November 12, 2004
Honorable Steve Silverman, President
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Dear President Silverman,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Olney Square Citizen’s Association (OSCA) a community of 147 households within Olney. A significant number of our members live along Bowie Mill Road near MD R108 or on properties that are adjacent to the 32-acre former school site on Bowie Mill Road. We are concerned that the Master Planning process is being dismissed in the single-minded pursuit of more Affordable Housing. We believe the needs of both current and future residents need to be addressed in our master plan.
Most members of OSCA came to Olney for its rural characteristics of quiet neighborhoods, good schools, and accessibility to many amenities within Montgomery County. There is growing concern that these attributes are at risk.
We ask you to support the Planning Board recommendation not to rezone the 32 Acre property on Bowie Mill Road and to ensure that any housing developed on this parcel will fully comply with R200 and be compatible with the surrounding R200 zoned neighborhoods. We would hope, since OSCA surrounds more than ½ of that property that if the property is not needed for a school site it will be used for workforce housing. Existing affordable housing programs have over looked teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers.
Additionally, Bowie Mill Road is a difficult road to travel during peak morning and evening hours. Adding additional car or bus traffic to this already crowded road will only increase the peak hour delays, making it harder for our residents to go to/from their respective places of business.
Density above R200 would add imperviousness that could push the streams that run through this property beyond the threshold where stream restoration (called for in the County-wide Stream Protection Strategy) is even possible. The adjoining wetlands currently filter storm water runoff from upstream development and contribute to preserving water quality downstream. Less than a half a mile downstream this same tributary is protected by the Special Protection Area (SPA) created in the Upper Rock Creek Master Plan. We ask you to extend this SPA to the entire watershed regardless of master plan boundaries.
Due to these reasons, we ask that the council strengthen its commitment to build more affordable housing in town center where public transportation and community services are more readily available and accessible. We ask you to provide specific incentives to landowners to create a civic center in town center that would include a mid-county services office, a new library, a police substation and a civic center. The amenities this will afford Olney as a whole will be greatly appreciated by our homeowners and will increase the options for new families moving into our community.
We are asking you, OUR council members, to keep our Master Plan balanced and preserve the quality of life we have grown to enjoy. The quality of life here in Olney is why we moved here and why we will continue to remain.
Respectfully submitted,
Katherine Hughes, President
Olney Square Citizens Association
Copies to:
Councilmember Andrews
Councilmember Denis
Councilmember Floreen
Councilmember Knapp
Councilmember Leventhal
Councilmember Perez
Councilmember Praisner
Councilmember Subin