Friendship Heights settles grocery shuttle bus dispute with Chevy Chase Land Co.

Shuttle bus service from the Village of Friendship Heights to the Westbard Giant in Bethesda will continue through March 2021, or until the new grocery store opens at the Collection at Chevy Chase, under a settlement between the Village and Collection owner Chevy Chase Land Co. CCLC had agreed to pay for this bus service under the terms of its approved Montgomery County site plan, but recently filed to have this commitment deleted. Attorneys Norman Knopf and David Brown represented the Village in the dispute.

CCLC has said it intends to now withdraw its request for deletion of the shuttle bus mandate, although the Village retains the legal right to oppose it should it not be withdrawn. Under the terms of the settlement, CCLC will pay the Village $1250 a week to cover the costs of the Village shuttle's trips between Friendship Heights and the Giant at the Westwood Shopping Center. The Giant at the Collection closed, and the shuttle was to operate until the new grocery tenant opens.

The Village also agreed to drop its opposition to a set of new site plan amendments for the Collection, in exchange for a clarification that new outdoor dining areas by the grocery store would be for grocery patrons only. Under the agreement, the Village retains its right to preserve a 1998 covenant with CCLC that requires bus service to the Westbard Giant if the Collection ever fails to have a Giant or comparable grocery tenant.