Residents Skeptical as Westbard Sector Plan Update Begins

Traffic and school overcrowding concerns dominated Tuesday night's kickoff event

September 24, 2014 10:55 a.m.

Members of the Montgomery County Planning Department assured more than 100 residents gathered at a kickoff event Tuesday night to rewrite the Westbard Sector Plan that they were not developer Equity One, but residents seemed skeptical that planners would be receptive to their views.

Some seemed convinced that the process will result in more intense development in the Bethesda area, as has been the case after other recent sector plan rewrites in Chevy Chase Lake, Wheaton and Long Branch.

Equity One purchased the Westwood Shopping Center that includes the Giant grocery store on Westbard Avenue and the surrounding retail and residential buildings for a reported $140 million in January. The shopping center is the focus of the sector plan update, which will likely set new zoning and urban design guidelines for the area.

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Since then Equity One has begun a campaign called “Westbard Vision” that included a presentation in March when the company unveiled an initial idea to turn Westbard Avenue into a pedestrian-friendly Main Street that looked similar in concept renderings to Bethesda Row.

Last night marked the first time that residents had an opportunity to tell county planners what they would like to see in the sector plan area, which stretches from Dorset Avenue in the north to Massachusetts Avenue in the south and is hemmed in by residential neighborhoods to the west along Kirkwood Drive and Albia Road and Little Falls Parkway to the west.

Keep the area the same, said residents who attended the meeting.

Residents questioned the accuracy of facts from the planning department’s briefing book about the area, and warned about increased traffic congestion on River Road and school overcrowding as a result of new residential development.

One resident told planners they had lost all credibility in her eyes after the Chevy Chase Lake sector plan update, which increased height limits in the area in anticipation of the Purple Line. The resident also called development in Bethesda “a monster.”

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Gwen Wright, the planning department director, attempted to allay residents’ concerns by noting that the Westbard area is predominantly residential, a factor that will be considered in any zoning changes, while Bethesda is considered a transit center with a central Metro station.

Planning department members, who had expected to review the process of updating the sector plan, seemed taken aback by the reactions of residents, who are already envisioning a significant increase in development after community meetings held by Equity One.

However, one resident did say she could see the potential of a redeveloped shopping center. The current center is more than 50 years old, features dated architecture and includes a large surface parking lot.

“I believe this is going to be an improvement if you protect the community and don’t let Equity One do whatever they want to do,” the resident said.

“That’s one of our main goals—to protect the community,” responded John Marcolin, lead planner for the sector.

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Planners will hold another community meeting Oct. 21 at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda to detail their scope of work. Planners are inviting the community to attend a charrette from Nov. 10-14, so residents can share their visions for the area. A draft plan is not expected to go before the County Council until sometime in mid-2015, according to planners.

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