Home->May
2010
Newsletter
Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance
Meeting: WEDNESDAY May 26,
2010 at 8:00pm
Mill Creek Towne Elementary School,
17700 Park Mill Drive, in the All Purpose Room
TOPIC:
ICC update and election of officers
Carla
Julian, community liaison for the ICC, along with Dennis McMahon
(State Resident Engineer) will give an update on the ICC focusing on
the segment going through the Derwood community. They will talk about
the current construction schedule and let you know where they are with
everything. If you have any questions or concerns please attend the
meeting.This will be the last Alliance meeting
until September 22.
April Meeting
We would like to thank State Delegate 19 representative Roger
Manno for attending our April Alliance meeting and responding to
community concerns. At the April meeting Alliance Vice President, Joe
Parello, raised concern about the presence of the Emissions Center
being so close to Metro. The next day Delegate Manno contacted the
state official in charge of the Center. The state official called the
Alliance to get information about the concerns expressed by the Derwood
community.
Mandatory Referral Meeting for Casey 6
and 7
There will be a Mandatory Referral meeting at Park and Planning on May
27 for the plans for Casey 6 and 7. Casey 7 is the vacant lot across
from the Grove Shopping Center on Crabbs Branch. The county is planning
on moving the Ride On Bus maintenance and bus depot facility,
which is currently next to the Metro, to Casey 7. Below are
letters sent to the planning board from the Alliance and from the Shady
Grove Implementation Advisory Committee on behalf of the Derwood
community:
Dear Chairman Hanson and members of the Montgomery County Park
and Planning Board,
The Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance is opposed to
the Department of Transportation' s recommendation to relocate EMOC to
the site on Casey 7 at the corner of Crabbs Branch Way and Shady Grove
Road. Casey 7 is currently an empty field across from the Grove
Shopping Center.
Casey 7 is located approximately ½ mile from
the Shady Grove Metro. To use a site, which is within such close
walking distance to Metro, in order to house buses is totally contrary
to Smart Growth policy recommendations.
I have called the bus systems in Prince Georges and
Fairfax County which also serve the Metro facilities in their
respective counties. None are located in such close
proximity to the Metro station. The bus systems in other Maryland
and Virginia locations which serve the end of the line Metro system are
all located many miles away from the end of the line Metro sites.
Smart Growth would recommend that the residential
uses that had been proposed would be far more appropriate to be placed
on Casey 7. Over 6,000 new housing units are being planned for the
Shady Grove Metro area. This includes over 300 housing units in
the area across from Casey 7, around the Grove Shopping
Center. Casey 7 should serve to provide recreational and
other amenities, such as ball parks, restaurants, movie theaters,
shops, etc. to serve the existing and 6,000 additional planned
residents of Derwood. Commercial uses such as a hotel, hi tech or
professional offices, which take advantage of the close proximity to
Metro, would also be more in keeping with Smart Growth policies.
Besides being an eyesore to the community and
creating additional traffic congestion EMOC will generate a great deal
of heavy bus traffic with its accompanying air and noise
pollution. For too long the Derwood community has
been and continues to be literally the dumping ground of Montgomery
County. There are already too many undesirable uses in the Derwood area
including the County's Waste Trash Transfer site and the
Metro maintenance and rail yard facility,
At other Metro locations in the Washington DC area,
there have been great efforts in making the increasingly dense Metro
sites appealing for the newly developed or planned residences and also
improving the surrounding existing communities. We ask that the same be
done at Shady Grove Metro.
Sincerely yours,
Pat Labuda, President
Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance
16929 Briardale Road
Derwood MD, 20855
Dear Chairman Hanson and members of the Montgomery County Park
and Planning Board,
In the fall of 2008 the Shady Grove Advisory
Implementation voted to oppose the recommendation of the Department of
Transportation to locate the EMOC facility on the property known as
Casey 7 located on Crabbs Branch Way in Derwood.
The Casey 7 property is located approximately 1/2
mile from Metro. A 16 acre site, in such close proximity to Metro
needs to be developed to optimize Smart Growth policies. During
the many years of the Charette process, which were used to receive
community input in the development of the Shady Grove Area Master
Plan, many suggestions for the use of this undeveloped property
were recommended. These suggestions included ball fields,
residential use, a community center, commercial uses such as an upscale
grocery store, movie theaters, shops, office uses, a hotel,
professional services such as doctor’s offices, etc and other uses
which would benefit the growing and existing community. Any of these
uses would take advantage of the close proximity to Metro, encouraging
walking and discouraging automobile use which is a central goal of
Smart Growth. The Sector Plan was meant to transform the Shady
Grove Metro Station area into a center of housing, commercial and
community space.
An article in the Gaithersburg Gazette quotes
Marilyn Balcombe, President of the Gaithersburg, Germantown Chamber of
Commerce saying “……we’ve all paid a lot of lip service to the ideas of
Smart Growth….We need to have housing and jobs near the metro
station…From an economic development standpoint and quality of life
perspective, we feel that having housing and jobs is the best and
highest purpose of the land near the Metro station.”
To place EMOC at a site that is within easy walking
distance to Metro is in total violation of Smart Growth Policies.
Sincerely yours,
Pat Labuda, Resident Member
Shady Grove Implementation Advisory Committee
16929 Briardale Road
Derwood, MD, 20855
Elections
The election of officers for the Alliance will take place at the end of
the May meeting.
If any one is interested in serving as an Alliance officer for next
year please contact Bev Lloyd, Chairperson of the nominating committee
by email bvlloyd@email.com or by telephone 240-912-4317.
MEMBERSHIP
Please send in your membership for the 2009
– 2010 year if you haven't already. We rely on membership fees to
defray the cost of renting
the school for our meetings. The Alliance exists to represent the
interests of the community. Your membership and vote are important for
us to accurately fulfill that role. Only paid members are allowed to
vote in accordance with our bylaws. Please fill out the form below and
bring it with you to the next meeting or mail it to the address
below.
Membership
is
open to individuals, civic organizations and homeowners’
associations.
Please select from the following:
___ I am enclosing $10 cash (
)
check
( ) for my annual household membership
___ I am enclosing $15 cash (
)
check
( ) for the following organization membership
_________________
(Please make check payable
to: “Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance”)
Mail to:
Pat Labuda,
GSGCA,
16929 Briardale Road
Derwood, MD
20855
Name:
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Address: _______________________________________________________
Phone:
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Local Issues of Concern to You:
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