Community feedback and next steps for the Westbard Sector Plan discussed at December 18 meeting
SILVER SPRING, MD – Staff from the Montgomery County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, presented the results from its weeklong PlanWestbard Community Charrette to the County Planning Board on Thursday, December 18.
During this series of intensive workshops held in mid-November, planners met extensively with state and local agencies, citizen associations, property and business owners and individual residents from the Westbard area. They held visioning and feedback sessions on plan concepts and ideas produced through interaction among the planning team, community and other stakeholders. On Tuesday evening, November 18, at the Westland Middle School, the Westbard planning team presented the planning concepts that resulted from the Community Charrette.
View PlanWestbard December 18 Planning Board briefing documents.
The feedback from the weeklong workshops helped to shape the preliminary Westbard Concept Framework Plan, which identifies preliminary ideas for an enhanced Westbard – including building density and heights, public facilities, transportation improvements, parks and open space as well as environmental considerations. The Plan seeks to transform the Westbard area from a community that is focused on older commercial centers and light industrial uses into a more pedestrian-friendly, suburban town center that preserves the local services on which the community depends.
In addressing community concerns about the planning effort, the PlanWestbard Team shares its responses to the top 10 questions related to the Westbard Sector Plan as follows:
Top 10 Community Questions/Concerns:
Concern #1: Who is creating this plan?
The PlanWestbard team consists of employees of the Montgomery County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The Planning Department takes direction from the Montgomery County Planning Board and implements a work program that is set out by the Montgomery County Council. A major responsibility of the Planning Department is to work with all stakeholders to create master plans for neighborhoods throughout Montgomery County. No private group or entity is creating this plan.
Concern #2: Why update the plan now?
It is important to update the Westbard Plan at this time for a number of reasons, which include:
The Westbard Sector Plan is old and out of date;
-It is 32 years old. Most plans in Montgomery County are updated every 20 years.
-Many of the suggestions in the 1982 plan have not been implemented, such as pedestrian improvements to River Road, the creation of a local urban park and improvements to the Willett Branch Stream.
-The Westbard Sector Plan has been on the Planning Department’s work program schedule for the past six to seven years.
The Westbard commercial area is showing its age;
-The buildings are antiquated and need updating.
-There are limited choices – for example, few full-service restaurants.
-The public realm – sidewalks, especially – is inadequate for a high-quality suburban area.
The natural environment is being damaged by the existing development in Westbard;
-Existing surface parking lots and most of the buildings have no stormwater management, meaning that all polluted run-off is flowing directly into the stream system.
-Tree canopy is limited, creating a heat island.
-Willett Branch Stream is completely channelized and functions as an area for invasive species and dumping of trash.
There has been little movement in recent years toward improving Westbard or realizing the recommendations in the 1982 Plan. However, Equity One, the owner of the Westwood Shopping Center on Westbard Avenue, has expressed an interest in making improvements to its property. Given the potential for some reinvestment in the area, it is an appropriate time to update the plan.
Concern #3: Why is the entire Westbard Sector Plan area being proposed for redevelopment?
When the Planning Department looks at updating a plan, it doesn’t just consider one or two properties. Looking at only a very small area would be counter to the goal of coordinated and comprehensive planning. The area being reviewed as part of the PlanWestbard effort is the same area that was considered in the 1982 plan – the boundaries of the planning area have not changed.
The goal is to consider the long-term (20 years or more) vision for the whole of the Westbard planning area. In looking at this long-term vision, it is necessary to consider future ideas for each property in the planning area, even if these ideas may not be implemented in the near term – especially if current owners have no plans for changes. It is very unlikely that all the areas indicated for potential change in the Concept Framework Plan will be completely redeveloped. There are several areas in the plan that are not being considered for change –publicly owned sites like the Westland Middle School, some of the light industrial areas, the Washington Episcopal School site, and Capital Crescent Trail and associated parkland.
Concern #4: Why are the planners proposing a “second” Bethesda?
Planning staff clearly recognizes that Westbard is not like Bethesda – it is not near Metrorail, it is not a regional destination and it is primarily a suburban neighborhood center. These points were made during the charrette process and Planning Department staff heard the input and agrees with it.
However, a high-quality suburban neighborhood center does not necessarily mean one-story buildings and large surface parking lots. All around the country and the metropolitan Washington region, new suburban centers are being created that look and function differently from those built in the 1950s and 1960s. These newer centers include a mix of uses with integration of some residential options, enhanced connectivity with better sidewalks and bike paths, community gathering spaces and plazas, and more compact retail square footage.
In fact, the Citizens Coordinating Committee of Friendship Heights commissioned a planning study of Westbard in 2008 from The Catholic University of America School of Architecture. That study introduced the idea of a new type of suburban center and emphasized “a concept based upon environmental sustainability, safety, and economic viability. This proposal sets forth guidelines and a vision for future growth, enhancements and land use for this Bethesda community.” Many of the building heights and illustrations of potential new buildings in this study commissioned by the community are similar or identical to ideas that came out of the recent PlanWestbard Community Charrette process.
