November 9, 2004
Mr. Steve Silverman, President
Montgomery County Council
100 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850
Dear Mr. Silverman:
The mission of the Norbeck Conservation Society (NCS) is to protect our area’s natural environment and to preserve the quality of life for our region’s residents. Begun two years ago to represent the interests of mainstream citizens living in the Norbeck area, the NCS today includes hundreds of supporters in Olney, Rockville, Silver Spring, Sandy Spring, and other communities. With this in mind, we would like to share some observations with you and other members of the Montgomery County Council as the Council considers the future of the Olney Master Plan area.
By way of background, the Norbeck Conservation Society has attempted to participate actively in the Olney Master Plan deliberations since their inception. To the best of my knowledge, a representative of NCS has attended every public discussion of the Olney Master Plan and, as Park & Planning staff will attest, we have tried to weigh in with feedback from the community whenever appropriate.
With regard to the Olney Master Plan, the NCS has organized its highest priorities into two categories: Preserving the Quality of Life, and Protecting the Natural Environment. Each of these is discussed below.
Like thousands of residents in our area, NCS families moved here from elsewhere in the metropolitan Washington region because of the high quality of life that the Olney Master Plan area offered. It is still a nice place to live, but its appeal is fast disappearing in the face of overdevelopment. The verdant, semi-rural, quiet, and secure environment that attracted people to this area a decade ago is being replaced with one marked by an explosion in housing development, far more traffic than was ever intended in a designated “wedge” area like this one, increased concerns about violent crime, and a surge in developments ushered in through the “special exception” process.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Southeast Quadrant (SEQ) of the Olney Master Plan area, which is being whittled away, year after year, by developers looking to build large housing developments, schools, sports complexes, cell phone transmission towers, and other facilities that are inconsistent with -- and are permanently changing -- the semi-rural character of the SEQ.
With this in mind, the Norbeck Conservation Society seconds the recommendations of the South East Rural Olney Civic Association (SEROCA), which recently stated that:
the proposed RNC density for the large sewerable properties (0.33 units per acre) is too high and should be substantially reduced. The absolute number of units such density is projected to yield will transform and overwhelm the low-density, semi-rural character of the SEQ . . . . SEROCA urges the Council to lower the Draft Plan's recommended RNC density on the sewerable properties to .27 units per acre so that the absolute yield – including MPDUs – on those properties would not exceed .33 units per acre. SEROCA believes that such a "guaranteed" yield would easily exceed what these properties could effectively obtain under current septic-only zoning and would be the maximum appropriate yield given all the circumstances of the SEQ.
The Norbeck Conservation Society strongly opposes one particularly egregious example of modifying existing zoning to suit the needs of developers -- to the detriment of local residents. The so-called Golden Bear Triangle contains the last remnants of an historically important African-American community in Norbeck. If the developers have their way, they will eliminate this community and replace them and their homes with higher-density development. This “hostile takeover bid” is strongly opposed by the neighborhood. Following a presentation by Winchester Homes at a meeting of a local citizens association, 88 percent of the residents at the meeting voted to oppose zoning changes that were being pushed by Winchester Homes.
The Golden Bear Triangle is part of the Southeast Quadrant, and there is no justifiable reason why this area of the SEQ should be rezoned to R200/TDR7. Park & Planning and the Planning Board have argued that zoning should be changed because of the Golden Bear Triangle’s proximity to the ICC right-of-way. But this argument flies in the face of long-standing reassurances made by ICC supporters -- including some members of this Council -- that the ICC would not be used to rationalize new development and/or higher densities.
In the opinion of the NCS, the proposed change in zoning at Golden Bear Triangle is inappropriate and does not belong in the Olney Master Plan. If the ICC ever comes to fruition, the issue of development and higher densities in the Golden Bear Triangle could be revisited at that time.
Road conditions in the Olney Master Plan area are exacerbated from one year to the next, and the Norbeck Conservation Society sees traffic congestion and safety as increasingly important issues.
Norbeck Road (Maryland 28) constitutes the southern border of the SEQ, and NCS members who live along this thoroughfare are appalled at the surge in traffic that has taken place since the so-called “Connector” (linking Norbeck with Burtonsville) was opened. This has substantially raised noise levels, air pollution, safety concerns, and congestion. (A five- to ten-minute wait to pull onto Norbeck Road is not uncommon now.) Perhaps most disturbing of all for local residents: Large trucks, using Maryland 28 as a defacto Intercounty Connector (ICC), now thunder through the area at all hours of the day and night, causing serious disruptions.
