Planners working on the Westbard Sector Plan were greeted Wednesday night with a tamer crowd during a presentation of the latest updates when compared to contentious past meetings—and even received support from several audience members.
Sure, there were plenty of people at the meeting at Walt Whitman High School who still don’t want any change in the neighborhood. But rather than the boos, accusations and allegations leveled at planners during a November meeting, Wednesday night’s event focused on the plan itself, rather than the question, “Why do we need to change at all?”
Montgomery County Planning Director Gwen Wright answered that question, without prompting, before planners began the presentation. She said the sector plan that guides development in the neighborhood between River Road and Massachusetts Avenue in western Bethesda hasn’t been updated in more than 30 years and the county’s continuing growth necessitates changing dated policies. “You can’t think about no change,” Wright said. “You have to think about accommodating change.”
The new plan would guide development in the area over the next two decades—and parts of the plan may not come to fruition until 10 to 20 years from now, if ever, planners said.
Already developer Equity One is proposing changes to the area, including redeveloping the Westwood Shopping Center as a large, walkable retail center and adding nearby apartment buildings.
John Marcolin, lead planner for the Westbard update, detailed changes planners have incorporated since last presenting the plan in November. Among them:
- Allowing industrial land uses to remain near the Capital Crescent Trail in buildings off of Butler Road, which is currently home to auto repair shops and gas stations.
- Limiting building heights to 50 feet in certain areas near single-family residential neighborhoods.
- Calling for a dog and skate park, as well as plans for cycle tracks and bike lanes on River Road and Westbard Avenue.
What hasn’t changed is a significant increase in the number of residential units allowed in the neighborhood. Currently, there are 1,104 residences in the Westbard plan coverage area. Existing zoning allows a total of 1,684; that number would jump to 3,200 residential units under the updated plan, according to the statistics presented by planners.
County transportation planner Michael Garcia said none of the road intersections in the area covered by the plan—including Ridgefield and River roads as well as Little Falls Parkway and River Road—were handling too much traffic. Less than 1,600 vehicles per hour are passing through the intersections, according to planners. If the number were higher, the intersections would be considered as “failing” by the county and in need of improvements. Garcia added that even with the additional residential units, the intersections weren’t expected to fail. Some members of the audience groaned at Garcia’s comments—throughout the update process, which has been ongoing for more than six months, residents have complained about long waits at intersections and traffic congestion in the area.
Among those who spoke Wednesday against the plan, many mentioned how they could not believe that adding 1,500 more units to the area wouldn’t exacerbate the congestion. Before the presentation, Wright also warned the audience members that they may not like the transportation data: “What you’re going to see tonight is not a value judgment, it’s based on the data and traffic counts that have been collected. All we can do is share the data with you. We know it’s not going to make you happy.” The planned growth may also impact enrollment at public schools and planners addressed that concern by detailing the four ways Montgomery County Public Schools addresses overcrowding in the county:
- Build a new school. The current Little Falls Library site was mentioned as a possible site—although audience members pushed back against the idea of moving the library.
- Reopen an old school. Potential prospects include the former Brookmont Elementary School, now a Waldorf School, on Sangamore Road; Concord Elementary School near Cabin John Parkway that’s now Apple Montessori; or the Clara Barton Elementary School on MacArthur Boulevard, which is now the Clara Barton Community Center.
- Redistricting. Wright said some students could be redistricted to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School cluster. She said this could be done by only redistricting students living in the new developments, so current residents would remain in the Walt Whitman High School cluster.
- Build additions to current schools in the Whitman cluster.
Among other changes, new bike lanes were added to the plan. A two-way cycle track was pitched for River Road and bike lanes are being considered for Westbard Avenue. Planners detailed ideas to daylight the Willett Branch stream to create a linear park, and to create small parks in the current Westwood Shopping Center and an area for a new dog and skate park at the site of an existing large surface parking lot near the Capital Crescent Trail. However, planners were forthright about the fact that the amenities won’t be built if the area isn’t redeveloped. “We can’t get some of those amenities until properties are developed,” Wright said.
Other details added to the plan since the November update include a historical element—designed to highlight the industrial and African-American heritage of the community—and street designs for River Road, Westbard Avenue and a new connector road proposed to be constructed along the Capital Crescent Trail. That road would provide a new route to get from River Road to Massachusetts Avenue that would loop around new development planned for Westbard Avenue. During public comment after the presentation, resident Shep Burr said he remained unpersuaded. He said he had never seen “a government body essentially make an argument for a developer.”
That sentiment—that planners are allowing larger building heights and more residential units in the neighborhood to accommodate plans by the developer Equity One—is one that continues to be expressed in these community meetings. Equity One owns a 22-acre parcel along Westbard Avenue that includes the Giant-anchored Westwood Shopping Center as well as other adjoining sites and is pitching a plan to redevelop the sites into a large retail center with nearby residential buildings with about 500 units.
An annotated rendering of Equity One's plans for the area.
Other speakers said they wanted to maintain the character of the community and worried that increased development will turn the suburban neighborhood into a more urban environment.
However, in stark contrast to the November meeting, where only one person who spoke supported the plan, there were several people who spoke in favor of redeveloping the area.
One woman, who identified herself as a 30-year resident of Kenwood, said, “I think you've done an incredible job. We live in a first-class neighborhood with second- and third-class amenities and I think this plan will improve the neighborhood.”
Planners presented this slide to detail the next steps in the process:
