| JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021
Newsletter of the Kensington Heights Civic Association
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| WINTER IS HERE!
It was beautiful watching the snow fall as we say goodbye to January – something we’ve barely seen over the last two years! We all appreciate the warmth of spring but nature needs time for a vacation too – and a good cold winter can help kill off a lot of bugs that won’t be biting us and eating our gardens come spring. So, welcome the snow and enjoy all the fun things kids (of any age) can do with it. If you build a great snowman or snow fort, send us some pictures and we’ll post them on the website! Send photos to Karen Cordry here.
As we all know, our furry friends to the north and south in the Arctic and Antarctic are suffering from climate change as it continues to melt the polar ice and shorten the winters. And, of course, climate change affects all of us. There’s lots we can do to help with these efforts – and one of the most “fun” (especially for those who just watch) has been the annual Polar Bear Plunge spearheaded by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN). This usually involves a lot of crazy people gathering by the Bay Bridge, stripping down to their swimsuits, and racing (very briefly!) into the water, with the goal of raising pledge funds to help support development of renewable and sustainable energy sources. (Below is a shot from previous year’s plunge!)
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This year, the Plunge is going virtual and CCAN is partnering with other groups, including the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club (of which KHCA President Karen Cordry is the long-time treasurer). So, with the promise that she can substitute an alternative form of icy bath, she has agreed to “Join the Plunge.” Right now, it will probably involve stepping into the inch-deep, or so, icy waters of the stream in the forest buffer by the Mall.
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Support the Plunge
Here she is, checking it out during the snowstorm! So, if you’d like to see Karen take the plunge, join her at 2:00 pm on February 13, at the Torrance Avenue stairs. In the meantime, if you want to help the CCAN effort (and to meet her personal goal of $1,000 raised!), please check out this link!
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BUT SPRING IS COMING!
With spring comes, what else in this crazy time - a plague of locusts to join the rest of the plagues we’ve been seeing! Or, to be precise, it’s time for the return of the cicadas.
It's been seventeen years since the last invasion of Brood X cicadas in 2004. The genetically-programmed cicadas – billions and trillions of them, will be emerging from their underground homes between Georgia and New York. Get ready to witness this amazing phenomenon and to be kamikazed by the cute red-eyed, orange-winged critters from mid-May to late June. Read more in articles from Newsweek and The Guardian.
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Image Credit: Richard Leung
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Cicada Costume ContestTo honor the cicadas, KHCA will host a home-made costume contest for KHCA residents 12 years and under. Start thinking about how you want to honor our miniature friends. More details will be provided in future newsletters.
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| Stay Safe, Stay Connected and Stay Civil
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| The Blues in Kensington HeightsThe Beautification Committee has taken the initiative to showcase our colorful KH homes. To share your beautiful photos of colorful KH homes, please send them to Vasna Nontanovan here. Thank you.
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| Support KHCA - Pay Annual Dues
To carry out our many activities, KHCA needs your support -- both through your volunteer efforts and also, your financial donations. All residents of Kensington Heights are members of KHCA, and all members are welcome to attend and speak at KHCA meetings. However, to be a voting member, and to help support our activities on your behalf, KH residents are asked to pay annual dues of $10 per adult resident (18+ years) to a maximum of $30 per address. These monies are much appreciated and help to ensure that KHCA remains financially viable. Thank you!
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| KHCA Directory
We want to issue a 2021 KHCA Membership Directory this summer. Please provide updates for each household if you have not done so already. Thank you those who have submitted their information.
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Even with COVID keeping us all at home, the new world of virtual communications has kept projects humming along. There are three major efforts underway that we expect Wheaton area residents will be interested in.
Wheaton Gateway
This project will be built on the site of the old Ambassador Hotel at the intersection of University Boulevard and Veirs Mill Road drectly across from the Mall. The developers have had a number of community meetings to update us as the planning process has continued. Their website can be accessed here. The next meeting of the Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee on February 9, at 6:30 pm will be discussing this proposal. Anyone wishing to hear the discussion can join by Zoom here or use Zoom Meeting ID: 93923616311.
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ZTA 20-07 – “Missing Middle” Housing
This proposal has to do with a concept that has been widely discussed over the last decade. The general idea is that communities used to have a greater mix of available housing types ranging from quite small single-family homes to large homes, duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and court-yard apartments all the way up to multistory apartment buildings in the urban core. See link here to webinar on concept by its originator, Dan Parolek.