For years, the State Highway Administration’s MD28/MD198 Corridor Improvement Project Planning Study Focus Group was assured by the SHA that MD 28/198 would not become part of the ICC. This pledge has already been broken, and if the ICC is ever built -- along any of the Corridors under consideration -- it will slice through the Olney Master Plan area (especially the SEQ) and further compound the problems identified above.
When your predecessors on the Montgomery County Council adopted the 1980 Olney Master Plan, they made a special effort to preserve the SEQ as a low-density residential buffer between the high-density areas of Aspen Hill to the south and Olney Town Center to the north. Today, a quarter century later, the reasons for protecting the SEQ are more valid and compelling than ever, and the Norbeck Conservation Society urges you to preserve the quality of life in the Olney Master Plan area (particularly the Southeast Quadrant) for future generations.
The draft Olney Master Plan recognizes that protection of the SEQ is “particularly important because it contains two of the main tributaries forming the headwaters of the Northwest Branch: Batchellors Forest and Batchellors Forest East tributaries. These stream systems are in relatively good condition and are supported by relatively uninterrupted forested stream valley buffers with forested areas in the headwaters of the first order streams.”
Such recognition is important, but NCS feels that the draft Master Plan does not go far enough in at least two respects:
First, it appears that few concrete steps are being taken to protect the SEQ’s greenways and the rich diversity there. Batchellors Forest contains large areas of high quality contiguous forest and wetlands that include an array of habitats that support a diversity of plants and wildlife. The Maryland Atlas of Greenways, Water Trails, and Green Infrastructure includes the forests in Batchellors Forest Tributary as a critical corridor between the Northwest Branch and Rock Creek stream valleys. Much of this site is mature forest that provides habitats for forest interior bird nesting, and the site may include habitats for rare, threatened, endangered, and/or watchlist species.
NCS Recommendation: In the same way that the Olney Master Plan envisages the acquisition of land for recreational purposes, so, too, should it be actively acquiring sites that will protect, link, and extend the SEQ’s greenways -- which are vital to Montgomery County’s ecosystem. From the outset of the Olney Master Plan process, NCS has been highlighting the pressing need to protect and acquire uninterrupted greenspace before developers carve up what little contiguous forests and wetlands remain in the Olney Master Plan in general and the SEQ in particular.
Second, not enough is being done to protect water quality in the Olney Master Plan area, particularly in the SEQ. NCS is particularly concerned that there are no reliable data on the long-term, cumulative effects of development on water quality in the sensitive headwaters of the Northwest Branch, a major tributary of the Anacostia River.
Protection of the Anacostia is becoming an increasingly important issue, and NCS believes that protection should begin at the source -- including the SEQ of the Olney Master Plan. County Executive Doug Duncan has signed Montgomery County onto the Anacostia River Restoration Agreement. Overdevelopment in areas like ours could well result in negative impacts on this vital river, thereby violating the County’s commitment to restore the Anacostia.
For those of us who live in the Southeast Quadrant, where well and septic are prevalent, this is more than just an academic debate. This has a profound impact on the water that we drink, and our children drink, every single day.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), in a June 14 letter to the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA), highlighted the dangers that overdevelopment and major roadways could create along the northern alignments of the proposed ICC -- which run right through the Olney Master Plan area. The County Council is not currently considering the merits or liabilities per se of the ICC, but in the opinion of the NCS, you cannot afford to ignore the WSSC’s recommendations -- which are every bit as valid for Georgia Avenue and MD Route 28 in the SEQ as they are for the ICC, which is literally just a stone’s throw away.
WSSC noted: “Our water reservoirs are, in a sense, non-renewable resources . . . due to the fact that the creation of new reservoirs or dredging and disposal of sediments from existing ones are becoming almost impossible. Given this, we must protect our reservoirs in terms of water quality and quantity, not only for our more than 500,000 Marylanders that currently rely on them, but also for generations to come.” The WSSC concluded, “This requires a planning horizon much longer than the 20-years normally used in planning studies.”
WSSC noted that increases in “erosion and sediment transport, surface runoff and reduced infiltration are of major importance to WSSC.” The Commission drew attention to a study conducted by the Hubard Brook Research Center that found that the “level of chloride in a small lake increased four fold in just 20 years when a 4-lane highway was built in the vicinity of the lake.” The study concluded that the chloride had come from the salt put on the road during snow events and that “a more severe impact may be expected for our reservoirs.”
