FLOG - the Friends of White Flint Blog

Friends of White Flint held a meeting yesterday to discuss an organizational position on the County’s Annual Growth Policy. I have prepared a discussion draft of a position, and invite your comments, either here or directly at bzall@friendsofwhiteflint.org.

The draft looks at the White Flint Sector Plan in the context of the County’s regulation of growth. It notes that the existing AGP process has changed to focus more on traffic congestion, which means that growth depends on moving cars quickly through intersections. The draft describes the FoWF position that growth measures should be viewed more broadly, looking at elements which make up the quality of life in a community. Modern urban design is constrained, by law, as much or more by environmental limits (carbon emissions) as by traffic considerations, and the two measures are often in conflict. Walkability is another element of quality of life, yet walkability may also conflict with rapid car movement.

The draft contends that the White Flint Sector Plan is a more comprehensive, holistic and environmentally-sensitive way to measure the adequacy of public facilities in White Flint, and recommends that the Council follow the Planning Board’s lead in adapting its growth regulations in a comprehensive, environmentally-sensitive manner.

 The statement will be issued on Tuesday, so comments must be made by noon, Monday, Sept. 21.

You can find my draft at:

Draft AGP Statement

Barnaby Zall

Friends of White Flint meetings are open to the public and FoWF has an open policy adoption process (which means that the public can participate in forming and commenting on FoWF’s policy presentations). One of FoWF’s most important priorities is the White Flint Sector Plan.

FoWF strongly supports adoption of the White Flint Sector Plan by the Montgomery County Council. The White Flint Plan is not perfect, however, and FoWF will submit a set of recommended changes at the Council’s public hearings, which begin on October 20. (FoWF provided a similar set of recommendations to the Planning Board before the Board adopted its version of the White Flint Plan on July 16; many of those recommendations were adopted by the Board.)

FoWF will hold an open meeting on recommendations for the White Flint Sector Plan on October 1, 2009, at 6:30PM, in the new offices of the law firm of Shulman Rogers (a member of Friends of White Flint), 12505 Park Potomac Ave., 6th Floor, Potomac, MD 20854.

Note: this is the new Shulman Rogers building just west of I-270 at the Montrose exit. For directions or more information on the meeting, please contact FoWF Board member Dave Freishtat: dfreishtat@shulmanrogers.com.

Barnaby Zall