The Montgomery County Department of Transportation Parking Division has filed a mandatory referral for the disposition of Public Parking Lot 44 at 4704 West Virginia Avenue in downtown Bethesda with the Montgomery County Planning Department. An apartment building with up to 59 units, 15% of which would be Moderately-Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs), structured parking, and dedication of 6000 SF for the Eastern Greenway public park has been proposed for the site.
A public hearing on the referral before the Planning Board is tentatively scheduled for September 12, 2024. "Mandatory referral" means that the Planning Board commissioners can advise the County about the proposal, but cannot block it, a privilege given to development, land use, or land acquisition/sale proposals submitted by any level of government to the Planning Board. Commissioners can reject a mandatory referral, but the government can simply ignore that decision and proceed.
5 comments:
Very under utilized lot. The stupid payment system is very confusing. Tow truck often parked conveniently near by. Nope. Learning
"Commissioners can reject a mandatory referral, but the government can simply ignore that decision and proceed."
Says it all, thanks Robert. I'm not saying that the space shouldn't be redeveloped, but the residents and taxpayers have no say, as the County Council and Planning Board can -- and do -- ignore us. The developers on the other hand ...
It's need to be said that it's not just county that can ignore a rejection of a mandatory referral, but any public entity including the federal government, state government, transit authorities (Metro), utilities, military, etc. which 100% makes perfect sense.
The planning approval process is meant to protect communities from private corporate interests, not other public bodies.
9:55: I did note that mandatory referral is "a privilege given to development, land use, or land acquisition/sale proposals submitted by any level of government to the Planning Board."
Never mind about 2:14, I was referring the lot on Highland Ave. The WV Lot still has meters.
Learning
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