B8 It remains breezy and cold.Under partly


sunny skies, highs reach the mid- to upper 30s with a continuation of chilly winds from the north and northwest at 10-15 mph. Overnight will be cold, with lows in the upper teens in the suburbs to the mid-20s downtown.


EZ SU


KLMNO


TUESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2010


News, traffic, weather. Now.


POSTLOCAL postlocal.com


6A photo gallery captures the total lunar eclipse, which was visible between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. The rare eclipse coincided with the winter solstice for the first time in more than 350


on washingtonpost.com Watch the lunar eclipse


years. On washingtonpost.com.


Development plans stir fight for Md. town’s ‘soul’


kensington from B1


schools. “It’s an urban scale of density


which is totally out of scale and out of character for a historic town,” said Kensington Town Council member Lydia Sullivan, who writes a blog called Snobur- bia. “We’re fighting for the soul of Kensington.” Sullivan said that residents


welcome revitalization. Howev- er, she said,many seemunaware that the town’s population could more than double with the amount of development allowed under the proposed plan. The number of new apartments and condominiums allowed could end up far outnumbering the town’s 526 single-family homes, she said, which make up 80 percent of the town’s housing. Montgomery planners say


they are also trying to reduce traffic congestion by changing the suburban zoning laws that have long separatedmany neigh- borhoods from businesses. That separation, planners say, forces many suburbanites to drive be- tween homes, shopping centers and office parks, increasing traf- fic jams and gasoline consump- tion. “If you’re looking for ways to


reduce the size of your carbon footprint, you need to create places where people can walk to things,” said Fred Boyd, a Mont- gomery planner.


‘Freshened up’ Kensington’s current plan, ap-


proved in 1978, allows for build- ings as tall as 94 feet, although the town’s two tallest buildings are about 60 feet. Under the new plan, Kensington Mayor Peter Fosselman said, they would be capped at 75 feet. The nearby White Flint area ofNorth Bethes- da has a 300-foot limit. Developers often seek approv-


al for high densities for mixed- use projects, usually in the form of taller buildings. They say they need the revenue fromthat addi- tional space because such devel-


547


MONTGOMERY CO.


PERRY AVE. 193


Proposed building heights Maximum (in feet)


45 50 Town of Kensington


60 75


185


FRED. CO.


MONTGOMERY CO.


LOUD. CO.


VA.


FAIRFAX CO.


HOWARD CO.


MD. Detail


P.G. D.C. CO.


station


MARC rail


Kensington 192 JAHI CHIKWENDIU/THE WASHINGTON POST


Shoppers browse Saturday at theKensington farmers market.Montgomery planners have proposed redeveloping the area into a mixed-use town center, a plan that some residents do not embrace.


0 MILE SOURCE: Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission MARY KATE CANNISTRA/THE WASHINGTON POST


opments are relatively expensive to design and build. Landowners also say they need to offset the financial risk of forgoing rental income while buildings are torn down and new ones are built. Mixed-use developments are a


key part of a “science city” re- cently approved for part of Gaithersburg west of Interstate 270 and a recently approved plan to redevelop the White Flint area. In addition to Kensington, such developments also are be- ing considered — or will be considered soon — for Takoma Park, Wheaton, Chevy Chase Lake and the Long Branch area of Silver Spring, planners said. Fosselman, an urban planner


for Rodgers Consulting, whose clients include developers and builders, said the town needs to offer higher densities to entice developers who would otherwise pursue higher rents by building inWhite Flint and other parts of Bethesda. “Kensington needs to stay in the game and be freshened up, or


we’ll become the new blight because everyone around us is revitalizing,” he said. “People are willing to take the density inmild doses to get the redevelopment.” The new apartments and con-


dominiums would provide more housing options, particularly for young people seeking more af- fordable homes and retirees who need single-level homes, Fossel- man said. Those objecting to the plan are a “vocal minority,” he said. The Kensington Town Council unanimously approved the plan in July 2009, before Sullivan was elected.


Concerns about scale The question of how many


new buildings and people Kens- ington can—or should—absorb is heating up neighborhood e- mail groups and dividing resi- dents. Although public officials have been discussing the plan for three years, some residents said they had just recently learned the details as the debate has intensi- fied.


1/4 “I just think the scale of devel-


opment in that plan seems so massive,” said Dan Radack, a 21-year resident who said he learned of the proposal a month ago. “It just seems like it would overwhelmthe town and change the feel.” But Darin Bartram, who has


lived in Kensington for 13 years, said he doesn’t think new build- ings would ever reach the maxi- mumlevels of density allowed in the plan, particularly because Kensington isn’t near a Metro station, where developers like to build. “I don’t mind more people,”


Bartram said. “It’s sort of nice to imagine a town with people liv- ing above breakfast places or a farmers market out walking our streets and shopping in stores. To me, that’s a good thing for Kens- ington.” Boyd, the Montgomery plan-


ner, said the Kensington propos- al respects the town’s smaller scale and historic character by calling for a “modest increase” in density at Connecticut and Knowles avenues. If history is any guide, he said, it is “very unlikely” the town would be developed to the maximum den- sity and height limits. “We’re not promoting a mini-


Bethesda there,” Boyd said. “We recognize Kensington is not Bethesda, and we have no inten- tion of turning it into Bethesda. Butwe do think some reasonable number of additional people can be accommodated there.”


The community’s role Sullivan said she’s concerned


that planners will make it too easy for developers to build to themaximumheights,which she thinks should be 45 feet. For example, she said, developers are allowed to build at higher densi- ties and provide fewer parking spaces simply for building near a transit stop. That includes the Kensington MARC station, even though a MARC official said the commuter rail line carries 135 to 150 passengers daily from Kens- ington, a number that pales in comparison with Metrorail sta- tion traffic. The closest Metro station is two miles from Kens- ington. County transportation plan-


ners found that new develop- ment could cause Kensington’s traffic volumes to increase 35 percent, from 132,000 vehicles daily to 177,000. Leaders in other communities


said they share Sullivan’s con- cerns that planners will give


developers too much leeway to build what’s most profitable rather than what’s best. Developers seeking higher


densities are required to include some public amenities, but they may choose those from a list of options, which include planting trees, providing public art and building pedestrian connections between streets. “People are concerned there


will be no role for the community now,” said Montgomery council member Marc Elrich (D-At Large), who lives in Takoma Park. “A developer could check off three things he has to do to get the density and then say ‘I don’t have to listen to you.’ . . . There’s a feeling the community will have less impact on what projects are going to look like.” Jim Humphrey, who lives in


Bethesda and oversees land-use issues for the Montgomery Civic Federation, said he’s concerned that developers won’t choose more expensive options, such as setting aside land for play- grounds. “We’ll end up with areas like


downtown Bethesda and Silver Spring, where we’ll have no green areas or parks,”Humphrey said.


shaverk@washpost.com PLYERS MILL RD. DUPONT AVE.


SUMMIT AVE.


CONNECTICUT AVE.


ST.


PROSPECT ST.


U


PLYERS MILL RD.


KNOWLES AVE.


VI


E R


SITY BLVD. N


CONN. AVE.


METROPOLITAN AVE.


o c


e


KENSINGTON PKWY.


R C


k


e


r


k


WARNER


KENT ST.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56