Archives March 2022

The Capital Budget Subcommittee of the Maryland House Appropriations Committee last week recommended new and additional funding for projects throughout the State and Montgomery County. Recommendations include items that were listed as Joint Priorities of the Montgomery County Executive and Council at the beginning of the 2022 Maryland General Assembly legislative session. The funds, together with funds previously allocated from the Maryland Senate, ensure that key Montgomery County projects will be able to make significant progress in the upcoming fiscal year.

Allocated funding includes:

• $30 million for the County’s landmark Bus Rapid Transit system, ensuring a total of $61 million from the State to aid the County in accelerated growth of this project.
• $11 million for the County’s new Restoration Center, bringing total State investment to $17 million.
• $6.8 million for the County Zero Emissions Bus Program.
• $6 million for the Bethesda Metro South Entrance for a total of $12 million.
• $6 million for two new bike trails for a total of $7.5 million.
• Increased funding for the White Flint/North Bethesda Metro Station North entrance, bringing the total preauthorized amount to $4.5 million for planning and design.
• An additional $2.6 million for parks, bringing the total for all parks, recreation and land preservation in the County to $33 million.
• Increased funding for the new Catherine and Isiah Leggett Math and Science Building at Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus.

And Governor Hogan’s 4th supplemental budget includes $10 million for White Flint infrastructure and economic development in Montgomery County.

From Bethesda Magazine

Hank Dietle’s Tavern, Montgomery County’s oldest roadhouse with ties to the early 1900’s, was devastated by a fire in 2018.

The fire broke out at Hank Dietle’s Tavern on Valentine’s Day in 2018. It took 15 minutes and 75 firefighters to get the fire under control. The Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service estimated the damage at $500,000.

Josh Arnson, a regular at Dietle’s, had been connected to the business since the late 1970s, when he attended school just 3 miles away. Arnson, 58, left the area in 1984 to attend the University of Pittsburgh, then lived in Texas, New York City and Los Angeles, playing in bands all along the way, before moving to Takoma Park in 2004.

When news of the fire reached Arnson, he was distraught. “I started crying. Our venue, our clubhouse, this little piece of Montgomery County history was gone.” Driving to the bar about 3:30 that afternoon, Arnson turned those feelings into lyrics, formulating and singing “Hank Dietle’s Blues” in the style of 1920s country singer Jimmie Rodgers.

Over three years later, Dietle’s had been rebuilt. Outside stood a tall, brightly lighted sign—instantly recognizable to frequent Rockville Pike travelers—proclaiming “HANK DIETLE’S COLD BEER” in top billing over a bright red Coca-Cola logo. It’s a replica of the sign that stood outside the building before the fire—a metaphor for something that looks the same, but isn’t.

Read the rest of the article at Bethesda Magazine.

At White Flint Metro

(It’s been cloudy and rainy for two days and the chilly air has returned — thought we could all use a moment of beauty.)

North Bethesda ranked #3 in Best Places to Live in Maryland on https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/north-bethesda-montgomery-md/

The self professed “Jew-ish” deli Call Your Mother has added dinner to its Pike & Rose location, proclaiming now you can “fulfill your dreams of having Call You Mother for every meal of the day.” The Pike & Rose location will serve its dinner menu from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

On the evening menu are brisket and pastrami tacos with housemade corn tortillas, or cauliflower and latke tacos, and pizza bagels, revivals from its original Park View menu in D.C., as well as a deli salad, hot sandwiches, and a limited breakfast for dinner menu. Prices are $7 to $13.

Call Your Mother has also rolled out a catering menu with bagel and sandwich platters. It is available for both pick up and delivery.

Happy almost Spring! The North Bethesda Marriott is hosting a Cherry Blossom themed event April 15 from 6pm to 9pm. Trey Sorrells from Strathmore will be their performer.

North Bethesda Cherry Blossom Festival Tickets, Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite

The Montgomery County Planning Department is soliciting letters of interest from property owners, homeowners and civic associations to fill three vacancies on the White Flint Sector Plan Implementation Advisory Committee. There are two vacancies for property owners’ representatives and one civic/homeowner association representative.

The current White Flint Implementation Advisory Committee includes property owners, civic and homeowners’ associations and Executive Branch representatives. The White Flint Sector Plan (2010) requires the establishment of the Advisory Committee. Responsibilities of the Committee include monitoring the Plan’s recommendations, Capital Improvements Program (CIP), and recommending action to the Planning Board and County Council.

Additional information on the Sector Plan is available at https://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/communities/midcounty/white-flint/

All letters of interest should be sent to Mr. Casey Anderson, Chair, Montgomery County Planning Board, 2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD 20902 or via email at MCP-Chair@mncppc-mc.org. If you have any questions, please contact Nkosi Yearwood at (301) 495-1332 or nkosi.yearwood@montgomeryplanning.org

CR-3.0 C-0.5 R-2.75 H-300 and R-60; 14.6 acres; located at the southeast corner of the intersection of Rockville Pike and Tuckerman Lane adjacent to the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station; 2017 Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Area Minor Master Plan.

A. Request to modify lot lines and associated conditions of approval, street sections and design, park boundary and loading/entry points for Lot 3.
B. Request for approval of Phase 1 with up to 304,445 square feet of development, including up to 9,000 square feet of commercial development and up to 295,445 square feet of residential development (up to 225 220 dwelling units).  In accordance with Zoning Ordinance Section.7.3.3.I, the Site Plan will amend the conditions and binding elements of Sketch Plan 320190010 to increase the building height from 100 ft to 105 ft for Buildings 3A and 3B (while maintaining the required step-back along Tuckerman Lane), clarify maximum height allowed for all buildings, modify the public benefit schedule, and update site design and future coordination conditions.
Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions and Adoption of the Resolution

Learn more at: Strathmore Square: Preliminary Plan Amendment No. 12019018B & Site Plan No. 820220070 

• Creation of methodology for determining proportional off site improvements, including pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvements based on the GIP standards.
• Prioritize motor vehicle mitigation strategies designed to improve travel safety.
• Require a Vision Zero Statement for all projects estimated to generate 50 or more net new weekday peak-hour person trips.
• Introduce the application of a Pedestrian Level of Comfort (PLOC) measure to evaluate pedestrian adequacy.
• Eliminate the motor vehicle adequacy test in Red Policy Areas (Metrorail Station Policy Areas and Purple Line Station Areas), where multimodal transportation options are more prevalent.
• Exempt bioscience facilities, for the next four years, from all LATR tests to provide faster approval of facilities that support biological research and development or the manufacturing of related products and provide significant employment opportunities in the county.
• Update the scoping and mitigation requirements for developer-funded bikeways, sidewalks and bus shelters to be more robust to evaluate adequacy.

These guidelines provide for the application of a more robust and multi-modal set of local transportation system performance evaluation procedures. The Growth and Infrastructure Policy maintains the recommendation that Montgomery County continue to evolve over time through the incremental implementation of proportional cost-sharing (prorata share) transportation districts, in addition to those established in White Flint and White Oak – and under development in Bethesda.