Takoma DC Small Area Plan

Takoma DC Growth Plans www.takomadcplan.org	Official Small Area Plan	Media Coverage
	Community Comments and Maps
Help	Developer Plans	Metro. Branch Trail
	Transportation Study	Update Log Links

Introduced By: Councilmember Rubin

Resolution No. 2001-71

Resolution Of The City of Takoma Park, Maryland, Transmitting Comments

On the Draft District of Columbia Takoma Central District Plan

WHEREAS, upon the urging of many interested citizens and groups - including the City of Takoma Park - the District of Columbia Office of Planning has prepared a draft land use plan for the area near and including the Takoma Metro station; AND

WHEREAS, the Takoma Metro station is a primary gateway to the Takoma Park community and functions as a key transportation hub for Takoma Park residents and others; AND

WHEREAS, the economic health and the quality of life of Takoma Old Town and adjacent residential neighborhoods are inseparably intertwined with the economic health and quality of life of the areas around the Takoma Metro; AND

WHEREAS, the City of Takoma Park wishes to encourage close working and neighborly relationships between Takoma Park and Takoma, DC residents and District of Columbia and State of Maryland policy-makers and planning staff; AND

WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the Takoma Park City Council to review and comment on plans that would affect Takoma Park's residents and businesses; AND

WHEREAS, the City Council held a public hearing on the Draft Takoma Central District Plan on October 15, 2001 and received thoughtful, detailed comments outlining strengths of the plan as well as specifying where improvements are needed; AND

WHEREAS, the City Council of Takoma Park is the body elected to represent all citizens in its jurisdiction, and its resolutions carry the authority of the City as a whole;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Takoma Park adopts the following

statement and recommendations as its position on the Draft Takoma Central District Plan, and instructs the Takoma Park City Administrator to immediately submit them to the appropriate District of Columbia government officials; AND

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Takoma Park will aggressively pursue adoption

of its recommendations regarding the Draft Takoma Central District Plan with all affected jurisdictions and agencies, including but not limited to the District of Columiba, the State of Maryland, Montgomery County, WMATA, and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments; AND

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Takoma Park will aggressively pursue any

funding, resources, and intergovenunental collaboration needed to facilitate the implementation of its recommendations.

Statement and Recommendations of the City of Takoma Park
Constituting Its Formal Comments On the
Draft District of Columbia Takoma Central District Plan

1. There is a lot about the Plan that is commendable. For example, reflecting community input, it calls for dispersing residential, retail, and office development among five sites close to the Takoma Metro site—instead of just at the Metro site itself. And it suggests the formation of a joint Takoma Park, Md/Takoma, D.C. retail association.

2. Lack of adequate consultation with affected stakeholders. The Draft Plan reflects the fact that neither the residents of the City of Takoma Park nor area public transportation authorities had effective input into the planning process. Nor does the Draft Plan reflect recommendations adopted as part of the Takoma Park Master Plan. (Copy attached.)

3. Access to mass transit should be top priority for the Metro Site. It is imperative that the Metro site continues to serve mass transit needs first, and the revitalization goals of the community second. However, the concept plan would seriously impede access to the Takoma Metro station.

There is not enough room on the conceptual diagram for the site to accommodate even existing bus service. The Montgomery County Division of Transit Services has been very clear that more bus bays are needed than the four that exist now, and that without access to Eastern Avenue, impacts on District of Columbia residents will be significant - 100 more bus trips daily through residential neighborhoods. (See attached copy of letter from Montgomery County Transit Services.) The circulation pattern for buses will be worsened. Buses already have difficulty turning left onto Carroll Street and this plan would make that more difficult.
Prince George's County will begin a new The Bus route this year with a terminus at the Takoma Metro. These planned new bus routes are already in the works, and additional new routes are anticipated within the next decade to accommodate the significant demand for bus service in this area of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. (See copy of plan attached.)
Many of the Draft Plan's suggestions are good ones: requiring all Metro and Ride-on buses to use off-street dedicated bus stacking and boarding areas, separate bus and car access, curbside kiss and ride space, integration of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, etc. However, the design details in the Draft Plan actually undercut these suggestions. For example, it is clear that there is not enough room on the proposed re-structured site to accommodate the transit facilities, a parking garage (at an unspecified location), the Village Green, and the 65-95-unit townhouse development. Offsite, there is also not enough room to accommodate needed transportation facilities. Placing the taxi drop off area one block from the Metro station entrance is unreasonable and will not be used.
The Draft Plan authors propose to finalize the document before resolving critical automobile traffic issues vital to the central district.

