated in its front yard facing Westbard Avenue. Whoever developed this caper knew less about design and planning that you apparently do about TOD and Sprawl.
"LOL - you mean like 'Leaving Neverland' did?"
"Leaving Neverland is a 2019 documentary film directed and produced by Dan Reed."
LOL
I don't understand what point you are trying to make. Are you arguing that nothing negative may be written about dead people, as justification for your out of control speculation about the very much alive Governor Hogan?
And are you defending Michael Jackson? That's creepy.
8:04/7:54: Hogan's cancer and cancer treatment are "speculation" in your mind? People are laughing at you right now.
Number one, I referred to Leaving Neverland as an example of bad journalism that doesn't "allow subjects to respond to allegations." Second, none of these allegations has ever been proven. I suspect the posthumous attack on a man who isn't here to defend himself is not only racial in nature, but also a diversion from the real story: Jeffrey Epstein and The Clintons' (and a host of other globalist politicians and celebrities') adventures on Lolita Island.
Where's that documentary?
8:01: Whoa - we're talking about transit oriented DEVELOPMENT (TOD), not transit oriented design. TOD is a half mile maximum from a rapid transit station. Next you'll tell us the moon is made of green cheese.
7:52: You need a better calculator.
"Hogan's cancer and cancer treatment are "speculation" in your mind? People are laughing at you right now."
Wow, even for you, this is an incredibly lame attempt at rebuttal. NO ONE denied that Hogan had cancer and was treated for it in 2015-16. It's your claim that his change of opinion on the Purple Line (which happened BEFORE his treatment started), was the result of being "badgered by criminals".
"None of these allegations [against Michael Jackson] has ever been proven. I suspect the posthumous attack on a man who isn't here to defend himself is not only racial in nature, but also a diversion from the real story: Jeffrey Epstein and The Clintons' (and a host of other globalist politicians and celebrities') adventures on Lolita Island."
Gish Gallop
"You need a better calculator."
32.9% is less than 50%. If you think that is somehow miscalculated, then provide a better number.
"We're talking about transit oriented DEVELOPMENT (TOD), not transit oriented design."
Same difference.
"TOD is a half mile maximum from a rapid transit station."
Once again, it's only you who claim that "transit" can only refer to "rail transit".
Why not just admit that you were wrong, and cut your losses?
6:06: Why would I admit I was wrong when my position is widely accepted among academia and the building industry, and urban planners, that TOD is only located within one-quarter to one-half a mile from a rapid transit station?
Are you a flat earther, as well?
6:02: Get the real numbers. And the real story on Jeffrey Epstein, and the men who let him get away scot free. Let's get Clinton and Podesta under oath on Epstein.
Hogan made the Purple Line decision well after his cancer diagnosis and treatment began. This is easily confirmed online.
"Why would I admit I was wrong when my position is widely accepted among academia and the building industry, and urban planners, that TOD is only located within one-quarter to one-half a mile from a rapid transit station?"
No, it's not. You keep saying "rapid transit". You are wrong. It is only "transit".
"Get the real numbers."
The total state income tax revenues from both counties in FY17 added up to 32.9% of the total statewide, just under a third, which is far less than "most of". If you have the "real numbers", then YOU produce them.
"Hogan made the Purple Line decision well after his cancer diagnosis and treatment began. This is easily confirmed online."
Hogan definitely started treatment AFTER he approved the Purple Line on June 25, 2015, no earlier than the following week.
Your notion that Hogan's change of opinion was the result of being "badgered by criminals" in his weakened state, is strictly from your own imagination.
Shouting "YOU'RE WRONG YOU'RE WRONG YOU'RE WRONG" and stomping your foot, is not a rebuttal.
According to Reconnecting America:
Transit-oriented development, or TOD, is a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation.
No mention of mass transit, rapid transit or and requirement for rail transit.
According to Wikipedia:
In urban planning, a transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport.[1][2] In doing so, TOD aims to increase public transport ridership by reducing the use of private cars and by promoting sustainable urban growth.[3]
A TOD typically includes a central transit stop (such as a train station, or light rail or bus stop) surrounded by a high-density mixed-use area, with lower-density areas spreading out from this center. A TOD is also typically designed to be more walkable than other built-up areas, through using smaller block sizes and reducing the land area dedicated to automobiles.[4][5]
The densest areas of a TOD are normally located within a radius of ¼ to ½ mile (400 to 800 m) around the central transit stop, as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for pedestrians, thus solving the last mile problem.
A central transit stop such as a train station or light rail OR A BUS STOP.
Love your Google Street View photo of the "press conference" at Ridgewell's.
This is all you needed to report - the rest is just #ArgleBargle.
