Letter from Marc Elrich Regarding the EYA Proposed Plan

Marc Elrich was one of only three County Council
members who voted to grant the Seven Oaks
Evanswood neighborhood's request
for oral argument against EYA's proposed
development on the Chelsea School site. 

In response to a Seven Oaks Evanswood resident's open letter to the County Council expressing disappointment that the majority of the County Council refused to grant the Seven Oaks Evanswood Citizens' Association's ("SOECA") request for oral argument against EYA's application to rezone the Chelsea School to the second densest zoning available for townhouse development,

Marc Elrich - one of only three County Council members to vote in favor of SOECA's right to be heard - stated the following:

"I too was dismayed by the outcome of the vote...I have had serious concerns about this development all along, and I did not believe that the changes sufficiently addressed my concerns.  I believe that the approved plan violates the intention of the North and West Silver Spring Master Plan.  The proposed project of townhomes is too dense given its proximity to the adjacent single-family neighborhood. 

The master plan for the area included a conscious decision that the buffer between the R-60 zone and the more dense zones would be along Cedar Street; that is, the single-family detached homes along Cedar Street which were recommended to be special exceptions for non-resident professional offices (some are still owner occupied).  In fact, during the master plan process, there was some discussion about allowing townhomes along Cedar Street but the decision was made to leave them as they are now.  The idea was that when one drove by them, they looked like part of a single-family neighborhood. 

The reclassification of the Chelsea School property eliminates that buffer and violates the conscious decision stated in the master plan that the transition between the CBD and the R-60 zones would be on Cedar Street.  Furthermore, I believe that the Hearing Examiner's decision did not sufficiently protect the environmental and historic resources in the area." [Emphasis added]

It is a shame that other County Council members, including another former citizens association president, Nancy Floreen, as well as Craig Rice, Hans Reimer, Nancy Navarro, and George Levanthal, chose not to respect the recommendations of the North and West Silver Spring Master Plan.

We Are MoCo

EYA's destabilization of the Seven Oaks Evanswood neighborhood is just one of many development concerns in Montgomery County.  Often, private citizens, are helpless to fight against corporate PR and legal budgets which promote pro-development blogs, pay for newspaper ads, and retain expensive attorneys that specialize in zoning law.  Residents in neighborhoods affected by potential incompatible development are forced to become citizen advocates in order to preserve and protect the health and welfare of their families and their community.  The local government, which should protect Montgomery County residents, may choose to take drastic actions such as voting not to even give citizens a right to speak before the County Council on development matters that will directly impact their neighborhoods.

WeAreMoCo.org is a communication network for Montgomery County residents to share information of individual concern for countywide consumption. The focus is on governmental processes and decision making as they relate to the welfare of residents and the preservation of neighborhoods. 

WeAreMoCo.org enables Montgomery County residents to join forces with others working toward a more transparent, more accountable, more inclusive Montgomery County government.  Learn how others before you have won or lost their battles. Gain support for your initiative while you support the initiatives of others. Change your government one issue at a time.

By working together, Montgomery County residents stay informed, get connected, take action and get results.  For more information, please go to: http://wearemoco.org/.

Two Important Upcoming Events

1. Public Meeting with EYA to Discuss EYA's Development Plans for the Chelsea School Site

This Monday, July 16th, EYA will be holding a public meeting at the Riggs Tompson historic house on the Chelsea School property (Pershing entrance).  The meeting will be quite short - only an hour - from 7pm to 8pm.  EYA is holding this meeting because the Planning Department requires them to do so.  We encourage you to attend to ask questions and get details on this overly dense development inside of our neighborhood.  EYA has, in the past, used this meetings as a PR stratagem to justify their actions and to argue that the community supports them wholeheartedly. 

Please tell EYA that they must save the mature tree canopy on the Chelsea
School site.  The canopy - consisting of mature trees nearly 100 years old - are both an
environmental and cultural treasure to the community.

Please attend and let them know that you have concerns and will be monitoring them.  The Chelsea School Task Force, appointed by SOECA, has identified several issues with the proposed development which are of great concern to the community.  The proposed development raises issues regarding stormwater management, loss of mature tree canopy (EYA plans to cut down 77 mature trees - some which have been alive for nearly 100 year), the undermining of neighborhood traffic protection plans, and endangering the historic setting around the Riggs Thompson house.  The County Council chose to ignore all of these issues when they approved EYA's proposed rezoning without giving us a chance for oral arguments.  This is one of your last, best chances to make yourself heard.

To view a slideshow of endangered Chelsea School Trees, please visit the following site:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/96552856/Endangered-Chelsea-School-Trees

2. Public Stakeholder Meeting on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction

On Tuesday, July 27, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) will be presenting its draft plan for our state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020.   The MDE is encouraging public comment on the plan as a whole as well as on the 65 control measures that comprise the plan, and welcomes any new ideas that members of the general public may have.

