Replacing it is a small bank building, one of the more bizarre land use decisions by the Montgomery County Planning Board in recent years (although the Hoyt property decision is still at the top of the bizarro list). Allowing a bank branch on an urban main street near Metro, while plotting to jam high-density urban growth into suburban residential areas like Westbard and Chevy Chase Lake, is simply indefensible. Yet it is happening again with the TD Bank approval - just steps away from Metro - on the Shell station site on Old Georgetown Road. At worst, give us some additional retail and restaurant space along with the banks!
These decisions are contrary to all of the claims about smart growth we hear on a daily basis in the county.
Photo: Jason Yang
39 comments:
Um, Robert. You do know the Planning Board can't magically order up a more transit-friendly building on a property right?
It's not a development company. It's job is to set broad guidelines, then make sure specific proposals meet as many guidelines as possible.
I guess the Planning Board could've denied this bank project and left the site dead empty. But, you see, that would've been worse.
I'd think it would be important for a county council candidate to have this basic understanding of local government. Maybe take less time focusing on Krispy Kreme and more on how our government actually works.
Robert also needs to get up to speed on the relationship between people and chickens. That was one of the Council's landmark achievements in the past 4 years.
Absolutely terrible use of space and a killer for improving this side of Bethesda. A dead lot with future grand plans would be better than this stupid bank. With all the push towards online banking, who goes to a physical bank anymore anyway?
MoCo planners need to look at the big picture and understand how a downtown works.
Having these "dead zone" blocks that will be closed after business hours really is a killer. Darkened blocks don't invite pedestrians.
It's really in the public interest to get the right developments in the downtown, so it's totally appropriate that the Planning Board weigh in on this.
Robert reported that a bank in the key intersection of Old Georgetown and Woodmont has just eliminated all of it's weekend hours. Do we really need more banks?
Planning Boards are supposed to take a holistic view of a development.
If they just rubber stamped projects based on narrow guidelines alone, then the Board should just be a bunch of lawyers who would approve anything that was technically legal.
I deal with live people at a bank at most once a year. This is a waste of a good site. That said, it's not going to be there for a century, probably closer to five years.
Dyer...huh???? "Replacing it is a small bank building, one of the more bizarre land use decisions by the Montgomery County Planning Board" - you understand that private individuals and companies are the ones who choose what do with their land, correct? This blog post is the dumbest I've seen from you in awhile, and that's really saying something.
Under what authority is the Planning Board supposed to reject this perfectly legal building from going up?? You sound like a freakin communist, Dyer. The government doesn't and shouldn't have a right to tell a bank they can't build a branch on THEIR LAND. If you want the land to be used for a larger building, then feel free to buy it. Otherwise, STFU.
P.S. of course I hate this building/land use, but I'm not arrogant enough to think I have the right to tell every business how they should be run. You're as "anti-business" as they come, Dyer. It doesn't get any more restrictive than telling a company they can't build an office on their own land.
Dyer SUCKS the D!
Dyer is apparently anti-govt. when it's convenient. He criticizes the county govt for being too intrusive/anti-business out of one side of his mouth, and out of the other side he criticizes them for not being tough enough on private businesses. He also frequently criticizes projects in one breath, then in another talks about how awesome they are.
I don't mind political or economic disagreement, but logic and facts have to be part of the picture. Some of the posts (see: "Dark Side of White Flint") on here contain are full of the most illogical, self-contradictory, and borderline-asinine arguments.
It's kind of perplexing actually, because interspersed between the ranting diatribes, there are quality, in-depth news updates about what's going on in the area.
Btw this is a poor spot for a new bank branch, but not NEARLY as bad as the idiotic TD Bank at the Shell station. Plus, it's hardly worse than all the other useless nonsense on that side of Wisconsin.
Um, 5:41, it wouldn't have been a "dead lot." It would have still been a functioning gas station, if the change had been denied. The Planning Board denies permissible projects, and decisions are based partly on the ideological views of the members at any given time. For example, Casey Anderson strongly argued against the grade-separated Montrose Parkway, even though it is the keystone of transportation changes outlined in the White Flint Sector Plan. I testified that day in favor of grade separation, and 3 members ultimately switched to support it, and it was retained. Were you there? No. You're just posting anonymous troll comments on a blog. I'm actually engaged in the community, and you are the one who must educate himself.
9:03 The Planning Board and County Council have the power to deny any project that is inconsistent with stated planning goals. I'm sure there are many developers with purchasing power to buy that property, who would like to build apartments there. That's part of what made the decision bizarre.
11:44 When a highly-populated area is losing its last few gas stations, only a corrupt and responsibility-shirking County Council would fail to step in to protect the public interest. You do remember the plans were updated to accomodate redevelopment in the Woodmont Triangle area? Why didn't they address gas stations and inappropriate low-density in an urban area at that time, nor now when these projects come up?
7:28: Don't forget plastic bags, Styrofoam and the paper tiger Snow Shoveling Act of 2014. Can't wait to post photos of uncleared sidewalks this winter even after that election PR stunt becomes law. They couldn't even reopen a single sidewalk at any construction site in Bethesda this summer, because they're scared of the developers who give them the big checks.
