KHCA NEWS BULLETINS 

>>No KHCA Executive Committee Meeting in December

The next KHCA Executive Committee meeting will be January 13, 2016. All are welcome. 

>>Want a Sidewalk In Your Neighborhood?

The KHCA Executive Committee is developing a one-page information sheet to assist Kensington Heights residents in requesting County installation of a sidewalk. KHCA is available to help interested persons if they have questions or need support. As the KHCA website is developed, we will post more information there.  

>>Have a Happy Holiday Season: Put Safety at Top of Your List

KHCA reminds everyone that being mindful of safety during the winter months is a good idea, especially for the holiday season when residents are likely to be walking after sunset in Kensington Heights and near the Mall. The County has been experiencing an increase in accidents involving pedestrians and cars, plus shopping center parking lots are busier during the holidays. So, keep an eye out for distracted pedestrians and drivers who may not be paying attention to you, especially when backing out of parking spaces. Montgomery County's police officers will be handing out reflective bands at local shopping malls to make sure that drivers can see pedestrians. And as always, it pays to be vigilant about personal safety in parking lots and along darkened pathways. More info at: ParkingLotSafety, HolidaySafety, and PackageTheftPrevention. 

Please add the Montgomery County Police non-emergency telephone number to your phone’s contact list so you can use it if you see something doubtful or feel unsafe: 301-279-8000.

>>KHCA Seeking Sponsors for KHCA Website

KHCA is looking for local businesses that would like to be sponsors for KHCA’s new and improved website. For only a few dollars a month, you can help KHCA and, at the same time, keep your name front and center for your neighbors in Kensington Heights. Contact Shruti Bhatnagar shruti_bhatnagar@yahoo.com. 

>>Correction

The November 2015 KHCA Newsletter mistakenly identified Luisa Montero-Diaz as the new regional director for Westfield Mall. Ms. Montero-Diaz is the new director for Montgomery County’s Mid-County Regional Services Center located on Reedie Drive, across from Lot 13 at Triangle Lane.

KHCA UPDATES 

>>Costco – A lot happening!

Oral Argument in Circuit Court

On November 13, 2015, the never-ending drama that is the Costco special exception request for its mega gas station had its latest moment on the stage. After losing at every level during the County application process, Costco appealed the denial to the Montgomery County Circuit Court. The County defended the decision of its Board of Appeals before the Court. After the County, Costco, KHCA, the Stop Costco Gas Coalition, and Donna Savage and Mark Adelman (as individuals) submitted briefs, the oral arguments took place on the 13th.The hearing lasted approximately two and a half hours, which is quite long for this type of proceeding, but there were a lot of issues to be heard. In the end, the judge spent more time asking questions of Costco than of our side (represented by County Attorney Barbara Jay and KHCA Counsel Karen Cordry, as well as Donna Savage and Mark Adelman). Many of the judge’s questions to Costco, while polite, appeared to be somewhat skeptical of its position. In short, we are cautiously optimistic that the judge will agree that the County was justified in its decision and will deny the appeal.  For news coverage, click: sentinel, wtop, wusa9.

Legal Defense Fund – Financial Contributions Needed !!

With this phase of the case now coming to a close at the same time the calendar year is winding down, we hope it’s a good time to remind everyone that about the need for contributions to the Legal Defense Fund. Our President, Karen Cordry, was temporarily admitted to the Maryland bar so she could work on the brief and make the oral argument for KHCA, thereby reducing our legal fees and costs to the bare minimum. Even so, between KHCA and the Stop Costco Gas Coalition (which has been sharing the expenses) we have incurred several thousand dollars more beyond the remaining few thousand that was owed for the costs through the Board of Appeal.     

Your contribution to the Legal Defense Fund can be tax-deductible -- now is the time to donate so it counts toward your 2015 tax bill. We have a new charitable sponsor that receives the donations and makes the funds available through a “grant” back to KHCA, minus a small fee. To make a donation, send your check made out to “Washington Peace Center” – with “For the benefit of KHCA Legal Defense Fund” on the memo line – to our treasurer, Erl Houston, 10723 St. Paul Street, Kensington, MD  20895. Thank you again for anything you can give to help  - this has been a total community effort from Day 1 and we have confidence it will continue to pay off in the coming weeks.

