Purple Line-Country Club Settlement Raises 'Preferential Treatment' Concerns

Montgomery County council members did not learn of the state's and county's agreement, made last June, to alter the Purple Line's projected course through the Columbia Country Club (7900 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase) until council members received press inquiries about it last week, Council Members Roger Berliner and Valerie Ervin wrote in a letter to County Executive Isiah Leggett on Monday.

According to the 25-page agreement, which The Washington Post obtained under Maryland’s public records law, the course of the Purple Line—an east-west light rail line planned to follow an old railroad track that cuts through the country club's golf course—would be shifted 12 feet to the north to preserve four holes of the course and clubhouse views. The county already has a 100-foot right of way through the course, The Post reported. The club would, in return, drop all opposition to the Purple Line, The Post added.

This settlement—about which council members did not know all summer—"has raised concerns in the larger community about 'preferential treatment' being given to influential and powerful private clubs," Berliner and Ervin wrote to Leggett on Monday.

"Let us make clear that we believe this settlement does serve the public interest. However, we have been working for many years to mitigate the impact of the Purple Line on many communities that will be impacted along the alignment. While our offices have had some success in certain discrete areas, we have not always been able to convince the state to adjust its plans to accommodate community concerns," they continued.

"We believe it is important for you to state unequivocally that the full weight of the County, and your office in particular, stands ready to assist communities along the full length of the Purple Line alignment to minimize adverse impacts. While the threat of litigation that had been raised by Columbia County Club posed a serious threat to the Purple Line, litigation threats themselves should not serve to distinguish which interests are taken seriously by our County. All of our residential communities need our mitigation assistance. We know that you share that view, and we look forward to working in partnership with you on behalf of the communities we represent," they wrote.

>>>Read more about the agreement between the county, state and Columbia Country Club on The Washington Post's website.