THE, MARYLAND HOUSE OF DE,LEGA'|ESAuNepous, MeRvLeND 2r4or
June 25,2015
Mr. Casey Anderson, ChairMontgomery County Planning Board8787
Georgia AveSilver Spring, MD 20910
Dear Mr. Anderson:
As the Montgomery County Planning Board revisits the Bethesda
Downtown Sector Plan, we write tooffer our strong support for
preserving the Bethesda Metro Plaza, a major community gathering
area andopen space, for public use. Similar to the success of
Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring or theHighline in New York
City, we believe that a large, open green space would help enhance
downtownBethesda
- attracting more residents and families and providing a
gathering space for our neighbors. We
also want to voice our concem about the appearance that the
Planning Staff is proposing to change whatwas designated by the
current Master Plan as alarge public open and community gathering
space intosomething very different without clearly informing the
public of their intentions and without the normalpublic dialogue
for which the County's planning efforts are widely heralded.
We can all agree that the preient space on top of the Metro
Plaza is underutilized -
steps and raisedplanters break up the space and make it
difficult to navigate, a lack of commercial business on the
groundfloors of the surrounding buildings fails to draw in
passersby
- and the list goes on. Currently, there are
several plazas hidden from the street in Bethesda, including the
Bethesda Place (Pancake House) plazaand the plaza above Edgemoor
garage that continue to go unnoticed and unused by the community.
Weare concerned that a high rise building on top of the Metro Plaza
would take away much of the currentspace available for gatherings
and "hide" the remaining open gathering space from street view.
Across Montgomery County, successful and active urban public
spaces are easily visible and accessiblefrom the street, and like
the Rockville Town Center and Silver Spring Plaza, downtown
Bethesda needsan expansive gathering space for large community
events. Metro Plaza is an ideal location and likely ourlast chance
at a vast greenspace in downtown Bethesda. We envision a warrn,
memorable and attractivepark in heart of our city that would serve
as a community amenity and "back yard" for our growingnumber of
apartment and condo residents.
Bethesda Metro Park is an opportunity for residents, workers and
visitors to have a visible and usablegreen park for farmer's
markets, outdoor movies, and more. As Bethesda grows, the
importance of greenspace for public gathering grows too.
Unfortunately, opportunities in Downtown Bethesda for creatingand
preserving expansive outdoor gathering spaces are limited, and we
urge you to preserve the space asoriginally intended
- for large public gatherings.
&t( h*k CrtaA.aL K\-0'!-\Delegate Ariana Kelly VDistrict
16
We look forward to working with you to ensure that downtown
Bethesda remains a vibrant place to live,work, and play for decades
to come. Thank you for youf careful consideration of this
matter.
Sincere best regards,
Delegate C. William FrickDishict 16
cc: Marye Wells-Harley, Montgomery County Planning BoardNorman
Droyfuss, Montgomery County,Planning BoardNatali Fani-Gonzalez,
Montgomery County Planning BoardAmyPresley, Montgomery County
Planning Board
