Berliner Posts Open Letter on Westbard Sector Plan (VIDEO)
Montgomery County Council Vice President Roger Berliner has posted an open letter about the Westbard Sector Plan on his Facebook page.
“I believe this plan will enhance the Westbard area, not degrade it,” he writes on his Facebook page as as a preface.
He also notes that the plan has been “reduced in half from what the Planning Board had proposed, which reduces both traffic and school issues by half as well.”
You can read his letter, here.
In this MyMCMedia Extra video, below, Berliner shares some of the same thoughts in an interview on Westbard:
The Council plans to discuss the Westbard Sector Plan again at its first meeting in May.
Berliner and Leggett Ask Planning Board Chair to Pause Westbard Plan and to Retain Mediator
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and County Council President Roger Berliner have written a letter to Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson asking for a delay in the Equity One sketch plan process, just weeks after the board approved the development plan (excluding the area believed to be a historic burial ground). In the letter dated March […]
County Report This Week (VIDEO)
The latest episode of County Report This Week includes reports on Noah’s Law signing, the Westbard Sector Plan, the Carver bus depot and more. You can watch the show, below:
"21 This Week" Talks Elections, Westbard Plan and Metro (VIDEO)
Casey Aiken hosts the latest episode of “21 This Week.” Aiken and the panel discuss the Presidential election, the Westbard Sector Plan, the National Transportation Safety Board’s May 3rd report on the January 12, 2015 L’Enfant Plaza accident and the future of the proposed White Oak Silence Gateway Master Plan. This week’s panel of political observers […]
Council Unanimously Approves Westbard Sector Plan (VIDEO)
The Montgomery County Council approved new zoning for the Westbard community of Bethesda on May 3rd. The vote was unanimous, 9-0, for the Westbard Sector Plan. “It has been, to say the least, a bumpy ride,” said Council Vice President Roger Berliner, who worked to reduce the density in the plan and who also found […]
Bethesda Residents Want County Councilmembers to Reduce Density in Westbard Sector Plan (VIDEO)
Dozens of Bethesda residents protested outside the Council Office Building one week before the County Council scheduled a vote on the Westbard Sector Plan. The residents displayed signs that read, “Save Our Neigborhood,” and “Beautify not Densify,” as they took turns at the microphone sharing their thoughts on the current Westbard Sector Plan. They were […]
Berliner on Westbard: "I Get That This is Not a Popular Stand" (VIDEO)
Dozens of residents who say they are trying to “Save Westbard,” rallied in front of the County Council Office Building on April 26, one week before the County Council is scheduled to vote on the Westbard Sector Plan. Council Vice President Roger Berliner has worked to reduce the density in the plan for this Bethesda […]
Councilmember Marc Elrich Addresses Save Westbard Group (VIDEO)
In this MyMCMedia Extra video, below, Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich addresses the residents at the “Save Westbard” rally outside the Council Office Building on April 26th. Elrich said he shares the residents’ anxiety about the planning process. Take a look: The rally comes one week before the Montgomery County Council is slated to vote […]
Save Westbard Group Plans Rally outside Council Office Building in Rockville
Residents are organizing a Save Westbard rally to take place on Tuesday morning from 10 a.m. to noon outside the Council Office Building in Rockville. The rally comes one week before the Council is scheduled to formally vote on the Westbard Sector Plan. The last time the group organized at the Westwood Shopping Center, dozens […]
Berliner Posts Open Letter on Westbard Sector Plan (VIDEO)
Montgomery County Council Vice President Roger Berliner has posted an open letter about the Westbard Sector Plan on his Facebook page. “I believe this plan will enhance the Westbard area, not degrade it,” he writes on his Facebook page as as a preface. He also notes that the plan has been “reduced in half from […]
Council President Nancy Floreen on the Westbard Sector Plan (VIDEO)
At her weekly briefing, County Council President Nancy Floreen announced that the Council will take up the Westbard Sector Plan in early May. According to Floreen, it is unprecedented that the Council is leaving this much time between the straw vote and final vote for further conversations. Find out more in this MyMCMedia Extra video, […]
For Berliner or anyone to claim the density of the plan is reduced is disingenuous at best. The revised proposal now includes no rezoning for the River Road corridor, only for the Westbard Avenue properties that have developers poised to move. The aggregate numbers of residential units go down, but this is because the geographic scope of the plan has been radically reduced. The density in areas to be rezoned and rebuilt, in terms of residential units per acre, DOES NOT DECLINE. It’s a shell game, NOT an across-the-board reduction in density, as he attempts to suggest by his choice of language.
When owners of properties on River Road start to actively pursue up-zoning at higher densities than the existing sector plan authorizes, months or years hence, we’ll just see the same process repeated, now with the added argument by second-stage developers that Westbard Avenue has high multi-family units, so why not River Road?