Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance
Sep
2006 Newsletter
Next Meeting: Wednesday, Sept 13, 2006, 8 p.m. Mill Creek
Towne
Elementary School
Officers: Co-Presidents: Brad Botwin and Pat Labuda
Vice-Presidents: Joe Parello and Ken Weiss
Secretary: Pending
Treasurer: John Talcott
Newsletter: Mike Culloty
In This Issue:
1.
Agenda, September Alliance Meeting.
2. Copy of letter to M-NCPPC by Alliance
President Pat Labuda,
dated August 29, 2006.
3. Letter to the Editor, The Gazette, by Vice President Ken Weiss, dated August 29,
2006.
4. Reminder, Shady Grove Master Plan Task
Force, and Alliance Secretary.
5. Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance
Membership Form, Attached.
1. Agenda, September Meeting:
The
September meeting will be about efforts to stop/delay the ICC. The
Audubon Society has hired Mike Harold to coordinate this attempt.
Mike will be at the Alliance meeting on Wednesday. The proposed ICC
creates great devastation in the Derwood community. It results in forcibly
moving people from their homes or taking away property from home owners.
Those whose property is being taken, face the prospect of having what was
formerly referred to as the Outer Beltway right outside their doors. The
Alliance has testified and written letters in opposition to the ICC and will
continue to support our Derwood residents who are victims of this proposed
highway through our community
2. Copy of letter to M-NCPPC by
Alliance President Pat Labuda, dated August 29, 2006.
Subject:
Draft Shady Grove Sector Plan Implementation Plan
Sir: The Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance
requests that additional time be allowed for us to meet and properly address
the issues that are raised in the September ’06 Implementation Plan. The
Alliance received the draft implementation plan one week ago and can not, in
that time, provide a full response to the many issues raised that so strongly
affect the Derwood community.
Of chief concern to the community is the level of density recommended. The Charrette process which was used to develop the Shady Grove Sector Plan recommended 3,700 housing units in the Metro area which included the relocation of the County Service Park. This number was greatly increased by M-NCPPC and supported by the County Council. Now we are faced with close to a doubling of the density level and a decrease in the community parks and recreational facilities available to serve this large population. In addition, there seems to be an effort to keep and even add to industrial facilities that no one else in the county is willing to accept. All this is to be located in a new “urban community” – a recipe for disaster!
While the Alliance supports “transforming the existing industrial character of the Shady Grove Metro Station Area into a new, vibrant and transit-served residential community,” we question whether that is going to happen under this plan. Moving part of the county service park from one side of Shady Grove Road to the other, doesn’t satisfy the above quoted goal. Casey 7 which is only a half-mile from the Metro is across from what is planned to be a dense residential community; it needs to be developed for residential, commercial or recreational use, to serve the very dense population projected to be living within walking distance of this site. At one of the first Charettes, Alliance Co-President Brad Botwin had suggested that ball fields be placed on Casey 7. The Alliance agrees. More green spaces need to be placed in close proximity to Metro. If we want people to walk, recreational spaces need to be in easy walking distance. The Derwood community strongly opposes using Casey 7 as a dumping ground for the industrial uses of either the County or the State. We also request a study into the location of other ride-on or bus facilities in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. Are they all located within a mile of a Metro?
Shady Grove Road needs to be included in the recommended goals for other roads in the Sector plan such as making it pedestrian friendly and incorporating traffic calming features. As is suggested for Rt. 355, Shady Grove Road which is the Main Street of Derwood should also be transformed into an “Urban Boulevard”. There is no need for an underpass to be built at this location. There are no underpasses on Rt. 355, Montgomery Village Avenue, Georgia Avenue, Independence Avenue, Constitution Avenue, Fifth Avenue or most other major roads in this area, D.C., NYC or anywhere else. Our roads should be made safe to cross at grade level, especially in areas of high density and near Metro sites, where we need to do all we can to encourage walking or bicycling to Metro. There should be no need for unsafe, dirty, damp, handicap unfriendly, underground passageways under any roads near Metro. The underpass under Shady Grove at Crabbs Branch should not be put into the implementation plan.
Inadequate green parks and recreational facilities are another concern of the Derwood community. To show a map with green space on what is a storm water management site is misleading at best. How many baseball games can be played on the water? We repeat our concern that no Community Center has been planned for this new “Urban Village”. A place where community events and classes can be held needs to be located within walking distance of this new urban center in order to lessen auto dependency, reduce traffic, and improve the quality of life for the new residents who by our own goals should be able to walk to activities as much as possible.
Derwood has more than its share of industrial uses, the Waste Trash Transfer Facility, Metro Maintenance Yard, etc. In fairness to the current residents as well as the future residents we ask for a more equitable distribution of industrial uses since they are meant to serve the entire county. To see large concentrations of green space where few people live and to see industrial areas and their accompanying loud, dirty, truck congested highways placed in areas of dense population is not good planning. Where this is happening every attempt should be made to reverse it. Again a study of where industrial sites are currently located and where they are not located would be a place to begin to address this imbalance.
The Alliance repeats its request for the location of a police station or substation at Metro. There have been numerous reports of increasing crime in and around Metro stations. A high police visibility would be a very strong deterrent and allow for immediate response time to any criminal activity. Location at the corner of Shady Grove Rd. and Rt. 355 would not fulfill this objective.
Thank you, in advance for your attention to these concerns.
Sincerely,
S/Pat Labuda
Co-President, Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance
16929 Briardale Rd.
Rockville, MD. 20855
2. Letter to the Gazette from
Vice President Ken Weiss, dated August 29, 2006.
In
an article published August 30, ICC Drilling Damages Water Line, Depositing
Sediment in River, The Gazette
reported that initial drilling of holes related to the ICC had broken a water
line which had sent water and sediment into a tributary and then into Paint
Branch. Fortunately no serious damage was done.
Yet,
this is a red flag and surely a portent of things to come. If the ICC is
ultimately built it will damage our environment in many ways including
destruction of habitat, increased air pollution and increased noise pollution.
There
is still time for for our to-be-elected leaders to replace the ICC
with less damaging and more cost-effective ways to improve transportation in
Maryland.
S/Ken
Weiss
Co-Vice-President,
Shady Grove Civic Alliance
3. Reminders: Citizen’s Task Force, Alliance
Secretary and Annual Membership Dues.
a. The Alliance continues to ask the County Council to establish a task force of community members to monitor the implementation of the Shady Grove Sector Plan. As a reminder to the community, if you are interested in serving as a part of this task force please contact Alliance CO-Presidents Pat Labuda (301) 990-8292 or email Patlabuda@aol.com or Brad Botwin at bb67chev@aol.com or BBOTWIN@bis.doc.gov.
b. In addition, the Alliance is in dire need for a secretary to take meeting notes that are published in the following Newsletter. Interested parties should contact the above, Pat Labuda or Brad Botwin.
c. Annual membership dues are due. Please see the Membership Form, attached. Checks are preferred.
4. GSGCA Membership Form.
Attached is the GSGCA Membership Form for the upcoming year. Dues remain the same and should be submitted to John Talcott, Treasurer.