To the Montgomery County Council:
We understand the County Council is currently considering the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan. As you consider the Plan, we urge you to do three things:
1. Stage development to assure parks, schools and traffic are in balance with growth.
2. Mitigate the impact on nearby residential neighborhoods.
- Ensure development near those neighborhoods is compatible in use with residential areas.
- Ensure there are appropriate transitions from the central business district to the neighborhoods.
- Provide for a Greenway where appropriate that provides a meaningful transition space.
- Ensure that there is ample open space in downtown Bethesda, including dedicating the existing county owned surface parking lots to open space and parks.
3. Focus tall buildings near Metro and not at the edges. There are plenty of properties away from residential areas where large buildings can be constructed, and there is no need to site any properties that will degrade the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. At a minimum, the heights given to the following projects should be substantially reduced:
- The Jaffe Tower (6801 to 6807 Wisconsin): At 145 feet, this project is too big for the southeastern corner of the Plan area and far taller than the Planning Department recommendation for the site and anything else in the area.
- 7201 Wisconsin Avenue: At 200 feet, this project will cast the Farm Women’s Market and proposed park in shadows for much of the day.
- The Cheltenham Canyon (7725-7845 Wisconsin): At 250 feet, these buildings are too tall and will create a canyon effect both on Cheltenham Drive and with the towers across Wisconsin Avenue.
- 7900-8000 blocks of Wisconsin Avenue: At 145-200 feet, these buildings are far taller than the Planning Department recommendation for these sites. These buildings will create a canyon effect across Wisconsin Avenue.
- 4400-4424 Montgomery Avenue: At 120-145 feet, these buildings will tower over Elm Street residences and create a canyon with the commercial office buildings across Montgomery Avenue.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
November 1, 2016
October 31, 2016
I just saw the count tick past one hundred which is honestly wild because I was worried nobody else cared about these height limits and neighborhood buffers. My coffee is already cold but I am just staring at the screen and thinking about how we might actually get someone at the planning office to notice this thing if we keep going.
Reached 100 supporters
October 30, 2016
92 Comments
The currently-proposed plan would be very detrimental to the adjacent neighborhood, where parking, traffic and pedestrian safety are already problematic. Tall buildings with such dense housing should be clustered closer to the Metro station, not on the less-dense fringes.
Very concerned about construction hazards, traffic gridlock, large winter shadows of tall buildings impacting many Ch Ch Town and other Bethesda residents who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I strongly support properly staging development to ensure that our communities do not suffer unnecessarily, limiting the impact to the adjoining and surrounding communities and neighborhoods, and having the tall buildings as removed from the residential neighborhoods as possible.
The BCC cluster schools are over crowded, school buses have children standing in aisles, and traffic around Walter-Reed and NIH has objectively worsened. Additional developments need to be reconciled with the reality that Bethesda residents face on a daily basis.
I wholeheartedly support this petition along CBAR's testimony and that of EBCA. The County Council must reject this Plan and ensure that it is considerably revised to protect edge areas, stage growth to ensure that infrastructure is in place, including parks and green space for active recreation.
Although l don't live in Bethesda, l shop their, my doctors are there, and l sped a good bit of time at restaurants and cultural events in the area. I find it less and less appealing as it turns into a canyon. The traffic created by Walter Reed is appalling. Street parking is now $2.00 per hour . I'm finding it less and less appealing because it has become a inightmare to get around. Smart Growth has been anything but !
I have lived in the same house for over 50 years, but hardly go to Bethesda anymore, since it is so clogged and it is impossible to park. We tend to go upcounty instead when we go out to eat, shop, etc.
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To the Montgomery County Council:
We understand the County Council is currently considering the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan. As you consider the Plan, we urge you to do three things:
1. Stage development to assure parks, schools and traffic are in balance with growth.
2. Mitigate the impact on nearby residential neighborhoods.
- Ensure development near those neighborhoods is compatible in use with residential areas.
- Ensure there are appropriate transitions from the central business district to the neighborhoods.
- Provide for a Greenway where appropriate that provides a meaningful transition space.
- Ensure that there is ample open space in downtown Bethesda, including dedicating the existing county owned surface parking lots to open space and parks.
3. Focus tall buildings near Metro and not at the edges. There are plenty of properties away from residential areas where large buildings can be constructed, and there is no need to site any properties that will degrade the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. At a minimum, the heights given to the following projects should be substantially reduced:
- The Jaffe Tower (6801 to 6807 Wisconsin): At 145 feet, this project is too big for the southeastern corner of the Plan area and far taller than the Planning Department recommendation for the site and anything else in the area.
- 7201 Wisconsin Avenue: At 200 feet, this project will cast the Farm Women’s Market and proposed park in shadows for much of the day.
- The Cheltenham Canyon (7725-7845 Wisconsin): At 250 feet, these buildings are too tall and will create a canyon effect both on Cheltenham Drive and with the towers across Wisconsin Avenue.
- 7900-8000 blocks of Wisconsin Avenue: At 145-200 feet, these buildings are far taller than the Planning Department recommendation for these sites. These buildings will create a canyon effect across Wisconsin Avenue.
- 4400-4424 Montgomery Avenue: At 120-145 feet, these buildings will tower over Elm Street residences and create a canyon with the commercial office buildings across Montgomery Avenue.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
November 1, 2016
October 31, 2016
I just saw the count tick past one hundred which is honestly wild because I was worried nobody else cared about these height limits and neighborhood buffers. My coffee is already cold but I am just staring at the screen and thinking about how we might actually get someone at the planning office to notice this thing if we keep going.
Reached 100 supporters
October 30, 2016
92 Comments
I believe in smart growth, but the excessive development planned along Wisconsin and downtown Bethesda will overwhelm already crowded streets. Many evenings, and increasingly in the mornings as well, Wisconsin is gridlocked. This problem extends from Bradley Lane to Cedar.
The currently-proposed plan would be very detrimental to the adjacent neighborhood, where parking, traffic and pedestrian safety are already problematic. Tall buildings with such dense housing should be clustered closer to the Metro station, not on the less-dense fringes.
Very concerned about construction hazards, traffic gridlock, large winter shadows of tall buildings impacting many Ch Ch Town and other Bethesda residents who experience Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I strongly support properly staging development to ensure that our communities do not suffer unnecessarily, limiting the impact to the adjoining and surrounding communities and neighborhoods, and having the tall buildings as removed from the residential neighborhoods as possible.
The BCC cluster schools are over crowded, school buses have children standing in aisles, and traffic around Walter-Reed and NIH has objectively worsened. Additional developments need to be reconciled with the reality that Bethesda residents face on a daily basis.
I wholeheartedly support this petition along CBAR's testimony and that of EBCA. The County Council must reject this Plan and ensure that it is considerably revised to protect edge areas, stage growth to ensure that infrastructure is in place, including parks and green space for active recreation.
Although l don't live in Bethesda, l shop their, my doctors are there, and l sped a good bit of time at restaurants and cultural events in the area. I find it less and less appealing as it turns into a canyon. The traffic created by Walter Reed is appalling. Street parking is now $2.00 per hour . I'm finding it less and less appealing because it has become a inightmare to get around. Smart Growth has been anything but !
I have lived in the same house for over 50 years, but hardly go to Bethesda anymore, since it is so clogged and it is impossible to park. We tend to go upcounty instead when we go out to eat, shop, etc.
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I believe in smart growth, but the excessive development planned along Wisconsin and downtown Bethesda will overwhelm already crowded streets. Many evenings, and increasingly in the mornings as well, Wisconsin is gridlocked. This problem extends from Bradley Lane to Cedar.