For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 25, 2017
From the office of Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich:
The Montgomery County Council today approved the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan by a vote of 8-1. Councilmember Marc Elrich (at-large) was the lone dissenting vote. Councilmember Elrich issued the following statement summarizing the reasons for his vote.
Montgomery County Councilmember’s
Marc Elrich comments on
approval of Bethesda Downtown Plan
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 25, 2017—The Montgomery County Council today approved the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan by a vote of 8-1. Councilmember Marc Elrich (at-large) was the lone dissenting vote.
Councilmember Elrich issued the following statement summarizing the reasons for his vote:
“For many years, our master plan process was based on achieving a balance between growth and infrastructure. Now, the ‘new normal’ is to provide density and hope that everything else works out. The Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan is a case in point. It is a very one-sided deal with developers, providing no certainty that it will address traffic congestion or school overcrowding, nor will it actually provide the amenities promised to the community in exchange for the increased densities. You just cannot separate critical zoning decisions from equally critical decisions about infrastructure.”
Councilmember Elrich emphasized that the lack of staging in the plan was central to his decision to vote against it. Staging, which aims to ensure that adequate infrastructure comes with or before new development, is critical to addressing the ever-increasing congestion on the roads and in the schools.
Councilmember Elrich also said the plan provides developers with density on a first-come, first-served basis, allowing for the real possibility that development will be scattered throughout a large area rather than planned to create a vibrant core.
Councilmember Elrich cited the plan’s “near agnosticism” about whether short-term market forces will lead developers to favor new housing over commercial space, even near transit.
“This should matter,” said Councilmember Elrich. “We are giving no guidance as to where residential and commercial uses should locate, despite the fact that Smart Growth research points to the need for commercial activity to locate nearest to the core. Despite the fact that Bethesda is rightly regarded as the economic engine of Montgomery County, the plan seems not to care about whether Bethesda will be a bedroom community or job center.”
Councilmember Elrich also expressed concerns about implementation of the parks envisioned in the plan.
“The community wants actual parks, not just parks on a page in a plan,” he said. “As has been pointed out, the priorities laid out in the previous Bethesda master plan [adopted in 1994] for parks and bike paths still have not been realized.
“When you put it all together, the Bethesda plan has no transportation solution, no guaranteed amenities and no binding connection between increased density and the infrastructure necessary to support it.”
Councilmember Elrich plans to work collaboratively with his colleagues when they take up the Bethesda Overlay Zone in a few weeks, a planning mechanism that could provide additional guidance and might provide more certainty to residents that outcomes will meet expectations.
In his closing comments to his Council colleagues before voting against the plan, Councilmember Elrich said: “Just to put this in musical terms, the Bethesda plan being adopted today is Bon Jovi’s ‘Living on a Prayer.’ I would have far preferred Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Reason to Believe.’”
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Release ID: 17-185