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Montgomery County Council approves Glenmont Forest rezoning with amendment deferring Erskine Avenue decision to Planning Board
Summary
The council approved local map amendment H-149 (Glenmont Forest rezoning) after agreeing to compromise language that instructs the Planning Board (with DOT inputs) at preliminary plan to determine whether a vehicular connection to Erskine Avenue is needed; if not needed and the Randolph right-in/right-out remains, the Erskine connection will be removed from the plan. The vote was unanimous by roll call.
The Montgomery County Council approved Local Map Amendment H-149 on Sept. 24, adopting a modified resolution that approves rezoning for the Glenmont Forest property while postponing the final decision on whether Erskine Avenue will be a vehicular through street.
District councilmember (mover) asked the council to follow the Glenmont Sector Plan vision for transit-oriented redevelopment and moved to approve the application with amended language. The amendment reads, in part, that at the time of preliminary plan the Planning Board will evaluate access points and determine whether the vehicular connection to Erskine Avenue is needed to accommodate traffic flow; "if a decision is made that the connection is not needed and the existing right in/right out along Randolph Road is retained, the Erskine Avenue connection will be removed from the plan," and no improvements along Erskine would be required.
The hearing examiner had recommended approval of the rezoning application but included a condition to exclude Erskine as a through street based on a compatibility finding: "the vehicle through street ... would not be compatible with the neighborhood immediately to the east," the examiner said during her summary of findings, citing differences in lot patterns, mature tree canopy and proximity of houses to the road.
Residents who testified in opposition argued Erskine is a narrow, partly unpaved connector used as a shared driveway and that opening it to through traffic would increase noise, parking pressure, and safety risks near schools and homes. Linda Bidlak said the project "fails to meet one essential criterion required, that it be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood," and asked the council to preserve the character of adjacent streets.
Applicant counsel, while urging that the proposal conforms with the sector plan and that Erskine is a dedicated 60-foot right-of-way, offered a compromise condition allowing the Planning Board and the Department of Transportation to evaluate access at preliminary plan so that DOT's traffic findings and the planning review can determine whether the connection is needed.
Council debate centered on three tensions: conformity with the Glenmont Sector Plan (which recommends connecting internal streets to Erskine and Wallace avenues), the hearing examiner's compatibility concerns for the adjacent small R90 neighborhood, and unresolved DOT/traffic analyses that would be finalized at preliminary plan. Several council members said the compromise preserves the council's ability to approve zoning while ensuring technical transportation review and community input occur during the planning stages.
The council approved the motion by roll call (recorded votes in transcript): Lukey — yes; Mink — yes; Sales — yes; Glass — yes; (name recorded as) Duanda — yes; Katz — yes; Alberts — yes; Fontaine Gonzalez — yes; Balcom — yes; Stort — yes; Friesen — yes. The motion passed unanimously. The transcript does not record any subsequent remand to the hearing examiner; it records the council's action to approve with the Planning Board deferral language.
The modified approval enables the applicant to proceed in the county review process toward preliminary plan, where DOT and the Planning Board will evaluate access and make the final determination about the Erskine connection and any needed improvements.
