Allen M April 23rd, 2010
On April 6, by a vote of 5-4, the County Council sitting as the District Council permitted the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) to dismiss its application without prejudice. MCA and the Hearing Examiner for the County Council had recommended to the Council that the application be dismissed with prejudice.
The effect of a dismissal with prejudice would have precluded FAES or another owner of the property in question from submitting another application for the zoning requested, RT-8 within 3 years or for any other type of zoning within a period of 18 months. As it now stands, a new application could be submitted at any time by FAES.
MCA has collected funds for legal representation to defend against the previous application. In light of the current situation for possible development of the property, the membership at its May meeting will decide whether to return these funds or retain them for a future fight.
Back in October 2009, the Hearing Examiner held a public hearing on the application submitted by FAES to rezone property it owns bounded by West Cedar Lane, Cypress Avenue, and Acacia Avenue. The Examiner issued his opinion in February and found that the proposed rezoning would not conform to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Master Plan, was too dense, and would not be compatible with the rest of the neighborhood.
Tags: development, FAES
Katee N April 14th, 2010
On Feb. 5, 2010, the County Council announced the closure of the Maplewood-Alta Vista Park activity building, as well as those in 10 other county parks.
Park and Planning allowed a one-time use exception for the MCA Spring Social, but the building is otherwise closed. Future plans for the park activity buildings will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
The MCA is working to keep our building part of the community.
Tags: County Council, Maplewood-Alta Vista Park
Mark N March 8th, 2009
As they do every December, Tracy Stanton and Carlos Cuevasa recently hosted a gathering at their Fordyce Place home featuring several local jewelry and textile artisans. Tracy and Carlos share an interest in healthy lifestyles and the environment. Having retired from the World Bank, Carlos now works in microfinance—providing financial services to poor and low-income clients—while Tracy is a program manager at Ecosystem Marketplace, an information source on ecosystem services such as water quality and biodiversity. They are both runners.
It’s natural that Tracy and Carlos’s neighbors Keith and Lynn Voight would be included in this artisan line-up. In addition to their day jobs, the Voights own All Things Olive, which specializes in authentic olive oil and other gourmet food items. You may have run into them at the Kensington Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings. With an exotic choice of California extra virgin olive oils, herb infused olive oils, wine vinegars and tapenades on hand and ready for tasting, Keith will explain all there is to know about the health benefits of olive oil and more. The Voights came up with the idea for the business after a trip to Paris. And they live right here in Maplewood!
If you have ideas about Maplewood events or personalities to feature in this space, please let us know.
Mark N January 15th, 2009
The Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) notified the MCA back in September that it intends to construct a 31-unit student housing complex on its property at the intersection of Acacia and Cypress Avenues in Maplewood. A committee has been formed to address issues associated with the FAES proposal and monitor the progress of the proposed project.
The approximately four-acre lot is currently zoned for single family detached residential buildings (R-60). In order to develop the property with multi-family housing, FAES must be granted a rezoning from the Montgomery County Council. FAES recently informed the MCA that it intends to submit their rezoning application before the end of January. Signs will be posted on three sides of the property. All adjacent and abutting homeowners, as well as the MCA, should receive notice of the rezoning application from the attorney for the FAES.
The FAES has also requested attend the MCA general membership at the upcoming meeting on January 28th at Heart House. At this time it will present details of the proposed project and answer questions from neighborhood residents.
The FAES committee is tentatively scheduled to meet on Tuesday, January 27th to review the FAES rezoning application. If you’re interested in attending, please contact committee co-chairs Susan Cheney or Mark Nathans.
Mark N December 9th, 2008
Ground has finally been broken on the last two remaining townhomes in the Bethesda Crest development, which sits on a 5-acre infill site on Rockville Pike just east of where Benton and Acacia Avenues end. When these are completed, there will be a total of 28 townhomes on the site, including four existing MPDUs. The site, which used to house the regional headquarters of Goodwill Industries, has been at the center of significant controversy beginning when it was proposed back in 2002.
Neighborhood efforts resulted in the scaling down of the project and significant trees being saved, among other concessions. However, in 2005 county officials ordered a halt to construction after MCA members called their attention to setback, height and other site plan violations. The Planning Board eventually ordered Elm Street, the developer of the project, to pay a small fine and adhere to a compliance plan. The amended site plan, which pertains in part to the two units currently under construction, included increased setbacks and more substantial fences and walls at the perimeter of the property.
Like the existing townhomes the new units are being built by Craftmark Homes. The developer has said that both homes are under contract and scheduled to be completed in March. (Only one other unit in the complex remains on the market, priced at $1.37 million.) Residents who have concerns about construction activity or notice anything else unusual are encouraged to contact the MCA.
[Link to MCPD record plat amendment (PDF) dated 2/21/07.]
Janet M December 7th, 2007
The Baltimore Sun reported last week on County Executive Ike Leggett’s letter to Gov. Martin O’Malley, in which he stressed that the state’s draft action plan — due to be released this month — doesn’t sufficiently address the anticipated traffic congestion around the future Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
…the Draft BRAC Action Plan does not identify specific and concrete mitigations for anticipated major traffic congestion that will have significant ramifications for accessibility to NNMC/WRNMMC, the National Institutes of Health, Suburban Hospital…and on the quality of life of surrounding well-established neighborhoods.
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Tags: BRAC, NavyMed
