SILVER SPRING, MD – On Thursday, the Montgomery County Planning Board will consider an application for more than 400 homes in Cabin Branch, a residential and commercial center west of I-270 that is envisioned in the master plan for Clarksburg.
If approved, developer Winchester Homes would build 150 single-family homes, 182 townhouses and 96 multi-family units, 15 percent of which would be priced affordably, on 141 acres. The application also includes an elementary school site, a local park and the historic Byrne/Warfield house. Called the Winchester I development, the site plan application covers one portion of the planned community and will be followed by several other site plans.
The board already has approved a preliminary plan for Cabin Branch allowing 1,886 residential units, 2.4 million square feet of commercial and 500 elderly housing units on 535 acres.
Under terms previously set by the board, the Cabin Branch developers must hire a town architect to confirm that new residences and businesses conform with a set of design guidelines, subject to the board’s approval. Board members required the guidelines to ensure high-quality development and attractive public spaces within the neighborhood.
The Winchester application includes plans for Clarkmont Local Park, expected to feature a regulation-size soccer field and a green for community events, as well as pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, landscaping, lighting, and hiker/biker trails.
Planning staff has recommended approval of the site plan with numerous conditions. Planners cast special attention upon water quality protection, as part of the site falls within the Little Seneca Creek watershed. In another condition, planners recommend that if a dispute arises between the town architect and staff about conformance to the design guidelines during building permit review, the issue will have to go before the board to be resolved.
In conformance with the 1994 Clarksburg Master Plan and the county’s overall General Plan, Clarksburg is slated to become a well-populated town built on some of the last rural land available for development in Montgomery County. Of the 15,000 homes planned, about 9,300 have been approved by the Board and approximately 2,500 of them have been built.
When completed, Clarksburg will be a transit- and pedestrian-oriented town comprised of three distinct neighborhoods – Clarksburg Town Center, Cabin Branch and Newcut Road (comprised of Clarksburg Village and Greenway Village) – surrounded by open space. All of the neighborhoods contain a combination of residential and retail with a mix of housing types, generous parkland and street-oriented buildings.
WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Board
WHAT:
Review of Cabin Branch-Winchester I site plan
WHEN:
Thursday, June 19 – approximately 9 a.m.
WHERE:
Montgomery County Planning Board Auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, Md.