Elrich: Chevy Chase Lake Sector Plan's Lone Council Opponent

The only Montgomery County Council member to vote against the Chevy Chase Lake Sector plan on Tuesday was Councilman Marc Elrich (D-At large) of Takoma Park.

Elrich said that the plan—which outlines future development in the sector spanning Connecticut Avenue between Manor Road to the north and Newdale Road and Chevy Chase Lake Drive to the south—fails to deal with serious traffic issues that he says will result from major increases in development density.

The plan also is unresponsive to the concerns of community members who wanted maximum building heights in the sector to be much lower than approved by the council on Tuesday, Elrich said. Read more about the approved building heights.

"The council is taking an unprecedented step in passing this," Elrich said in a statement. "There is no question that the proposed sector plan will exacerbate traffic problems. As an east-west route, the Purple Line is not a solution for the north-south traffic congestion along Connecticut Avenue. The long-term solutions proposed are road- and car-based, and do not promote transit use. They have not been spelled out in terms of scope and costs, which will likely be in the tens of millions of dollars without a plan to pay for them."

At its best, the plan is "marginally 'Smart Growth,' " he said.

"Additionally, this 'semi-Smart Growth' area has the potential to draw commercial tenants away from other true Smart Growth areas, including Bethesda, Silver Spring and White Flint—where there are Metro stops and multiple bus lines," Elrich said.

The plan "offers no north-south transit options and is opposed by every nearby neighborhood association," he said.

"Many residents expressed their opposition to the plan, made compromises, proposed changes and took many hours of their time pressing for meaningful change. Their views for the most part were rejected, their concerns were dismissed," he said.

Do you agree with Elrich? Tell us why or why not in the comments.