A weekly sampling of reader comments culled from trending Bethesda Beat stories.
Residential Building Freeze Covers 12% of County
Residential construction will be frozen in about 12% of Montgomery County for one year beginning July 1 because neighborhood schools are too crowded, the county Planning Board decided Thursday.
Comments:
- Advertisement -
- How about a moratorium on commercial development?
- It is unfortunate that this is the Planning Board’s solution to this complex problem. Despite some of the rhetoric about how lousy of a place MoCo is, people still want to move here and live here, yet the County can’t seem to figure out a way to accommodate that growth whether its schools, infrastructure, public services, etc. A building moratorium to curb the new housing supply is easier to implement than actually solving the root problem of being unable to accommodate demand and population growth. I don’t know what the answer should be but a moratorium feels like a cop-out to me.
- The school system as a whole will be over capacity at the high school level in five years, based on the school system’s own projections. The planning staff says elementary schools always go over capacity before high schools, so that should give an indication of how bad the situation is. When the system as a whole is over capacity, you can’t simply redraw boundaries. You need to build schools. The moratorium is a massive planning failure for which the council bears most of the blame. It’s time to build classrooms. That’s the best way out of this.
- “Representatives from the state’s building trade association could not be immediately reached.”…. I can’t believe Bethesda Beat couldn’t find Hans Riemer for a quote
County Leaders Sound Alarms About Youth Vaping
County leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about use of vaping devices after five students in as many months lost consciousness and required a drug antidote after vaping during school.
Comments:
- I honestly don’t get how politicians are so anti cigarette smoking and vaping, but so pro marijuana smoking. It seems they do everything possible to forbid the former, but allow the latter. I don’t have a dog in this fight, but just find it illogical.
- Please get back to real issues in the County like education, transit, immigration, etc.
- Where are they getting their vapes? You cannot buy in Maryland if you are under 21 years old.
Elrich Proposes Levying Impact Fees on Accessory Housing Units
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is proposing impact fees for some new accessory dwelling units in the county, similar to fees developers pay for single-family homes.
Comments:
- County Executive Elrich is absolutely correct on opposing these ADU’s. His concerns are my concerns: increased traffic, stormwater runoff, school crowding, and aesthetic issues. I also agree with Councilman Albornoz’ comments about neighbors being pitted against each other as some add ADU’s which others oppose. I see posturing by some Council members who may want to oppose our present County Executive during the next election cycle. In my opinion, Mr. Elrich is the one with both common sense and the best interests of residents at heart.
- The only residents Marc Elrich cares about are the ones who put lawn signs up saying “Hate Has No Home Here” then turn around and oppose new apartment buildings near their neighborhoods.
- The council is trying to end single family zoning.
Bethesda Row Welcomes Another Online Retailer
Online custom apparel company Custom Ink will arrive at Bethesda Row in late June, continuing a recent trend of virtual retailers opening brick-and-mortar locations at the downtown shopping area.
Comments:
- Advertisement -
- I don’t understand how people would expect a real estate developer to lose money to please a few haters (those that don’t even want to spend money at the center). At the end of the day, Federal Realty created the downtown Bethesda is today and this has benefited the community as a whole, heck… Federal has benefited Montgomery County as a whole in a way or another, so maybe show a little more appreciation? This is a public company whose mission is to increase dividends to its shareholders while enhancing the communities they serve. You don’t go to Bethesda Row because it’s affordable, you go to Bethesda Row because of the experience it provides – and let’s just say we are fortunate enough in this area to be able to afford it. Bethesda Row is a beautiful place to gather, it offers a dynamic retail mix that is unparalleled in our area and it has beautified our community and promoted an engaged community.
- And Bethesda Row gets more and more boring. Chains, chains, chains. Yawn. There’s an amazing printing/embroidery shop nearby–ABCTees–that’s locally owned and likely way more creative and service-oriented than some faceless online joint. I’d far rather see folks supporting those businesses than yet another place i can find anywhere (and I don’t work there or know anyone who does, before we go there). Thanks, FedRealty.
- Custom Ink is a cool company with a brilliant concept. Yeah the website and shirt design on the computer is one thing but having brick and mortar is a whole new level. You may not need them all the time but believe, they’ll do well.
Full text and additional comments accompany the individual online stories and updates.