As the Planning Department team moves forward on the Westbard Plan in collaboration with the community, the building densities and heights, land use mix and traffic impacts will be updated and side-by-side comparisons to what exists in Westbard and downtown Bethesda today will be provided.
Concern #5: New development in Westbard will overload the capacity of the local public schools.
Planning staff is working closely with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) as the agency plans for future growth that may result from plan updates. MCPS must consider whether development options identified in plans are likely to really occur before they program funds for school improvements or expansions. This is why a more detailed school projection analysis is typically done by MCPS at the time that a development is actually proposed through the regulatory process, rather than at the time of the more conceptual planning process. The high-end range of development in any plan is unlikely to happen all at once and may never be fully built.
With all of this in mind, MCPS staff and Planning Department staff are nonetheless working closely to look at options for school capacity in the Westbard area and these choices will be an important part of the final plan.
Concern #6: Traffic congestion will increase.
Planning Department staff understands that traffic is a very big concern. Unfortunately, stopping all change in Westbard will not improve the traffic situation. Very little new development has happened in Westbard over the past 30 years; however, the traffic congestion has increased. The benefit of undertaking a plan that calls for some change is that this process presents an opportunity to look at how traffic congestion can be mitigated. If the PlanWestbard team members forward recommendations that increase traffic, they will also propose remedies, especially other modes of transportation, to facilitate circulation for the increased congestion that may result.
Concern #7: Tall buildings will dwarf their surroundings.
Westbard is already home to several buildings that are over 100 feet in height. Planning staff heard clearly during the Westbard Community Charrette that building height is a major community concern. Staff has not proposed buildings that are similar in scale to the existing tall buildings in Westbard.
The tallest buildings currently shown in the Concept Framework Plan for the Westbard area are up to 80 feet in two locations and much of the area is shown as having a height limit of 50 feet. While some residents have asked that heights be limited to 45 feet or lower, many participants at the Westbard Community Charrette indicated that 6-8-story buildings on River Road and 5-6 stories on Westbard Avenue would be acceptable. Planning staff will continue to work with the community to find the right balance of heights.
Concern #8: Driving and parking will be limited.
Residents will still be able to drive their cars throughout Westbard and pick up groceries. The Concept Framework Plan simply offers more options than currently available – both for walking and driving. Transportation demands will be fully studied and recommendations made for improvements before the Sector Plan update is sent to the Planning Board for review. Any new project must meet stringent parking requirements before being approved by the development review section of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Concern #9: Why is a new library planned for the Equity One site?
One idea that came from the participants in the PlanWestbard Community Charrette was the idea of moving the library into the center of the new village center. This location had the benefit of making the library more accessible to the community – including people who may want to walk, enlivening the village center, and opening up some options for school expansion or construction.
After the Community Charrette, some residents have questioned the idea of moving the Little Falls Library from its current site, but many still applaud the idea of a new library on the Equity One site. Staff will continue to analyze the feasibility of this proposal as part of the process.
Concern #10: Why is there a proposed green public space on Westbard Avenue?
A major goal of the 1982 Westbard Plan and the 2008 Catholic University Plan has been to increase the amount of green space in Westbard. This landscape is important from an environmental perspective, but also as part of providing community gathering and recreational spaces.
Based on this goal, Planning Department staff has identified the potential for a green space on Westbard Avenue that could be an open space of a half-acre in size at a minimum.
History of Westbard Planning:
The existing Westbard Sector Plan is now being updated at the direction of the Montgomery County Council to keep pace with the times and changes in the area.
In updating the Westbard Sector Plan, staff reviewed the proposed land use and zoning to determine how the previous plan performed. Some of the recommendations of the 1982 Westbard Sector Plan were never realized. They focused on design concepts aimed at improving the public realm, such as:
-Streetscape improvements on River Road and side streets
-Gateway features into Westbard
-Improving the existing Willett Branch stream valley that runs through the Sector Plan area
-Creating an urban park at the corner of Westbard Avenue and Ridgefield Road
-Creating a major commercial/retail development on Westbard Avenue
-Improving environmental features of the Westwood Shopping Center.
Next Steps in Westbard Plan:
Developing the Westbard Sector Plan relies on a community process. It provides an opportunity for the community to voice their concerns about existing conditions, request needed improvements and be a part of the process.
The December 18 presentation to the Planning Board was a preliminary step in the ongoing planning process for Westbard. There is still quite a bit to review and study to do before the Planning Department staff presents its preliminary recommendations to the Planning Board for review in spring 2015. Staff welcomes additional suggestions and comments from the community as it develops the final concepts for the Sector Plan.