Old project generating new intrigue in Westbard Sector Plan discussions

Rumors have been swirling that the applicant who has approval for a 97' tall senior housing development on the site of the Washington Episcopal School may be reconsidering the age limitation on that project. Sheridan Development Group had already requested a delay in its project plan review and a site plan amendment. The former was ostensibly to allow more time to complete a traffic study.

But the already-controversial project has gotten even more controversial, as an attorney representing the surrounding neighborhoods has concluded that the Westbard Sector Plan update could strip zoning restrictions agreed to for the project. Most notable among those, is the binding element requiring the building to remain age-restricted. They also include a proposed traffic light for the intersection of River Road and Landy Lane.

Attorney Norman Knopf says that, while the binding elements for the WES project survived last October's zoning code update, they "no longer must be satisfied once the property is subject to a Sectional Map Amendment implementing a master plan." An SMA would be part of the adoption of the new Westbard Sector Plan, the rewrite of which is currently underway. The provision that would allow the binding elements to be stripped is found on page 7-40 of the zoning code.

As such, Knopf said in a letter to the Montgomery County Planning Board, the Board and County Council must ensure language in the new Sector Plan specifies that the Sheridan/WES development site retain PD-28 zoning. Knopf represented 19 citzen associations during the local map amendment process that resulted in the 2008 WES project approval.

Knopf is asking the Board to take up the matter during its Westbard worksession this Thursday, which is expected to be dominated by park and environmental issues, and the naturalization of the Willett Branch stream.

To add to the drama, the WES project is now on the agenda for the December 10 Planning Board meeting.

The WES project proposal currently contains 121 senior housing units, for residents 55-and-older. It will produce an estimated 236 vehicles under the latest FHWA and Census numbers of 1.95 vehicles per household. That number could jump to 276 under the February 2015 study by Experian Automotive, which collects and analyzes automotive data.

At 8-stories, the building would rise high above single-family homes in the adjacent Kenwood neighborhood.

As we've seen before, the Planning Board does its "best work" when residents are busy with holiday shopping, events and travel.

Rendering via Montgomery County Planning Department