KHCA, itself, has a wide range of housing types from very small brick Cape Cods to “McMansions” to townhouses and its eastern boundary abuts low-rise apartments on Georgia Ave. However, the current Zoning Code for the typical R-60 lots in KHCA (about 6-7,000 square feet) does not now allow anything other than single-family homes except as part of relatively large-scale projects. The proposal introduced by Council Member Jawando would allow duplexes, townhouses, and “multi-unit living” buildings on lots of 25,000 square feet or less (i.e., ones that could be created by combining three to four existing lots) within one mile of a Metro stop, which includes most of KHCA. A “multi-unit living” building is defined as an “apartment or multi-use building type.” Buildings would still have to satisfy the same height, lot coverage, and set back requirements as for existing buildings (although lot coverage is expanded somewhat within ½ mile of a Metro stop). Click here to read more.
The basic notion of these concepts is to “right size” housing by allowing more building types to fit the needs of a variety of types of households and many.houses could be almost indistinguishable from larger homes being built now. The only difference is that the interior space would be partitioned into two or more smaller separate spaces, rather than having a number housemates occupy a single, undivided space. As such, they could allow people to have private space near Metro at a more affordable price than if they had to acquire a full house. (Council Member Jawando has also introduced a companion bill, No. 52-20, that would limit rent increases in the area covered by the ZTA to prevent rent gouging. ZTA 20-07 and Bill 52-20 Fact Sheet can be found here.)
That said, there are a great many concerns that have been raised by those reviewing the initial draft of the amendment. One of the most obvious is how this ZTA fits into the broader planning process in sector plans for given areas and the broader “Thrive Montgomery 2050” analysis. Mr. Parolek’s presentation constantly remind us that these projects must be designed and approved sensitively to complement, not subvert, existing communities. Some of the recent sector plans have discussed this concept but only as to specific areas, not with a “one size fits all” approach. The Planning Board has just posted comments on its first review of the proposal and they make clear that they view this proposal as a good first step but one that needs substantial review and refinement before it should be adopted. Council Member Jawando has made it clear in public meetings that he is open to further discussion and revisions to the proposal. A hearing before the Planning Board will be held on February 4, and before the Council on Feb. 11.
As of now, a number of communities are planning to request that the proposal needs to be more closely tied to the general planning process. The KHCA Executive Committee will consider whether to join that letter to give us more time to make substantive comments later. We’d like to hear your thoughts. To read the letter, click this Link.
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Zoning Text Amendment (”ZTA”) 20-01
This was introduced last year and after much debate and analysis is at its final stages of consideration now. It proposed to allow up to 1800 acres of commercial solar facilities within the Agricultural Reserve. That is about 2% of the total acreage in the Reserve, but part of that space is unsuitable because it is wetlands, forestlands, too steep, too far from power wires, etc.
At first glance, the proposal seems very desirable as a way to increase the renewable energy sources discussed above and a number of environmental groups strongly supported the ZTA. The concern of other groups, though, including farmers in the Reserve was whether these projects would crowd out traditional farming activities. The basic issue is that the amounts paid to lease land for the solar farms is typically much higher than the amounts paid by normal farm operations. Since about half of the farmers in the Reserve rent the land they farm on, they could find themselves priced out of the market if they have to compete with solar farms. It is clear that it is possible to have some combined use of land for both solar and agriculture but many traditional farm crops such as corn or wheat could not readily be maintained.
The KHCA Executive Committee also discussed the issues and prepared and sent a letter noting certain points of concern, primarily a) whether the proposal should ensure that the most productive land was retained for farming and b) should the projects be required to be approved through the conditional use (public hearing) process. At the Council hearing on the 26th, amendments were adopted dealing with those concerns with a final vote on the proposal set for the next meeting during the first week of February. The final result appears to be a viable compromise – and we look forward to seeing the projects go forward in the coming years.
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| Montgomery County, MD Civic Federation Meeting
NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2021
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Online Zoom Audio/Video Conference
Topic: Police Reform and Accountability
Please click here to access the current newsletter and get information about logging in to the Zoom meeting.
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History Chair: OPEN
Safety Chair: OPEN
**Elections were held in November 2019.
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| KHCA is a non-partisan neighborhood organization dedicated to representing the interests of all homeowners and residents of the Kensington Heights neighborhood in maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in our community.
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| Thank you to our Newsletter Sponsors
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Kensington Heights Civic Association
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