Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Hans Riemer introduced a resolution to the Montgomery County Council Tuesday morning calling for a Wheaton Revitalization Implementation Working Group, whose members would be appointed by the Council.
Action on the resolution tentatively is scheduled for July 17.
Here are some key aspects proposed for the Wheaton Revitalization Implementation Working Group, according to the resolution:
- "The Working Group has 10 to 15 members. Members include community residents, business owners, other stakeholders in the Wheaton community, and a designee of the County Executive. The Council must also invite representatives from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to be members of the Group."
- The group would "meet quarterly to review reports and studies from the Executive Branch, Council Staff, outside consultants, or any other entity determined relevant or necessary by the Working Group. The Working Group may make recommendations to the Council and Executive."
The Wheaton Urban District Advisory Committee, which met Tuesday evening, expressed some concern about how the working group would be formed.
WUDAC member Devala Janardan said that he saw the plans for the working group as “a tad bit hostile," since two groups already exist for discussing Wheaton redevelopment and revitalization--WUDAC and the Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee.
“I think the existing groups should have enough notice and enough time to respond," Westfield representative and WUDAC member Matt Barry said.
Janardan added that the resolution was unclear on the definition of "stakeholders" and did not specify how the council would select working group members from the community.
WUDAC voted to send a letter to the council asking for more details about the selection process--and for more time to engage in dialogue with the council about the working group.
The Wheaton Redevelopment Advisory Committee is not scheduled to meet until July 18, the day after the council is tentatively scheduled to take action on the resolution.
We already have two other working groups that primarily discuss Wheaton issues, but all of their recommendations were thrown out of the window by the Council when it came to Wheaton redevelopment. The Council wants a new working group appointed by them to rubber stamp their unpopular decisions and give them legitimacy.
The MNCPP building was proposed to be located on top of the bus bays, the Public open space was proposed to be on parking lot 13, and the Bus bay would have remained where they are. WUDAC made these very reasonable recommendations. What other public amenities are you referring to?
Rather than rushing to get a group convened, these questions should be answered after the Council invites the Wheaton community to be heard. Otherwise, as the responses already show, we'll have people who do not trust the Council, people who do not trust the Executive, and people who do not trust the redevelopment councils that already exist.
What a JOKE "This is the chance for all stakeholders in the Wheaton area to apply for this new working group and have their voices heard." Do you mean that WUDAC and WRAC were not loud enough is communicating what the community wants? WUDAC and WRAC represented the array of things in Wheaton including residents, small business, large business, property owners, etc. They clearly worked on developing and supporting the initial and more ambitious redevelopment plan of Wheaton until the Council came in the 12th hour to through the years worth of hard work out of the window. The Council want its allies appointed in a very ambiguous way to a new working group so they can rubber stamp what the council wants giving a false impression of community agreement.
The Council kept saying that nothing had changed from the proposed redevelopment, except the order of redevelopment. We will now have no developer (Saul just dropped out entirely), no hotel, no assured mixed-use building, no plans for developing half of Lot 13, no efforts to obtain a large tenant, and--at a prime spot right near the Metro--an incoming agency (MNCPPC) with a worforce that largely eschews Metro. These changes seem significant to me and not beneficial to Wheaton's redevelopment. Lastly, as for this newly proposed group, how can one be much for or against it without knowing (1) the specific present and future goals and roles are for the group, (2) which stakeholders will be represented, (3) how and in what numbers they will be represented, and (4) how stakeholder representatives will be selected. If you or anyone has answers to these questions, that would help a lot.
Commentous - BF Saul never promised a hotel or large tenant. The only thing they stated was that "if" the County built a platform over the bus bays, they "may" be able to get a large tenant and they "may" be able to build a hotel, if the demand was there. BF Saul stated, in various public forums, that they "would" build a residential, mixed-use building (because residential financing is easier to get right now) on most of Lot 13 and create a "Town Square". Both WRAC and WUDAC balked at the size of the originally proposed "Town Square". There are still "Requests for Qualifications" (RFQ's) out there if BF Saul has, in fact, "dropped out" and, from what I've heard, there are other developer's interested. As far as the working group, I thought the article was pretty clear - the goals are to gather information from various sources to help implement the plan (Lot 13 first, bus bay and other areas later), all stakeholder's (resident's, business owner's and others) are welcome to apply, 10-15 will be appointed, and the County Council will appoint the committee members. I hope you and Anton apply - you both are very passionate about Wheaton.
I'm not trying to be too snarky here, really, but I just see the proposal as extremely ambiguous at this point. That's not necessarily a problem in these early stages because things get fleshed out over time, but without more details, I see this group as more of an idea than a functional plan. And I agree that there were no definites for Wheaton in terms of development. I, however, see possibilities for Wheaton that WUDAC and WRAC saw as well and espoused and worked towards for an extended period. These possibilities will not be realized if the bar is set low because others do not see or do not want them.
You stated ".... from what I've heard, there are other developer's interested. " Is this a confirmation that you really are a staffer for one of the Council members. I have always assumed you were and in a previous discussion, I asked you directly if you were involved with the Council. You flat out denied. Unfortunately, with this comment, I do believe that you are connected to the Council somehow. You have the inside scope and you said "... from what I've heard, there are other developer's interested."
Commentous - "stakeholder's" are normally anyone that will be affected by a proposal. Personally, I don't believe "stakeholder's" should be renters because they have nothing to lose and do not have the same investment in the area, but, as far as the dictionary, they are considered "stakeholder's". I don't think anyone will have answers to your questions until the resolution is proposed by the County Council. In my opinion, this is a worthwhile group and I hope the group is formed. Also, I don't think the bar "is set low", I think the bar has been readjusted so that the taxpayer's are not stuck with some unrealistic expectancies. I firmly believe that Wheaton will redevelop (it's already started with MetroPointe, Safeway, & the Lowe's building) and that the Council plan will spark other investor's interest. I hope I am right.