Recommendation: The City of Takoma Park recommends that before the Draft Takoma Central District Plan is transmitted to the Council of the District of Columbia for action:

1) The District of Columbia Office of Planning convene a working group of transportation planning staff and other appropriate officials from the District of Columbia, the City of Takoma Park, Montgomery County (including Ride-On staff), Prince George0s County (including The Bus staff), WMATA, The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and staff working on the development of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, to develop a transportation plan for the Metro Station site and surrounding area that meets the current and future rail, bus, bicycle, auto and pedestrian transportation needs of the Washington, D.C. and Maryland residents who use or are anticipated to use the Takoma Metro station;

2) That recommendations from this group be made available to the Takoma and Takoma Park communities for public comments; and

3) That an appropriately revised Draft Takoma Central Plan be prepared.

4. Inappropriate concentration on the WMATA site. The Draft Plan is flawed in its inappropriate focus on calling for development of 65-95 dwelling units on the WMATA site.

As noted above, the proposed development has not been shown to be compatible with transit needs and green infrastructure needs at the site.

Moreover, the Draft Plan is factually wrong when it states that "[t]he large available parcel at the Metro station site makes redevelopment possible" [p.28], implying that revitalization will not occur without this particular project as an impetus. In fact, other developments already have begun and more are planned. Three of the other sites that the study labels as redevelopment targets - yet claims are not developable without the WMATA site - have already been purchased by prospective developers; at least one is well into the design and permitting process.
The proposed density and configuration of the site is not in keeping with the community's wishes or with the current flavor of the Takoma Park neighborhood it would abut, because (a) there are no townhouses in the current community layout; (b) proposed density is considerably higher than the adjacent residential community; (c) there was never community discussion of the Draft Plan's call for "higher density development (up to four stories) along edges that front the 'Village Green' and Metro functions," [p. 48] because this density and height would loom over and cast a shadow on this tiny remainder of the current green infrastructure.

Recommendation: The City of Takoma Park recommends that the Draft Plan be revised to remove its unsupported bias in favor of development at the WMATA site and that it instead re-direct its support for revitalization to the numerous other correctly identified Priority Revitalization sites for which community support is virtually unanimous.

5. Specific mandates and implementation mechanisms needed. The plan contains a number of revitalization proposals for sites other than the Metro site that do in fact have broad-based community support, and that should be the subject of a focused effort to implement them. Unfortunately, the Draft Plan does not provide specific detail regarding how to implement its recommendations.

Cooperation among the governments of Takoma Park, Montgomery County, and the District of Columbia will be vital to successful implementation. The City of Takoma Park, the neighboring jurisdiction most directly affected by the Draft Plan, cannot assess its impact or plan budget and staffing for collaborative revitalization efforts without better information. This problem could, and should, have been avoided through increased consultation throughout the planning process. For example, the Draft Plan should have taken into consideration the Takoma Park Master Plan's recommendations for traffic, parking, streetscaping, and historic district expansion.

Elements of the Draft Plan that can be implemented without having resolved larger traffic and transit issues should be the subject of an interim action plan that provides for accountability from all levels of government. For example:

Plans to implement and upgrade infrastructure such as code enforcement, sidewalk and street repair, lighting and trash removal in and around the Central District;

Plans to institute tax preferences and zoning changes to encourage rapid development of residential housing at the other Near-term Housing Opportunity sites (i.e., sites A, C and D [p.35]) in the Central District;

Plans to coordinate cross-jurisdictionally for improved policing and safety around the Metro station;

Plans to create and support a merchants' association, in order to implement marketing and facade improvements for the District of Columbia/Maryland shared central shopping district (consistent with the Takoma Park, Md. Master Plan); and
Plans to adopt historic district designation in a larger area around the central core.

While these interim action initiatives are underway, other elements of the Draft Plan that are dependent on resolving traffic circulation and transit issues should be put on a fast track for resolution through convening the traffic and transit working group recommended above.

Recommendation: The City of Takoma Park recommends that the report be revised to include specific recommendations for taking immediate interim action to implement those parts of the Draft Plan not dependent upon the resolution of traffic and transit issues, including the assignment of responsibility and development of measures of accountability that are based on specific timeliness

Attachments:

Takoma Park Master Plan
Letter from MC Division of Transit Services
The Prince George's County The Bus Route plan
Transit Plan for next decade from the Govemor's Smart Growth Task Force
City of Takoma Park Public Hearing Testimony

ADOPTED THIS 22^nd DAY OF OCTOBER, 2001.