>>Zoning Text Amendment 15-07 -- Passed by County Council 

The Montgomery Council considered ZTA 15-07 on December 1. Donna Savage attended the meeting and provided KHCA with the following report:

Earlier this year, a new ZTA was introduced by Council Member Marc Elrich and six co-sponsors – all other Council members except George Leventhal and Nancy Floreen – that would amend the current standards for a large filling station (defined as selling at least 3.6 million gallons of gas per year) to increase the required setback from 300 to 500 feet and to add homes and wetlands, streams, rivers, floodplains, or environmentally sensitive areas to the current list of sensitive uses (which includes schools, day care centers, and outdoor recreational areas). If this language had been in place a few years ago Costco could not have filed its application in the first place.   

On December 1, 2015, the County Council voted 8-1 (Nancy Floreen dissenting) to approve this ZTA; the new ordinance becomes effective on December 21, 2015. Unfortunately, the current Costco gas station proposal remains subject to the old ordinance while the judicial review process is going on. But when (not if!) the courts uphold the County’s denial of the current application, any new application would be governed by the new ordinance. As a result, our community can rest assured that this round of appeals will be the end of the road for this proposed station. Likewise, other communities will not have to endure the effort and financial strain should such issues arise for them. For news coverage, click: Post, wtop.    

A few interesting remarks from Council members about the new ZTA:

• George Leventhal referenced climate change issues, protecting County residents’ quality of life, and the nuisance factor associated with large gas stations.
• Hans Reimer talked about the nuisance factor, protecting down-county neighborhoods, not allowing queuing to spill into neighborhoods, and the ability of non-large gas stations to continue to provide gasoline especially in the denser neighborhoods.
• Marc Elrich lauded the Council for taking the science seriously, and noted that gasoline usage is decreasing in the U.S. and that there is no space for current stations to expand at least in the down-county (so they are not disadvantaged under this new ordinance).  He cited the Hearing Examiner’s opinion in the Costco gas case, which noted that large gas stations are incompatible with dense residential neighborhoods and he urged the Council to pass this ordinance because “if you know enough, [we should] take the possibility of a large gas station off the table and don’t make it part of the Special Exception process” – so that other neighborhoods are not burdened with having to fight such proposals. 

>>Land Use -- New Wheaton Town Center

On November 3, 2015, the County held another public meeting to update residents on the progress regarding the new Town Center project to be built on Lot 13 in Wheaton. Karen Cordry attended the meeting and provided KHCA with the following report:  

Despite being held outside the neighborhood at Wheaton High School at 6:30 pm on a weeknight, the meeting was very well attended. After a presentation by the County (presentation), the meeting was opened for questions. Several local business owners from the Triangle area raised concerns about the lack of communications from the County particularly with respect to what steps were being taken to help them deal with the inevitable disruption during the time construction was going on. Adam Fogel from Council Member Navarro’s office explained that, while the Council had passed legislation to provide grants to adversely affected businesses, the administrative office was several months behind in writing the regulations to implement the program, but they are now being put into place.  

A number of questions were raised about the traffic problems likely to result from suggestions to close or narrow Reedie Drive, or to make it one-way eastbound. Adjustments to Reedie Drive are the result of the decision to split the “town square” portion of this project across Reedie Drive, which in turn highlights the importance of traffic reduction on Reedie Drive. The two traffic studies that have been done (study 1 study 2) concluded that there would need to be substantial revamping of the lanes and turn signals on many of Reedie's surrounding roads. Although the studies assert that the traffic impacts would be acceptable, the existing crush on those roads at rush hour and on the weekends gives rise to some skepticism.The planning process still has a long way to go before ground is broken, but it appears that many of the important decisions have already been made and won’t be changing.

>>Education

Board of Education Approves $1.73 Billion Capital Improvements Program

Public hearings on the Capital Improvement Plans were held on November 9 and 12, 2015. The Montgomery County Board of Education approved a $1.73 billion six-year Capital Improvements Program (CIP) request for MCPS that will help ease overcrowding caused by years of rapid enrollment growth and will allow the district to upgrade and maintain aging facilities. The Board’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-2022 request includes 10 new classroom addition projects—6 in elementary schools and 4 in secondary schools. The CIP request keeps on schedule many other projects that will add capacity to schools and increases funding for countywide infrastructure projects, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) replacement and numerous other infrastructure needs.

MCPS to Close Schools on Eid al-Adha in 2016

The Montgomery County Board of Education voted on November 10, 2015, to close school for MCPS students on September 12, 2016, which coincides with the holiday of Eid al-Adha. The Board’s vote will make September 12 a professional day for staff in the proposed 2016-2017 school year calendar. More info here.   

The 2016 theme for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Literary Contest and Visual Arts Show is “Renewing the Dream: Hope in Today’s Times.” Deadline for submitting entries is Friday, December 11.

Literary entries should be 150 words or less. Submit them to the MLK Essay Contest, c/o Montgomery County Office of Human Rights, 21 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850.

Visual arts entries, is open to prints, posters, collages, murals, photographs, and all other two-dimensional visual art forms. Group projects are welcome. Send entries to Linda S. Adams, supervisor, Pre-K-12 Fine Arts, Carver Educational Services Center, Room 256, 850 Hungerford Dr., Rockville, MD 20850.   

The main changes in the policy include adjusting language to replace references to final exams with references to marking period assessments. The updated policy clarifies that student performance measures may include teacher developed, as well as centrally developed, assessments. It also clarifies that the variety of assessments include, but are not limited to, marking period assessments, end-of-unit tests, final evaluations, projects, performance-based assessments, and other similar formative and summative demonstrations of a student’s mastery of grade-level course material. More info here.   

Students taking the English 10 and Algebra 1 PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessments last school year and this school year do not have to pass the exams in order to graduate—they only have to take the tests. However, starting with the 2016–2017 school year, it is expected that students achieve a specified score in order to receive a state of Maryland diploma. The Maryland State Board of Education will set that score later. More info here. 

 [Submitted by Shruti Bhatnagar, Chair, Education Committee]

COMMUNITY NEWS & CALENDAR

>>Opportunity to Serve on County Committee for Wheaton Urban District: Applications Due December 23

Montgomery County's boards, committees and commissions have the goal of being reflective of and responsive to the County's residents. Public participation is important!!

There is now the opportunity to serve on MoCo's Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee as well as the Alcoholic Beverages Advisory Board. KHCA urges Kensington Heights residents to apply. There is an online application process along with more information at MoCoBCC. The application deadline is December 23. The County notes that applicants of diverse backgrounds, professions, gender, geography, disability and ethnicity are encouraged to apply. 

>>Opportunity for Input on Modifications to Wheaton Regional Park Plan

Montgomery Parks will be updating the 1987 Wheaton Regional Park Master Plan to better reflect that current interests and needs of the community. Representatives from Montgomery Parks have announced that residents will have opportunities throughout the process to share their ideas at in-person meetings, online and through hard copy mail. More info here.  

Montgomery Parks has offered to meet with local civic associations to speak about the update and to hear comments. KHCA plans to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with these representatives – stay tuned for more news. 

>>Thefts from Vehicles

There have been a number of reports to the police regarding thefts from parked vehicles in our neighborhood, most recently in the 2800 block of McComas Avenue. Remember to lock your car doors! Please report crimes in progress by calling 911 and crimes discovered after-the-fact by calling 301-279-8000.

>>Villages of Kensington

The Villages of Kensington plans to be open for business in the Spring of 2016. Watch for important updates for those who'd like to volunteer or if you'd like to become a member so you can benefit from the neighbor-helping-neighbor services. To find out more about the Villages of Kensington, visit the VoK website. We are incorporated in the state of Maryland and we are a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. We have a 13-member Board of Directors on which Kensington Heights is well represented by Jennifer Ivory (McComas Avenue ), Carolyn Lichtenstein (Drumm Avenue), and Donna Savage (McComas Court). The Board meets twice a month (once in December) on Mondays at the Kensington Park Retirement Community on Littledale Road in Rock Creek Hills, Kensington. These meetings are open to all!  Check our website for the next meeting date. Questions?  Want to know more?  Check out the website and sign up for email updates.

>>December 3:  Montgomery County Executive’s Summit on Aging

The Summit will be happening just as we distributing this month's KHCA Newsletter. Among its goals is to identify ways to make Montgomery County a place to live and retire – “a community for a lifetime.”  More info here.  

KHCA CONTACTS

President:               Karen Cordry (Torrance Drive) karenc425@aol.com

Vice President:       Mark Meszaros (Peregoy Drive) markm@digitalindustry.com

Secretary:              Wendy Core (Torrance Court) wendyj3@hotmail.com

Treasurer:               Erl Houston (St. Paul Street) erlhouston@verizon.net

 

Immediate Past President:     Danila Sheveiko (Melvin Grove Court) dsheveiko@hotmail.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                     Donna Savage (McComas Court) donnarsavage@gmail.com

Safety Chair:                         vacant

Traffic Chair:                         Andrew Fraser (McComas Avenue) afraser@sandglass.com

Newsletter:                           Christine Taylor (Torrance Drive) ctaylor3450@gmail.com