__________________________________
October 15, 2013 101 Monroe Street
Rockville , MD 20850
Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee (WUDAC )
Al Roshdieh
Deputy Director
Department of Transportation
The Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee (WUDAC)
is writing to submit the following
letter and urge a timely and thorough consideration on our thoughts on
the community’s collective vision of Wheaton
and the redevelopment of Lot 13 and the
Regional Services Center (RSC )
site. Specifically, WUDAC offers
comments on: 1) the location and layout of the town square, 2) traffic, and 3)
ensuring that the final product is a warm and thoughtful development that
capitalizes on Lot 13’s location as the heart of a redeveloped Wheaton.
WUDAC consists of a representative cross-section of
the Wheaton
community, including homeowners, small businesses, and large businesses. The story of the Wheaton redevelopment effort has extended for
well over a decade. At the center of the community’s redevelopment effort has
been the push for a new town square on Lot 13.
As the chapter with the B.F. Saul development closed in early 2012, the Wheaton community
advocated for a commitment from the County to ensure that any future
development provided for a vibrant town square on Lot
13. The Wheaton
community received this commitment, evidenced in the 2012 Montgomery County Wheaton Redevelopment CIP also includes this
commitment.
Throughout the redevelopment process, WUDAC has
expressed continued concern with any proposal that creates a town square not
located on Lot 13. During the September 18, 2013 ,
presentation by StonebridgeCarras/Buzzuto, the developers explained that the
elevation change of the RSC site
made it difficult to utilize the area for the park and planning building. WUDAC
feels that this is not a sufficient enough of an explanation to not have the
town square on Lot 13. A town square on the RSC site will be surrounded by an active bus
transit area to the south, the WMATA-owned land patch to the east, vehicular
traffic on Reedie Drive
to the north, and a garbage staging area to the west. This option is not in
line with the look and feel of an attractive space for a town square. WUDAC cannot
endorse the current rendering and any other proposal that does not provide a
comprehensive explanation as to why a town square on Lot
13 is not possible.
Of equal concern is the current proposal’s design to
have Reedie Drive
bisect the town square while remaining open to vehicular traffic. WUDAC strongly advocates for a continuous
town square that is uninterrupted by a street and vehicular traffic, regardless
of its final location. There are a number of advantageous reasons for a
continuous town square, including pedestrian safety and the opportunity to
connect the town square to the retail along Grandview and Triangle Lane . To this end, WUDAC urges
developers to consider eliminating Reedie
Drive between Grandview Avenue and Triangle Lane . Not only would this solve the issue of
having a town square split by vehicular traffic, it could also generate
creative ideas for the use of additional land space made available by removing
this portion of Reedie Drive .[1] For example, one can consider construction of
the Park and Planning building[2] on the RSC site that includes the additional land from Reedie Drive and
parts of Lot 13, and placing the town square
entirely on Lot 13 between the Park and Planning Building
WUDAC understands that this new chapter for Wheaton redevelopment is
only beginning. We also know that the renderings presented to the community are
not final. At the same time, the decisions made in the coming months will alter
Wheaton ’s
landscape for decades. WUDAC ’s
message has been consistent throughout the entire process, and the comments
above are not only reflective of WUDAC ,
but also come from the countless informal sessions and comments received from
the community. In turn, WUDAC adds
the following three requests:
1) That the Wheaton
community continue to receive timely project updates;
2) Honest and thorough explanations on final decisions and the
deliberation process with regards to all aspects of redevelopment; and
3) For the developers to sincerely engage the community to understand
what components will make this project innovative and one that is true to Wheaton ’s character.
Community engagement in the redevelopment process has
always been a top priority and WUDAC
insists on continued and open dialogue. We encourage and urge developers to
seriously take the suggestions outlined in this letter under consideration. We
also invite you to utilize WUDAC to
assist you with your outreach to the community. Please contact me or Ana Lopez
van Balen if you have any questions or want to begin a dialogue with WUDAC . We also invite you to our monthly meetings on
the second Tuesday of the month at 6pm.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Regards,
/s/Henriot St. Gerard
Chair
[1] Another intriguing option that was discussed was to
close Reedie Drive Grandview Ave Triangle Lane Reedie Drive Grandview
Avenue Triangle Lane
[2] While much of this letter focuses on the town square,
WUDAC also urges the Wheaton WUDAC
have expressed concern that the park and planning building proposal has no additional
commercial space that would house private firms that desire to be located next
to park and planning.