January 2019
Newsletter of the Kensington Heights Civic Association
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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
Special Alert:  Assistance for Federal Government Employees Without Paycheck
Given concern about federal government employees who will not be receiving a paycheck due to the government shutdown, Montgomery County has been working to coordinate with nonprofit organizations in our community that provide food, rent and utility assistance. Information about federal shutdown assistance is available at this link

KHCA NEWS BULLETINS 
>> January 15: KHCA Executive Committee Meeting -- All Are Welcome
Time:  7:30 pm
Place: 2509 McComas Avenue, Home of Shruti and Vipul Bhatnagar
Please consider attending this meeting or contact us if you have thoughts or suggestions relative to KHCA activities. Topics for the January meeting will include KHCA communications, pedestrian shttps://www.kensingtonheightsmd.org/resourcesafety, and the Veirs Mill Corridor Master Plan.
>> Report on KHCA General Meeting (December 12, 2018)
The General Meeting program topic was pedestrian and traffic safety, in light of the cluster of pedestrian deaths taking place in the Wheaton/Glenmont/Aspen Hill area over the summer and fall. Both Montgomery County and the District of Columbia have signed on to Vision Zero -- a program for addressing the entire scope of pedestrian and traffic safety with the ambitious goal of reducing pedestrian deaths and serious injuries to zero. During our December meeting, we heard from representatives from the County Planning Department and Transportation Department about what Vision Zero entails and the steps the County is taking to implement Vision Zero. 
A more detailed report on the General Meeting, with a discussion of Vision Zero and links to the County's Powerpoints that show the problems we face and some of the proposed solutions, can be found at the Resources link on the KHCA website.

COMMUNITY NEWS & CALENDAR
>> Viers Mill Corridor Master Plan -- Consider Attending Important Hearing 
The Plan is intended to, among other things, guide future land uses along the Veirs Mill Road corridor from Wheaton to Rockville, improve compatiability between adjacent land uses and furure rapid bus rapid transit, improve pedestrian and bicycle accessibility, and develop walkable development. (The kind of structural and road design changes proposed by the Vision Zero program discussed above are a major component of the plan.)  More info.

>January 29 Hearing Before County Council, 7:30pm Rockville
Council Hearing Room (Third Floor), 100 Maryland Ave. Sign up to testify by 10am January 29. More info.

>> Proposed Kensington Self-Storage Facility
A proposal to redevelop the former gas station site at the corner of Plyers Mill Road and Connecticut Avenue to a multi-story self-storage building has been under consideration in Kensington for almost a year now.  The first design met with considerable opposition as not being an optimal use for a prominent gateway entrance to Kensington and Kensington Heights.  A considerably redesigned version was reviewed at a January 7 meeting of the Development Review Board. The new proposal incorporates the request that retail space should be included to make the building more visually attractive, and to facilitate activities to integrate the building into the surrounding neighborhood. The current proposal now includes first floor restraurant space and space on the second floor for artist studios. A KHCA report on these developments can be found at the Resources link on the KHCA website

>> Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee (WUDAC)  
January 8 Meeting
The meeting included discussions of the Wheaton Safety Task Force and its focus on crime and security in the Wheaton urban area, with a primary focus on the Mall and Metro garage. There was also a broader discussion that tied in the concerns about pedestrian safety that KHCA has been discussing and that WUDAC has also raised as its concern. A report was given relative to planning and development of the new "town center"  located on both sides of Reedie Drive as part of the Park and Planning Building development.  Newly-elected County Executive, Marc Elrich attended the meeting and discussed those issues as well as WUDAC's concerns about Wheaton redevelopment and his plans to improve the general business climate in Montgomery County. A report of the meeting will soon be available on the WUDAC website. KHCA will also be posting a report soon on its website.

>> Montgomery County FY20 Budget Forums
Five forums to discuss the County's Operating Budget will provide residents and stakeholders the opportunity to have their voices heard and to contribute ideas that could be used in the development of the Recommended FY20 Operating Budget.

>January 23 to February 4
The forums will take place at several locations and at various dates in the County. More info.

>> Montgomery County Civic Federation (MCFF) 
Information from the MCCF Newsletter can be found at this link. The mission of MCCF is to preserve and improve the quality of life for current and future residents of Montgomery County. Civic associations, including KHCA, are constituents of MCCF. All county residents are welcome to attend MCCF meetings so they can interact with other communities around the County and meet State and County officials. 

>January 14 Meeting, 7:45pm Rockville
Program topic:  Pedestrian Safety. This meeting will be a further develoment of the discussions KHCA had in December and a chance to hear about the issues if you were not able to attend in December. Officials from both the County and the State will talk about their work to implement Vision Zero. Also, a Community Hero award will be given to Corinne Hart, President of Woodside Park Civic Association in recognition of her group's activities this year to improve pedestrian safety along Dale Drive -- an effort we can learn from as we address similar issues in Kensington. More info. 


KHCA CONTACTS
President:                            Karen Cordry (Torrance Drive) karenc425@aol.com
Vice President:                    Erl Houston (St. Paul Street) erlhouston@verizon.net
Secretary:                            Ann Arevalo (Torrance Drive) annarevalo@hotmail.com
Treasurer:                            Jim Ryan (Brunswick Ave) Jim.ryan@longandfoster.com

Immediate Past President:     Danila Sheveiko (Melvin Grove Court) dsheveiko@hotmail.com
Beautification Chair                Jon Foreman (University Blvd)  jonforeman@gmail.com
Communications Chair           Shruti Bhatnagar (McComas Avenue) shruti_bhatnagar@yahoo.com
Education Chair:                     Shruti Bhatnagar (McComas Avenue) shruti_bhatnagar@yahoo.com
History Chair:                         vacant
Land Use Chair                      Derek Karchner (Torrance Drive) dkarchner@gmail.com
Safety Chair:                          vacant
Traffic Chair:                           Andrew Fraser (McComas Avenue) afraser@sandglass.com
Newsletter:                             Christine Taylor (Torrance Drive) ctaylor3450@gmail.com
Website:                                 Ricardo Gonzalez ricardo@bobbleheaddw.com

Thank you to our Newsletter Sponsors


Greetings Neighbors .... from Jim Ryan, Realtor

For those of you that I have yet to meet, I’m sure that day will come.  I moved my family to Kensington from Alexandria  27 years ago. There is no other place that I would rather live than this community!  I have a real estate license with Long and Foster Downtown Silver Spring.  If you have friends interested in moving to this area, I am glad to help. 
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