Attend the meeting at the Silver Spring Library to learn how experts think Maryland will be impacted by global warming in the coming decades, as well as how the state is hoping to slow down the growth of green house gas emissions in Maryland this decade.

What: Public Stakeholder Meeting on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction
When: Tuesday, July 17, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: Silver Spring Library, 8901 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910

More information can be found at: http://www.mde.state.md.us/programs/Air/ClimateChange/Pages/Air/climatechange/legislation/index.aspx/

KeepSevenOaksGreen's photostream

KeepSevenOaksGreen's photostream on Flickr.

Montgomery County Council Denies SOECA Oral Argument

A brief statement released by Jean Cavanaugh, president of SOECA:

Nancy Floreen voted to deny SOECA the
opportunity to present argument against EYA's plan. 
Valerie Ervin was absent from the vote.  

OUTRAGEOUS DENIAL OF SOECA’S REQUEST FOR ITS DAY IN COURT

-- June 19 hearing cancelled

--Please write to Councilmembers

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On Tuesday, June 12, 2012, the Montgomery County Council voted 5-3 to deny our neighborhood its opportunity to present an oral argument against the Chelsea School rezoning plan. According to SOECA’s attorney, this was highly unusual. The County Council regularly approves a party’s request for oral argument; they certainly were happy to approve EYA’s request for an oral argument last year, when the Hearing Examiner sided with SOECA, but this year, when it was our turn to ask, they said no. The vote was 5 to 3, with Councilmembers Floreen, Rice, Riemer, Navarro, and Leventhal voting to deny our request for oral argument, and Councilmembers Elrich, Berliner, and Andrews voting in our favor. After this vote, the Council then voted to approve EYA’s new plan for developing the Chelsea School property by a vote of 7 to 1, with Councilmember Mark Elrich voting in our favor because in his opinion, EYA’s plan is far too dense for our neighborhood. Councilmember Ervin was absent for the vote. 

The June 19^th hearing is therefore cancelled. EYA’s new plan is approved.

Put simply, our County Council denied us our day in court. It is important to remember that this case has been ex parte for more than a year, meaning that we were not allowed to communicate with the Council at all about it. When SOECA asked for a mere 20 minutes to present its case to the Council after all this time, they said no. The County Council’s salaries are paid for with our tax dollars. At the very least, they had an obligation to hear us out on a development that will permanently affect our neighborhood. However, they could not be troubled to do so.

Hans Riemer and Nancy
Navarro voted against
community's request
to be heard.

SOECA had important things to say in our oral argument. We had planned to argue how the density and massing violate and undermine our Master Plan and are incompatible with our neighborhood and its interior location, outside of the Central Business District and behind the existing single family homes on Cedar Street. We had planned on opposing EYA’s plan to clear-cut nearly every single tree on the Chelsea property, including a stand of white oaks that are more than 100 years old. We were going to discuss serious issues related to stormwater management and the protection of our local environment, all of which are threatened by EYA’s plan to clear-cut the property. We were going to discuss the impact of EYA’s plan to build a road connecting the townhouse development to Springvale Road, thereby opening up our community to traffic from up to 126 cars from the development and potentially more cut-through traffic - turning quiet interior roads into busy ones. Montgomery Preservation, which generously supported SOECA’s legal fund, had planned to argue how the development fails to protect the full environmental setting of the historic Riggs-Thomson House, as required by our Master Plan. We were even going to point out that EYA could provide the County with the same number of MPDU’s under RT-8 zoning, using bonus density, as they would under their RT-12.5 plan. These are important issues that will affect us all for decades to come, yet the Council would not even give us the chance to make our case.

George Levanthal voted to deny
SOECA right to oral argument
as did Craig Rice (below right)

SOECA is considering its next move, but in the meantime, if you are disturbed by the Council’s outrageous decision to deny us our day in court; if you are disturbed that they were willing to give a well-connected developer its day in court last year, but not do the same for the residents of our neighborhood; if you believe that the citizens of Montgomery County deserve to have their voices heard by the people they elect to serve them, then please contact Councilmembers Floreen, Rice, Reimer, Navarro, and Leventhal and let them know that was they did was inexcusable, especially for a county that prides itself on being progressive and responsive to its citizens. You may also wish to contact Councilmember Ervin and ask her why she did not ask to have the vote delayed if she could not attend a vote concerning a massive development in her own neighborhood. Consider also thanking Councilmembers Elrich for his vote to support our neighborhood.

The Councilmembers read the emails and letters they receive. As public servants (and politicians), they need to know that their actions have consequences, and that the taxpaying residents of Montgomery County deserve far better than the backs of their hands. 

