[Update: March 5, 2012] The Montgomery County Council will hold a full-council worksession on the Kensington Sector Plan on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 (9:50 – 11 a.m., at 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville). This is likely the final discussion on the Plan, likely followed by a straw vote. (A final formal vote will take place in April.)
The council can make any changes to the plan, large or small, up until the minute they vote. ***IMPORTANT*** It is not too late to write letters/emails to the County Council: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
(Make sure your street address is on your email.)
Background: At its Feb. 6 meeting, the Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) committee voted 3-0 (Floreen, Leventhal, Elrich) to add new protective language to the Plan to address compatibility at edge areas where new development is adjacent to single-family homes. This is a positive change. However, the Committee recommended (2-1, Elrich dissenting) giving Konterra its requested 15 extra feet of height (total 75 feet), that the community overwhelmingly opposes and that was rejected by the Montgomery County Planning Board (including two developers) after lengthy debate. The property on Metropolitan, across the tracks from the MARC station, is not in the Plan’s Connecticut/University core and could set a height precedent. Already, a second property owner (Mizell) is requesting the same height increase. (Click here for more info, map of Konterra.)
The Kensington Committee supports the Kensington Sector Plan Planning Board Draft recommendations of 60 feet for Konterra.
To read the County Council staff reports on the Kensington Sector Plan: Feb. 6, 2012, Dec. 5, 2011, Nov. 21, 2011. And a video of the PHED meeting showing Montgomery Planning PowerPoint (visual modeling of proposed building mass): Video of Nov. 21 PHED
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QUICK FACTS
• Big buildings: The Kensington Sector Plan could allow 75-foot and 60-foot new buildings throughout Kensington (and 50-foot, Howard Avenue). Buildings will be more dense (more square footage), with less open space. [read more]
• Worse traffic: Kensington’s Connecticut/Plyers Mill intersection is at 114 percent of capacity today. No infrastructure improvements are required prior to building. Traffic from Town residents is expected to increase by 50 percent [MNCPPC]. [read more]
• No Metro, more building: Being near MARC could allow developers to build bigger and higher (to the maximum in the zone) through “transit proximity.” But MARC is not Metro, with limited schedules and only 150 passengers a day to/from Kensington. [read more]
• School overcrowding: The Plan is estimated to add between 58 – 161 children to Kensington [MCPS]. This could further overcrowd schools (WJ is already over capacity, KP at 129 percent of capacity) or could require future boundary changes. [read more]
• Upzoning: The Plan uses the new density-promoting CR zones. [read more]
• Few protections for neighborhoods: The new CR zones in the Plan allow more “by-right” development, with reduced review of smaller properties by neighborhoods, and an increased number of commercial uses.
• MoCo wants it: Montgomery County wants high-rise density and more moderate-income housing in downcounty areas like Kensington. [read more]
• Population increase: The Plan is estimated to add between 983 – 2,888 new residents (to a Town of under 1,900 residents). [read more]
• The Plan is estimated to add 501 – 1,410 new apartments to a Town of 534 single-family homes [MNCPPC]. The Plan could allow apartments to outnumber single-family homes in Kensington for the first time. [read more]
• No safeguards: The Town of Kensington now may formally comment on a site plan, but has no regulatory authority, and can be overruled by the Planning Board, which is not legally bound to follow the Town’s recommendation. Smaller properties that don’t require a site plan will have no review by the Town or the Planning Board, and don’t have to abide by Design Guidelines. [read more]
• Official concerns: County officials have expressed some concerns about the Plan, especially with regard to traffic. [read more: MCDOT, Ike Leggett, County Council staff.]
• Think: Mini-Rockville or Bethesda – The Plan could allow up to quadruple the density (building square footage and height) of what is built today – an urban-scale increase in density. [read more]
• Coming soon: For the first time in many decades, developers could build apartment buildings in Kensington, an incentive to build soon and big. MNCPPC has identified seven properties likely to develop soonest, including Hardware City, Savannahs and the property across the tracks from the MARC station. [read more]
• Process: The Montgomery County Council is holding worksessions on the Sector Plan at its Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) committee, where members will make a detailed analysis and forward site-by-site recommendations to the full Council. Councilmembers can ask for changes, big or small, up until the minute they vote. Adoption is expected by the end of February, 2012. [read more]
• What should we ask for? Ask the Montgomery County Council to bring down the overall density and building heights in the Sector Plan, to ensure adequate transportation solutions first, and to protect neighborhoods and schools. Ask for specific reductions on specific properties you feel strongly about. [read more]
• What can I do? Write a letter to the County Council at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov (make sure your street address is on emails)! Ask your neighbors to write. Attend the PHED committee meeting on February 6 (2 p.m.) and the full council worksession (as yet unscheduled) (schedule).
• What do I say? You don’t have to get technical or say a lot. You know what is important to your quality of life. But hurry! Please write a letter to the County Council today! [read more]
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I launched this website, along with a group of concerned citizens in the Kensington area, to explain the Kensington Sector Plan – and issues and concerns surrounding it, about which you may be unaware. I am a Town Council Member in Kensington (not speaking on behalf of the Town) and a 19-year resident. The website is the culmination of hundreds of hours of document research, meetings and discussions with County officials. I and others have testified at numerous public hearings on the Sector Plan and CR zones. Though Council staff analysts have acknowledged community issues, citizens have many remaining concerns. It’s a complex issue, with competing priorities. The website contains links to source documents (County traffic analysis, CR Zones, Article 28, etc.) and photos and maps. Information is verified by County documents or officials. (If you find any inaccuracy, please contact me and I will look into it and fix if incorrect.) I linked to the Town of Kensington website so you can read the proponents’ views as well.
I hope this site is helpful to you. Please click around the site to learn more. Thank you!
Lydia Sullivan
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