Statement of Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg at the North Potomac Citizens Association Meeting on Gaithersburg West

Quince Orchard High School
Gaithersburg, Maryland
March 9, 2010

First, I would like to thank Dan Drazan, President of the North Potomac Citizens Association, and all the neighbors of the surrounding community, for organizing this important meeting on the Gaithersburg West Master Plan. It is a pleasure to be here with you and my colleagues on the County Council.

Let me say at the outset what my goals are for the Gaithersburg West Plan, in addition to all the other master and sector plans that come before the Council. I believe that we must balance the growth the County needs with the quality of life that we all as residents desire—the word “balance” is very important. I also believe that we need to respect established neighborhoods. At the same time, I believe that we need to prepare a sustainable economic foundation for the future, because we need jobs for our residents, and we need revenue for our County’s growing fiscal responsibilities.

As many of you know, I have had several discussions with civic groups, property owners, planning staff, Council colleagues, the County Executive, and my Council staff. We have received your telephone calls, and read your emails and your letters. We have had a public hearing on the Gaithersburg West plan. We have met with the Mayors and City Councils of Gaithersburg and Rockville; and, this week, I have asked my staff to set up additional meetings with the Mayors to continue the important dialogue regarding this development proposal.

I can assure you that I know there are many questions and concerns about this plan. Just a few of those inquiries expressed in your correspondence and in our discussions have been about the pending transportation infrastructure and how it will be paid for; questions about the economic projections; questions about the environmental and health impact of new development in the Plan area; questions about the types of jobs of that will evolve in the plan area; and questions about the distribution of jobs and housing between the master plan area and other parts of the County. Of course, there are the critical concerns about the amount of density to be permitted under the Plan, and the impact on your neighborhoods.

If the Council eventually concludes that the proposal has recommended too much density for the Plan area, and that the impact on the neighboring communities is too adverse, then we will need to evaluate how to “scale it back.”

As the Chair of the Council’s Management and Fiscal Policy Committee, I have great interest in how we pay for this development, with the long-range view that it must be an appropriate investment in the County’s future.

While the Gaithersburg West proposal is just one of several master plans that the County Council will consider during this term—it is one of the largest and most complex. It’s useful to compare this proposal to the plan that the Council has been considering for the White Flint area. There are important differences that I’ve observed which must be kept in mind. The first difference is the combination of existing uses in the area. The second is the existing transit infrastructure in the area. The third unique difference is that of the community dialogue on the plan and the plan process. In White Flint, we had good cooperation between the civic community and the business community; with this plan, this process has been much more contentious.

My responsibility as one of your at-Large Councilmembers is to listen to all stakeholders, ask relevant questions, review the materials before me prepared by the Council Committees and others, and to make a judgment which will achieve objectives in the best interest of the County and its residents.

I’d like to reiterate what my colleagues have said and what you know. We are not near a final decision on the Gaithersburg West Plan. The PHED Committee is only in the very early stages of reviewing the proposal forwarded by the Planning Board. I will be paying close attention to their work; and I have also assigned two of my staff members to monitor this process. I can tell you with great conviction that I will be looking carefully at the transportation plan, the underlying economic projections, its impact of the community’s health and environment, and how the plan will be paid for.

Please continue to contact my office with your input into this process. My email is councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov and our telephone number is 240-777-7964.