The Councilmembers may be contacted in the following ways:

E-mail: county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov

Mail: 100 Maryland Avenue • Rockville, MD 20850

Telephone: (240) 777-7900 (voice) • (240) 777-7914 (TTY for hearing impaired) • (240) 777-7888 (fax)

For an additional statement from SOECA president Jean Cavanaugh regarding the decision, please visit the WeAreMoCo site:

http://wearemoco.org/chelsea-oral-argument/#more-1038

A Message to EYA: Cut Townhouses, Not Trees!

The Seven Oaks Evanswood Citizens’ Association (“SOECA”) is proud to announce that its first video is now available on YouTube:  EYA: Cut Townhouses, Not Trees!





EYA plans to cut down 77 trees on the Chelsea School property, including white oaks that are a century old.  As you will see from our video, these are not small, decorative trees, but a surviving remnant of the forests that used to cover Montgomery County, and from which the neighborhood of Seven Oaks/Evanswood derives its name.

Trees are vital to the health of our local environment.  According to Montgomery County:
http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/environment/documents/TreeCanopy_Report_MontgomeryCountyFinal.pdf

Tree canopy (TC) is the layer of leaves, branches, and stems of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above. Tree canopy provides many benefits to communities, improving water quality, saving energy, lowering city temperatures, reducing air pollution, enhancing property values, providing wildlife habitat, facilitating social and educational opportunities, and providing aesthetic benefits. Establishing a tree canopy goal is crucial for communities seeking to improve their green infrastructure and livability. A tree canopy assessment is the first step in this goal-setting process, providing estimates for the amount of tree canopy currently present in a county as well as the amount of tree canopy that could theoretically be established.

Montgomery County also has laws and policies in place dedicated to preserving and protecting its urban forests. 
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dectmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/climatechange/treelaws.asp

We understand that in order to build townhouses, EYA must cut down some trees, but what we do not understand is EYA’s unwillingness to consider preserving some of the most valuable trees on the property, trees that will improve the setting of the new development, block noise from downtown Silver Spring, screen buildings, and absorb stormwater keeping it from running into Sligo Creek. “Smart Growth” may sound nice in theory, but if it means clear-cutting the trees on the Chelsea School site, then it practice, it is not "smart."

Write to Robert Youngentob, EYA, 4800 Hampden Lane, Suite 300, Bethesda, MD 20814 and ask EYA to PRESERVE the trees on the Chelsea School property in Silver Spring.

Chelsea School Trees In Danger

Identified in the photo series at the link below are some of the mature trees on the Chelsea School site that EYA intends on clearcutting to make way for a high density townhouse development. Many of these trees are specimen trees and/or old forest remnants. Their root structures help stave off erosion and they provide a "green screen" or "shield" which protects the neighborhood from the noise and pollution of the Central Business District. They represent both a cultural and environmental neighborhood treasure.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/keepsoecagreen/sets/72157630021109441/
In a letter submitted to the Hearing Examiner regarding EYA's proposed high density development on the Chelsea School site, Don Grove, an aborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture and a Maryland Licensed Tree Expert, made the following observations:

"The tree inventory listing that is part of the preliminary forest management plan (PFMP) proposed by the developer shows that 44 out of 128 trees listed in the inventory will be “preserved.” That seems encouraging until one notes that the PFMP includes many large trees on adjoining properties. Those large trees (trees that are not even located on the 5.25 acre site) are to be “preserved” while nearly every single large tree on the development site is to be removed." [Emphasis added].

Essentially, EYA claims that it will "preserve" trees that are located on another person's property. In its forest management plan, EYA made a promise not to cut a neighbor's tree, they did NOT make a promise to preserve any of the trees located on the actual land it will acquire.

Of the trees that EYA intends to clear cut, Don Grove further observes:

"The large, mature, slow-growing trees on site are all destined for removal. These include eleven large White Oaks. These are very large trees that took many years to reach this size. The presence of low limbs and scars where low limbs have been suggests that these trees did not begin their lives in forest-like conditions. Trees growing in more open conditions grow larger faster than those in the forest but some of these could still be approaching 100 years old–certainly they are older than the people who are discussing whether to end their long lives to build townhouses that won’t last as long. White Oaks can live for hundreds of years.

All but two of these Oaks are “significant” trees of 24" diameter or greater. The two exceptions are 21" and 22" diameter, just below the threshold for “significant” trees. Four of the large White Oaks are “specimen” trees. A “specimen tree” is a tree “that is a particularly impressive or unusual example of a species due to its size, shape, age, or any other trait that epitomizes the character of the species.” MNCPPC Trees Approved Technical Manual, September 1992, Appendix A, Glossary of Terms. These trees are grouped together in a grove near the southwest boundary of the development site. Some are very near the boundary. It seems that at least some if not all of these large Oaks could be preserved."

Yet EYA refuses to preserve them. EYA refuses to preserve them because that would mean scaling back their high density development (in its current barracks-like layout) to accommodate these trees which have existed and served as guardians for this area for 100 years.

For Don Grove's full testimony, please go to the following link:

http://chelseaschoolzoning.weebly.com/trees.html