SILVER SPRING, MD – Among
the items scheduled to be heard by the Montgomery County Planning Board on January
10 are:
National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda
- a proposed transfer of parkland to the State
Highway Administration for the Intercounty Connector (ICC)
- a potential historic preservation designation
for a building in downtown Silver Spring.
The U.S. Navy, which plans to expand the National Naval
Medical Center in Bethesda as part of its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)
initiative, has drafted an environmental impact statement examining the potential
impacts of the expansion. After reviewing that report, planning staff have asked the board to recommend that the
Navy proceed with the smaller of two alternatives: 1.2 million square feet of
new construction and renovating 423,000 square feet of existing buildings.
The National Naval Medical Center, founded in 1940, is
located on Rockville Pike just south of the Beltway. Planners have recommended
that the board continue to review Naval Medical Center expansion plans as part
of its mandatory referral process, which allows the board to provide input on
traffic, environmental, historic and other improvements to ensure the public project
is compatible with its surroundings. One concern is the effect of the medical
center’s expansion on traffic in the area of Rockville Pike, Connecticut Avenue
and Old Georgetown Road. The BRAC issue is tentatively scheduled to be heard at
1 p.m.
The board will brief the County Council on its recommendations on January 15.
Comments from all Montgomery County agencies will ultimately go to the National
Capital Planning Commission, which is overseeing the expansion.
In other business on Thursday, the board will consider a proposed transfer of .15
acre in the path of the ICC in Cross Creek Club local park off Briggs Chaney
Road in eastern Montgomery County to the State Highway Administration (SHA). The
proposed property transfer, which would be the fourth approved by the board, is
part of a program that returns to Montgomery County eight times as much
parkland – 776 acres – that it conveys to the state. The parkland issue is
tentatively scheduled to be heard at 4 p.m.
On Thursday evening,
at approximately 7:30 p.m. the board will take testimony on whether a Silver
Spring building, which is proposed to be demolished to make way for a new
building with stores, offices and 106 living units, should be designated on the
Master Plan for Historic Preservation. The board will consider whether the Perpetual
Building at 8700 Georgia Avenue meets the criteria for historic designation. Thursday
will be a public hearing only. A board work session on the item and vote will
be scheduled for a future meeting.
Nineteen individuals have signed up to testify about the
proposal; others may sign up before Thursday or during the hearing.
WHO:
The Montgomery County Planning Board
WHAT:
Public hearing agenda items
WHEN:
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring