preserving the quality of life in Olney, Maryland

Writing a Letter to the County Council about the Olney Master Plan

1.      Letters do not need to be long to be effective.  A personal statement about a couple of issues that mean the most to you is perfect.
 

2.      A good opening is to describe what brought you to Olney in the first place or what you value about living in Olney.  For example, you came to Olney for the (pick 1 or 2 that apply to you):

a.      Good schools with un-crowded classes

b.      Un-congested roads and a “reasonable” commute

c.      Responsive fire, rescue and emergency services

d.      Quiet, semi-rural residential neighborhoods characterized by two-lane roads, open space, green space and lots of trees.

e.      A good quality of life in a family-oriented community

f.        The availability of new houses in a mid-county location

g.      Access to local parks and recreational facilities
 

3.      Comment on how future development in Olney will affect what you value.  For example, ASK the Council to support Planning Board’s recommendations that preserve Olney’s quality of life.  Pick 1 or 2:

a.      Maintain the satellite town concept with all commercial development in Town Center to preserve the quiet residential neighborhoods.  This planning design of concentric rings of decreasing density from the Town Center outward to the Agricultural Reserve provides a variety of housing options.  New development must be compatible in size, scale, and location with the 1993 General Plan Refinement vision for Olney.

b.      Do not rezone the 32-acre county owned property.  If it is not needed for educational purposes, use it for housing consistent with the R200 zone and compatible with adjacent R200 neighborhoods.   Given the environmental and utility constraints on this land, only two thirds of the land can be developed.  In order to reach the R200 yield of 64 single-family dwelling units and 14 MPDU’s, the housing will need to be significantly more compact than the adjacent neighborhoods.  Anything beyond standard R200 density will create compatibility problems.

c.      Ask that any affordable housing built on the 32-acre property be workforce housing.  Elizabeth Davison, Director of DHCA spoke to GOCA on March 9, 2004 and stated that her vision for the 32 acres is workforce housing.  This is housing for households with incomes at 80% to 100% of the median income for Montgomery County.  Olney Coalition members who are adjacent to the 32 acres support workforce housing because it addresses the needs of County employees (teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers) who have been over looked by existing affordable housing programs.

d.      Rezone developable large lot properties RNC at a density not to exceed 0.33 on sewer (including MPDUs).  This gives the developers a guarantee yield and approximately twice the density they would get with current zoning of RE1 and RE2 on septic.  The additional density developers are seeking is unnecessary and will strain the environment, schools, roads, and public services.  NOTE: The RNC zone affects future developed along Batchellors Forest Road, on some properties north of Town Center and the Norbeck Country Club property if the Club ever decides to cease current operations and sell the land to a developer.

e.      Limit RNC development with sewer to properties that can connect to existing sewer lines.  Do not build new lines or new pumping / grinding stations.  This will help to protect sensitive environmental resources in areas zoned RNC.
 

4.      Ask the Council to change or add to the Planning Board Draft to strengthen portions of the Master Plan that affect things that you value.  For example, (choose one or two) ask the Council to:

a.      Consider a “land swap” involving the 32 acre property.  A swap would result in two things: 1) The development of affordable housing closer to amenities in town center and to public transportation.  2)  Standard R200 housing with the requisite number of MPDUs on the 32-acre site.  This would assist the County with its goal of providing affordable workforce housing and would be win-win for all parties.

b.      Reduce the density of the Golden Bear Triangle (a group of properties on the north east corner of the intersection of Route 28 and Georgia Avenue) from R200/TDR 7 to R200/TDR 4 consistent with the requests of the adjacent neighborhood association.  Ask the Council to tie this development to the completion of the grade separated interchange at Routes 28 and 97.

c.      Support a split classification for Bowie Mill Road between Cashell and Route 108 and for Cashell Road between Hines Road and Emory Lane in order to permit traffic calming measures to reduce speeding on these sections of roadway.

d.      Provide specific guidance and incentives to landowners in town center to build a Civic Center to house a new Mid-County Services Office, a Police substation, a new library and a community center including facilities for teens and seniors.

e.      Extend the Upper Rock Creek Special Protection Area (SPA) to include the entire North Branch of Upper Rock Creek regardless of whether it is located in the Upper Rock Creek or Olney planning area.

f.        Provide similar protection for the natural resources of the North West Branch of the Anacostia where the Army Corps of Engineers has done so much to restore the watershed downstream.

g.      Provide more passive recreational facilities particularly walking and biking trails in Olney that inter-connect to the countywide trail system.  NOTE August 2002, 74% of the 923 survey respondents asked for more trails.
 

5.      End with a summary statement.

a.      We are counting on you to help us preserve the quality of life in Olney.

b.      Please hold the line on density and do not overdevelop Olney.

c.      Keep our plan in balance.  Do not develop more than our infrastructure can support.

d.      Ensure that future development in Olney makes sense in terms of size, scale and location.

If you would like Olney Coalition to read your letter before sending, you may send it to bfalcigno @ olneycoalition.org or call Barbara at 301-774-2186

Mailing Information

Address your letters to the County Council President Tom Perez with separate copies to each Councilmember.  E-mail is the preferred method to deliver your letters because they go directly to each Councilmember’s email account.  

For maximum impact, letters need to be received by Tuesday, January 18th.  If you are writing after this date, send your letter anyway.  Late is better than not at all. 

The email addresses for the Council are:

Councilmember.Andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Denis@montgomerycountymd.gov;  Councilmember.Floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Perez@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Praisner@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Silverman@montgomerycountymd.gov; Councilmember.Subin@montgomerycountymd.gov

Hard copy letters sent via US Postal Service should be separately addressed to each Councilmember and mailed to them at: 

Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850

Please separately send a copy of your email letters or your hard copy letters to Barbara Falcigno (bfalcigno @ olneycoalition.org) for the Olney Coalition’s chronological correspondence file.  Indicate if we can add your letter to our gallery of letters on the web site.  Your personal information can be removed if you would like.

The full Council is expected to vote on the Olney Master Plan in either late January or February.  Letters can be sent as late as the day the Council votes.  However, for maximum impact on a Council member's vote, letters should be received by Tuesday, January 18th.