Hello all,

Next Tuesday, June 23rd at 8PM, Councilmember Valerie Ervin will be meeting with our communities to discuss the future of the former School of Art and Design at Montgomery College (MCAD). This meeting is exceptionally important. Montgomery College, Montgomery College Foundation, Park & Planning (M-NCPPC), and police representatives will also be attending.

Please come to this meeting and please ask your neighbors to come too! We need as many people as possible to attend.

This meeting is our communities' opportunity to discuss with our Councilmember and other County officials the current sad state of MCAD (heavily vandalized and vacant for 22 months) and what can be done to save MCAD as green space for the public. The suggestion has been made that instead of a soccer field where the MCAD building is that a community garden be created instead. Officials need to know the communities' thoughts. The police will be present to discuss their use of MCAD for late night K-9 training. The College representatives will be present to hear first hand why the public needs the land saved as green space. Currently, we are working with the Council and the College to try to figure out a financial solution.

The meeting will occur at 8PM on Tuesday, June 23rd at:

The Capital View - Homewood Park Recreation Center
2929 Edgewood Road

Questions are being collected before this meeting to make the best use of our limited time with our Councilmember. If you have a specific question, please send it to me at Beverly@greenspaceongeorgia.org.

Hello all,

The KEY Legacy Open Space Meeting to help make MCAD a park instead of a townhouse development is Thursday, November 15th at 4pm. Please mark your calendars and please attend. Please see the attached rules about speaking. There's also a way to sign up online: http://www.daicsearch.org/planning_board/testify.asp However, our meeting is still not showing up, but you can email the Planning Board Clerk to sign up.

The meeting address is:
Montgomery County Planning Board
8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910

The MC Planning Board is literally right down the road off of Georgia Ave. (2.9 miles). Please come even if you do not plan to speak. Please wear green and show your support and express the opinion of your fellow community members. We have around 580 citizens who have signed the petition for a park.

I will send you another update soon. The Legacy Open Space office will be submitting their report to the Planning Board detailing all the reasons why this land should be saved!!! Image a youth-size soccer field and a park at MCAD instead of a townhouse development!!! This is your chance to state your need for a park on the public record for County officials to hear and consider. This is the meeting to do it. Please come and say your peace.

Regards,
Beverly

After hearing oral argument, the County Council voted today to approve rezoning of the MCAD property to RT 12.5 (Townhouses). Four representatives from our communities spoke in front of the Council in opposition of the rezoning. Several other community members were also present to show support. Representatives from CrossingGeorgia.org and Montgomery County Civic Federation were also present in support of our cause, in addition to an endorsement from Friends of Sligo Creek. The Council's vote was 8-1 in favor of the rezoning. District 5 Representative, Valerie Ervin, who is the home District Representative for the area surrounding the MCAD property was included in those who voted for the rezoning. The only Councilmember in opposition was At Large Councilmember Marc Elrich.

While this defeat is very disappointing, it is not our final chance to stop the townhouse development on the MCAD property. Our focus will now shift to supporting the covenants in a legal case and to a letter-writing campaign in support of Legacy Open Space.

The entire County Council session, including the G-858 hearing will be re-broadcast on Montgomery County Channel 6 on 9-14-2007 at 8:00 PM and on 9-15-2007 at 7:00 AM.

An article covering this issue is expected to be published in the Montgomery County Gazette tomorrow, Wednesday September 12th, 2007.

It is also worth noting that the ex parte communication rules on this case no longer apply. We encourage everyone to communicate your feelings on the decision and/or the process to the Councilmembers and the County Executive.

Tue, September 4, 8 - 9pm
Where: Capital View Park Rec Center, 2929 Edgewood Road, Kensington, MD (Map)

Delegate Waldstreicher wants to speak with us again, ahead of the County Council Meeting to decide the G-858 zoning case. We are trying to get County Executive Leggett to attend too!! The Washington Post and Gazette reporters are also coming. Make sure you are there too. Let's rally hard and win our park!!!!

A letter from a neighbor. My response is posted below:

Hello Seth,

I am cautiously optimistic after reading the 7/25 Gazette article about the Council's decision to delay the vote on rezoning the Art School property. I'm not sure, however, how to interpret or respond to Council President Marilyn J. Praisner's comments about the restrictions on the topics that can be addressed in the next meeting on this issue. In particular, she indicated that the only topics that can be considered in the rezoning decision