7:40 True - physical banking probably over online is probably consistent with the local political machine's preference for the county taxi monopoly over popular innovations like Uber and Lyft. #FightTheFuture
11:46: Muggers are probably the only ones who will appreciate a sizeable property that becomes dark and desolate after business hours. What a disastrous planning blunder that was, and would be laughed at by serious urban planners anywhere else in the world.
Robert: The gas station sold the property and the bank coming in didn't even need Planning Board approval.
The gas station at Old Georgetown and Woodmont needed approval because the project includes combining two separate properties into one.
Please correct your story.
Robert, are you aware there is an entire neighborhood of single-family homes that backs up to this site?
I find it ironic that while you complain about possible development coming to Westbard, you also complain that there should be higher density development right next to a single family home neighborhood.
Not my idea of a good County Council candidate.
The County Machine is blocking residents from using online banking services? LOLwut???
"it wouldn't have been a 'dead lot.' It would have still been a functioning gas station."
You mean like the Exxon station on Wisconsin between Montgomery and Hampden?
C'mon, it's obvious that the owner of both former BP stations was eager to sell.
I don't think i follow what you just said.
12:51: A construction of a new building that doesn't require approval from the Planning Board? Tell me more. And maybe the county's Inspector General, as well.
Actually, it would be great to have someone from Bethesda on the Council.
The planners and the council are oblivious to many issues that people who live in downtown Bethesda deal with. (Lack of pedestrian access is #1)
1:07 PM: Rosedale Park and The Whitney are even closer to residential neighborhoods behind them, as are The Flats and The Darcy. There is a public parking lot buffer between the site and the neighborhood in this case. Westbard is not an urban area, and is nowhere near a Metro station! There's no comparison whatsoever.
1:20 I never said they were regarding banking. They *are* trying to cripple Uber and Lyft, however, which is indeed an action that will prevent county residents from utilizing these innovative alternatives to the county taxi monopoly.
1:25 PM: Gas stations only sell if the land use laws allow them to convert to something else. Who would give up a profitable gas station in a market like Bethesda?
Robert is correct about Rosedale Park and The Whitney! Both are adjacent to residential neighborhoods.
This shows how out of touch the Council and their acolytes are with downtown Bethesda...they don't know the Rosedale neighborhood.
Still waiting for that correction Robert. Are you a real journalist or just some lackey blogging from your mom's basement?
Time to show your true colors.
I think he means the building fits in the standard building method perhaps?
Can you get a planner to weigh in versus a blogger and a bunch of readers and trolls?
5:17 There's nothing to correct - it was a bad planning decision, and it's moving forward.
8:47: You're saying someone can build an all-new development, with implications for stormwater management, ingress/egress issues, change-in-use, parking, etc. with no approval from the Planning Board? That's not possible.
Dyer...how could you possibly think every single new build in the county needs Planning Board approval?? The things you mention - stormwater management, etc. - are considerations by the Dept. of Permitting Services, not the Planning Board. If you're going to run for office, it'd be nice for you to have at least an elementary school-level knowledge of these issues.
As many have pointed out on this thread, the Planning Board has no power to stop this "by-right" building from going up, nor should they.
this is embarassing
You're talking about two different issues - one is the master plan blunder to allow gas stations to be replaced, and permit small banks to take up properties near Metro that should be high-density. Second is the question of putting an all-new building and use on this site. DPS does not have authority on curb cuts and traffic circulation for this property. The SHA is the agency for that. There's clearly something that hits a raw nerve about this project, because every time I write about, I get these childish, anonymous comments from people who hypersensitive about the non-smart-growth nature of it. This isn't a new house going up on a residential lot, nor a replacement gas station on a gas station lot. You're claiming I could open a drive-thru fast food restaurant on a gas station property on a state highway with no involvement of the Planning Board or SHA? Tell me more.
The project is indeed embarrassing, 12:41, when we've been told we are using smart growth principles, but those same officials are permitting low-density growth near Metro. Oops.
We need Bob, more than ever.
The fact that the planning board approved a 1 floor drive through bank across the street from our Metro station at a key intersection is an embarrassment.
(btw I'm Anon @ 8:47am)
I don't think I've ever met someone so stubbornly obtuse in the face of common sense, logic, and blatant facts.
Please let me enlighten you further:
As clearly spelled out in the MC Zoning Ordinance, site plan/Planning Board approval is not required for ANY commercial development of less than 10,000 sq ft in floor area or 40 ft in height located in standard, non-residential zones. The only reason the TD Bank project went to the Planning Board is because a small portion of the site is within the special C-T zone.
Of course, I expect you to totally ignore this and continue in your ridiculous belief that every single plan for a cell phone store or Mom & Pop shop in Mont. Co. goes before the Planning Board.
*waits for response laden with some ad hominem accusation of being a "county council stooge" or "troll"*
"these childish, anonymous comments from people who hypersensitive about the non-smart-growth nature of it"
Haha, wow. I hope you understand how delusional that statement makes you sound.
Robert, you were wrong. Make the correction like a responsible journalist and stop trying to save face by distracting your audience with unrelated issues.
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