WSSC concluded, “We strongly believe that the needs related to providing safe drinking water to the more than 500,000 Marylanders who currently rely on our reservoirs and to the future generations must be given high priority and in-depth consideration.”
NCS Recommendation: Park & Planning needs to conduct comprehensive research on the cumulative impact that overdevelopment and attendant pollution are having on the Olney Master Plan’s natural resources, particularly water quality.
Consistent with the recommendations of SEROCA and the Greater Olney Civic Association (GOCA), the Norbeck Conservation Society believes that the County Council should establish a Special Protection Area (SPA), environmental overlay zone, and imperviousness caps for the SEQ along the lines of what was adopted to protect the Upper Rock Creek Master Plan. Upper Rock Creek and the SEQ go hand in glove, with no natural barriers dividing these two vital watershed areas, and NCS encourages the County Council to give the SEQ the attention and respect that it deserves.
NCS concurs with the view that the County Council should adopt these recommendations in part as “preemptive defensive” measures. As SEROCA noted in its recent testimony, such standards could “serve to restrict potential special exception or other non-residential uses the Draft Plan neither intends nor anticipates. In addition, the Draft Plan should recommend the use of state-of-the-art mitigation technologies to limit or effectively contain run-off and other adverse environmental effects associated with changing land uses during the lifespan of the next Olney Master Plan.”
* * *
Consistent with the Norbeck Conservation Society’s mission to protect our area’s natural environment and to preserve the quality of life for our region’s residents, we encourage the Montgomery County Council to support the recommendations (above) put forward by our members. Despite its proximity to heavily populated, densely developed areas like Aspen Hill and Rockville, the Olney Master Plan area still contains some of the most beautiful and environmentally significant stretches of land in Montgomery County. With that in mind, we urge the Montgomery County Council to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect this important natural resource before it is gone.
Sincerely,
David Hamod
President
Batchellors Forest: A Unique Natural Resource
in the Heart of Montgomery County
Because of the rustic character of Batchellors Forest, it has been considered for inclusion in Legacy Open Space, Montgomery County’s preeminent program designed to protect land of exceptional significance and to safeguard these natural resources for current and future generations.
Contiguous Forests & Wetlands
Batchellors Forest contains large areas of high quality contiguous forest and wetlands that include an array of habitats that support a diversity of plants and wildlife. The Maryland Atlas of Greenways, Water Trails, and Green Infrastructure includes the forests in Batchellors Forest Tributary as a critical corridor between the Northwest Branch and Rock Creek stream valleys. Much of this site is mature forest that provides habitats for forest interior bird nesting, and the site may include habitats for rare, threatened, endangered, and/or watchlist species.
According to Park & Planning’s Environmental Resources Inventory for Olney and Vicinity (April 2002), this site contains significant upland forest habitat. The report states, “These large blocks of contiguous forest are important habitat for forest interior dwelling animal and plant species, and are relatively rare in Montgomery County due to land development and agriculture. In some instances, the quality of the forest contained in these areas is exceptionally high.”
According to that same Inventory, the forest along the Batchellors Forest Tributary is one of only four Significant Forest Areas that are currently outside parkland. The forest interior includes a disproportionately high percentage of the Northwest Branch watershed’s sensitive areas as defined by the 1992 State Planning Act. The Inventory goes on to note that in this area, “some of these wetlands are part of a larger network of forested stream valley features of floodplain, vernal pools, and springs that provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including amphibians such as frogs and salamanders.”
This area is already a significant stream buffer and wildlife corridor and, given the growing shortage of undeveloped land in this vicinity, it will be increasingly important as a greenspace in the years to come.
The Countywide Stream Protection Strategy (CSPS) indicates that Batchellors Forest Tributary system is the largest subwatershed in the Montgomery County portion of the Northwest Branch watershed. According to the Olney Environmental Resources Inventory, the CSPS “identifies all the study area subwatersheds [including Batchellors Forest] as being priority subwatersheds.” As such, Legacy Open Space notes, “It is essential that the current instability in these areas be addressed immediately to reduce or eliminate the potential for degradation of the streams, and consequently the reservoirs.” At least one-third of the Tributary watershed is forested.
Batchellors Forest Tributary, as part of the Anacostia watershed, is encompassed within the historic Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983 and the subsequent “tributary strategies” of 1992. As such, preservation of this site would play a small but nevertheless valuable role in helping to maintain the high quality of water flowing ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay.