Change to Important Sector Plan Zone to Come Before Planning Board Thursday

A portion of the Wheaton Sector Plan will change if a zoning text amendment passes the review of the Montgomery County Planning Board Thursday and, eventually, the county council.

After meetings with representatives of community associations, developers and a request from county council, planning board staff have created a new set of guidelines for the commercial/residential zone that figures heavily into the

The staff is now suggesting the split of the CR zone into three "contexts" : the original zone, CRT, for areas between business and residential areas, and CRN, designed for more residential areas.

The CR zone, passed in March by the county council, is actually a series of zones that outline the height and density of a possible building on the individual parcel. Developers can increase height and density, within established limits, if they go through the optional method of permitting and add public benefits, such as building pedestrian connections between streets and offering small business retention.

CR, as written, will be placed in a majority of the Wheaton Sector Plan as drafted. A few outlying areas within the sector plan will retain their zoning, which in most cases is single-family housing. If the amendment passes, the planning board staff will have to decided on how to apply the additional contexts and what to leave as standard CR.

However, balancing the existing, residential zoning, and a dense, better connected downtown area right next door has proven tricky.

Community associations, especially in Wheaton, were concerned that applying the CR zone to transitional areas along University Boulevard and farther south on Georgia Avenue would endanger their residential character. went over time allotted when these neighborhood issues came up. 

One of the areas of concern is the Kensington View neighborhood, bordered by Veirs Mill, University Boulevard and Einstein High School's football field. Many streets in the neighborhood are dead ends, and the community association is concerned that any commercial uses would lead to "uncomfortable" traffic issues.

Judy Higgins, land use chair of the Kensington View Civic Association, said the initial objection to the regular CR zone was the lack of limits on uses so close to a single-family residential neighborhood. Previous development, like the Acorn Storage Center on West Avenue, made the association wary of how master plan language could be interpreted.

"[It's] clearly not compatible with any residential community, therefore causing our community great concern when 'flexibility of uses' is discussed," Higgins said in an email.

The major change in this amendment is a listing of allowed and limited uses based on the context.

The CRT context would allow gyms, general office space and laboratories, among others, while the CRN context would limit developers to various types of housing, small businesses and mostly retail and restaurants with limitations. (For a full list of uses, see pages 18 and 19 of the attached document)

If passed, the zoning text amendment would affect all areas in the county that are zoned as CR. These areas are primarily in draft master plans and center on existing business areas or those currently being built. Existing pipeline projects like and the new , but the .

Residents of Kensington View see an improvement in the possible CR changes but still have reservations. Higgins mentioned possible problematic uses allowed by the CRT zones or allowed with conditions in CRN zones, including automobile repair, eating and drinking establishments and seasonal outdoor sales. For now, they are waiting for illustrations of the zones in action from planning staff and the discussion to be held on Thursday in front of the planning board.

"We have asked our community to review the CR Zone Amendments and what lies within each to get an idea of what we can live with: CRN or CRT," Higgins said.