"Ridgewells, the Bethesda catering business that is a local institution, announced that they have signed 20-year lease extension at 5525 Dorsey Lane. They also plan to expand into an adjacent two-story office building for their employees, while gutting and renovating the existing kitchen facilities in the current building."
6:51: Try saying that to a professional in the industry or academia - they will laugh at you. You well know that they are referring to a rapid transit station, not a "bus stop." Almost every piece of land in a developed suburban area is within a half mile of a bus stop - you're suggesting that suburbs and exurbs nowhere near rapid transit would all qualify for TOD density. Total insanity.
You're advocating for sprawl, not smart growth. With no rapid transit, 90%+ would be driving.
6:47: They are referring to rapid transit, moron. Westbard doesn't even have "quality" transit, much less rapid transit.
6:32: He made the decision after his cancer was detected, not before, and was under duress. These are the facts, chump.
7:07: The rest is critical analysis, something you'll only find on this website when it comes to our criminal elected officials. I understand you want a site that will only praise our corrupt officials - you have the Post and other sites for that propaganda.
@12:06: there is also an apartment at KPC for $290,000. There are many lower cost options already in Westbard with the condos and rental apartments.
Looks like our heroic Governor, victor over cancer and savior of the Purple Line, is considering challenging Trump in next year's primary.
Go, Larry! :)
Thank you for calling me insane and a moron as I continue to point out that you have very little understanding of urban planning terminology. You continue to distort the accepted definitions of both Sprawl and Transit Oriented Design.
Proposed development at Westbard is not Sprawl, and TOD does not require mass or rapid transit. You simply have no comprehension that you can be wrong. Just because you don’t want to use terms correctly, you continue to slander anyone who challenges your comments.
Just read the references I have posted. They clearly make my case that you are trying to enflame your commentary with sensational commentary like Westbard development is bad because it is accroding to you, Sprawl. When actually, in many peoples opinion, Westbard is a thoughtful redevelopment of a very bad strip shopping center into a more dense community centered on public transit. Yes it would be even better with more transit options, but to decry it as sprawl simply absurd.
You can certainly disagree with the amount of the planned density, or even suggest that you happen to prefer the existing strip center with easy and free surface parking. You are entitled to your opinion, but many others seem to believe a more dense development of commercial, strucrured parking, and more housing options, all focused on walkable streetscape and greenspace maybe a better choice. You even suggest that a “secrete’ extension of the Purple Line is evil, even though it would solve many of the issues you seem to have with enhanced density at Westbard.
I look forward to seeing you at the ribbon cutting, where you are welcome to realize you were wrong.
"He made the decision after his cancer was detected, not before, and was under duress. These are the facts, chump."
Well, at least you admitted that he was not actually undergoing chemotherapy at the time he made his decision to approve the Purple Line.
But how does the timing prove that he was somehow nefariously influenced to change his opinion - "badgered by criminals", as you claim, just because you don't happen to like his decision? Who were these supposed "criminals" who "badgered him"? Do you have any witnesses to this?
9:21AM Careful there, you might get body slammed into a virtual coffee table sport...
8:38: Among the criminals were elected officials in Montgomery County, and the editorial board - and some reporters - of the Washington Post, in collusion with the criminal MoCo cartel. All on the record. The man was ill at the time, much like Roosevelt surrounded by Soviet agents who had infiltrated his staff at Yalta.
8:21: You claim that TOD applies to regular bus stops nowhere near a rapid transit station, and you're claiming *I* have "little understanding" of urban planning? I actually studied urban planning in college as part of my Latin American history major. It's been very helpful in detecting some of the many things done wrong in our county and region. If we could have a fair and free election, I might even be able to correct some of these errors as a councilman.
To "center" transit-oriented urban density on the laughably unreliable, infrequent, and limited T2 and 23 buses is total insanity. Kind of like the new County Council plan to bulldoze established SFH neighborhoods countywide, and allow duplexes, triplexes and Section 8 boarding houses and flophouses to built among SFHs.
7:52: It's definitely appropriate to give Larry! that exclamation point, like Jeb! had. I'm sure Jeb! would like to give Larry! the grand tour at Bohemian Grove.
So, not real actual criminals, but elected officials legally doing their job.
I see you're still throwing those temper tantrums about losing elections.
Do you stomp your feet and ball up your fists? or are you more of a throw yourself on the ground and kick?
If you studied it in college, that would have been over 20 years ago. Things change. Anyway, colleges are nothing but Fellow Travelers teaching you propaganda...or so you've claimed.
5:41: Nope, actual criminals, who are one FBI interview away from the Big House. Are the losers in North Carolina and Georgia also throwing "temper tantrums" in talking about election fraud? Or is it only when you are a Republican?
"When they go low, we kick 'em." - Mastermind of Fast and Furious gun running operation endorsing violence against Republicans
5:43: LOL - Smart growth criteria hasn't changed since I was in college. But sure, tell Beto he's not qualified to be president because it's been over 20 years since he graduated from college. Yes, I was barraged by Communist propaganda in college, but as an independent thinker, came out as anti-Communist as I was on Day One. If anything, even more so.
So maybe they should improve the bus services if density is increased at Westbard. One nice thing about bus service is that is very scaleable. Quite easy to improve frequency and bus stops. Fixed rail and BRT with dedicated lanes and level boarding are much more expensive and complicated to add service, at least compared to buses.
I suspect that the developers of Westbard will voluntarily add a nice shuttle to the Metro. You are correct that this should have been made a condition of their approval.
Glad to hear that you studied urban planning. The Bethesda, NoVa and the DC area in general is a great example of the value of thoughtful urban planning. Some world class ideas around here. It will be fun to see how Amazon HQ2 transforms the National Landing. A great case study in the benefit of public, mass and rapid transit options. I think we can certainly agree on that.
What do FDR, Jeb Bush, Bohemian Grove, or Beto O'Rourke have to do with the redevelopment of the Westwood shopping center?
"Are the losers in North Carolina and Georgia also throwing "temper tantrums" in talking about election fraud?"
In the election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional district, McCready (D) lost to Harris (R) by a margin of only 905 votes, 0.32% of the total vote. The election was voided when fraudulent use of absentee ballots was clearly documented. Harris withdrew from the new election and the campaign operative who orchestrated the fraud has been indicted.
You lost by 174,711 votes, trailing the fourth-place winner by 12.2% of the vote. Four and a half months later, you still have not contacted any law enforcement agencies about your claims of vote fraud, because you have nothing.
6:22: We don't know how many total votes I actually had, because thousands of them are missing. It takes time to put hundreds of precinct results in order for submission to the BOE and FBI. Thanks to colluding Washington Post reporter Jennifer Barrios, I have to do all of the work myself. Just the turnout alone mysteriously showed the off-year voter universe suddenly grew by 100,000 voters. Very suspicious.
6:04: Other than Beto having engaged in pay-to-play corruption with developer sugar daddies just like the MoCo Council, the only common thread is globalism.
"We don't know how many total votes I actually had, because thousands of them are missing."
How do you know that "thousands are missing"?
WTF is a "voter universe"?
6:49: Because I should have had at least more than Steve Abrams in 2006 - well over 100,000, as I have far more name recognition among average people than Abrams did. I might not have won given the total blackout of my campaign by the MoCo cartel-colluding Washington Post. That's a separate issue. Missing votes, voter machine tampering and illegal voting all played a role, it appears.
Voter universe is the total voter turnout on Election Day in this case. It mysteriously was 100,000 voters larger than 2014.
"Because I should have had at least more than Steve Abrams in 2006 - well over 100,000, as I have far more name recognition among average people than Abrams did."
I don't know about that, but Robin Ficker has a very high level of name recognition yet it didn't help him win.
"Missing votes, voter machine tampering and illegal voting all played a role, it appears."
Sure...Awaiting your documentation, with bated breath.
Regarding turnout, in Montgomery County it was 47% in 2010, 39% in 2014, and 54.8% in 2018.
For the nation as a whole, it was similar: 41.8% in 2010, 36.7% in 2014 (the lowest in 72 years), and 49.3% in 2018. Montgomery County was in line with the rest of the country.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/19/18103110/2018-midterm-elections-turnout
7:41 AM
Media coverage of the council general election contest was non existent.
They kind of had to at least mention Ficker since there were so many Pro-Floreen puff pieces in the legacy media. However, the only takeaway about Ficker is that he is a "heckler". Nothing about issues.
7:41: Ficker was running against the most-popular politician in Montgomery County. I was running against one of the least popular, and three newcomers with no name recognition and no involvement on any of the major issues. My pro-business campaign should have been touted by the Post editorial board, if they were not corrupt criminals, as that was the entire focus of their election message to boost David Blair. Yet no mention of the guy who has been chronicling the downfall of the MoCo economy for over a decade?
The anomalous results at specific precincts can be verified by anyone reviewing the Precinct by Precinct election results. The BOE and FBI will find them interesting.
100,000 new voters, illegal voting, and Post reporter Jennifer Barrios colluding with the Montgomery County cartel to block news coverage. Barrios also ran a catch-and-kill operation similar to the National Enquirer, refusing to print stories on scandal after scandal that were forwarded to her attention.
Your explanations can't explain these facts away.
"I was running against one of the least popular"
Have you considered the possibility that you might be one of the least popular?
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