ThayerAvenue.com

“I want my Harris Teeter.” Not since Solome uttered the words “Bring me the head of John the Baptist” has a more important phrase been spoken. The Montgomery County Planning Board today postponed the hearing originally scheduled for this Thursday that was to address the very historic Falkland Chase Apartments and its arch nemesis: progress.

Now postponed until sometime in July, the hearing will help decide the fate of Falkland Chase, and whether or not developers would be allowed to (reportedly) take nine of its 22 acres to build more dense housing and a (gravely needed) Harris Teeter. I certainly wouldn’t advocate trashing the whole complex, but I think the CBD is where we need more dense development.

While there has been listserv traffic trying to get people to the meeting to protest the “destruction,” I plan on showing up with big Harris Teeter signs showing my support. There are certainly valid questions about traffic and infrastructure, but I think a solution can be found.

It’s the Central Business District, for crying out loud. And our two venerable grocery stores – Safeway and Giant – suck. So until then…

Did anyone go to the meeting last night at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center about the fate of Sligo Creek GC? I know Bonifant More Sinister than Thayer was there, but he was probably just playing bingo with his buddies – as he usually does three or four nights a week.

There was some traffic on the listserv last night about the meeting, asking people to show up “in droves to protest the addition of a lighted, two-tier driving range,” as well as the mini-golf course. I, for one really want the lighted, two-tiered driving range, and I know a lot of other people do, too. (They indicated as much on the listserv.) Any updates from the meeting would be much appreciated.

Thayer Avenue Census Information
One our very own Thayer Residents has compiled a fantastic report on the demographics of Thayer Avenue from 2000 census data. If I can tear myself away from Guitar Hero and Call of Duty 4 long enough over the weekend, I’ll have the full report ready next week. Fascinating stuff, so stay tuned.

No sooner did I notice the real estate signs on Easley that said “assemblage” than the listserv became abuzz. Is it me, or did Chicken Little accost the East Silver Spring email list? Here’s what’s at stake:

The owners of the nine houses in the highlighted area above all want to sell. For the bargain basement price of $13 million, you can have this prime parcel of land surrounded by Easley, Grove and Bonifant. I live just over a block away, andI walk down this stretch of Easley on an almost daily basis.

While all the owners have agreed to this assemblage, and three want out ASAP, the listserv now has emails with phrases like “destructive actions,” “earliest settlement,” and one of my favorites: “Historical Designation for ESS.” What do they want to do? Slap a big “NO CHANGE/PROGRESS WANTED” sign on every house in the neighborhood? Where’s Jerry McCoy when you need him?

The only rational explanation for caution I’ve seen specifically addresses the zoning of the properties in conjunction with the “Master Plan” for SS/MoCo. Not that people want to stop this fire sale – they just want regulations followed and things done properly. The areas appear to be zoned for single family residential (R-60) and multi-family medium-density (R-10) development.

Part of the reason for this is to “retain the single-family detached character” throughout most of East Silver Spring, and I like maintaining that. Now it seems whoever buys it will want to change the zoning to include retail/office space. If we can get a beer/wine store as good as Seminary Beer/Wine/Deli at Georgia & 495, then I’m all for it.

I will say, though, that a couple of these structures could use some bulldozing. Like the church with the mobile dentist labs in the back? Enough of that, already. But if the owners want to sell and the land of up for grabs, our job is to do our best to maintain the character – not run around yelling “the sky is falling.”

People have talked about getting the community interested in order to “prevent this kind of loss.” What loss? How about getting the community involved to help maintain the character of the neighborhood? How about excitement about what might come? My only regret right now comes from how this will affect the old man’s farm on the other side of Grove

For the time being, chill out. Break the pills in half – whatever you have to do.

Whenever there’s a big lag time in postings here, you can usually attribute it to a varitey of factors: too busy, too lazy, lack of motivation, and/or lack of material. In the end, it takes something specific to annoy me enough to get back in the groove. And sometimes, there’s nothing more annoying than a NIMBY.

I used to live on Dennis Avenue, and shortly before I moved to DTSS, I began receiving legal notices from KAZ Development about their efforts to change zoning laws and build something (retail? residences? I wasn’t sure at the time) on the current site of the Montgomery College School of Art & Design.

My old house is just a couple hundred yards from said site, but I really didn’t have any problem with it. First of all, we were planning on moving. Second, even if I wasn’t moving, what beef did I have? The walk to Forest Glen station was a little long, as was the trek to Wheaton Mall Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton, and it might be nice to have something closer to walk to.

Now I find out there’s some big movement to stop the development. The people at Green Space on Georgia think it would be great to have a big park there. Right by the road. Two blocks up from one of the worst-rated intersections in the region (Georgia & Forest Glen). And that doesn’t even include the fact that there are several parks within the neighborhood that are more secluded, less noisy and easy to get to. But that’s just me.

A friend of mine proposed that next time, just go for the gusto and propose a nuclear reactor for the area. Plenty of room for twin cooling towers and such. Then the townhome/condo development might not seem so out of line.

Now the East Silver Spring listserv is abuzz with the way GSOG was treated, that they weren’t heard, they were patronized during and the proceedings, etc. I’m no fan of Councilmember Praisner, but maybe they made the right decision.

On a different note…
Silver Spring , Singular writes that the Hook & Ladder brewpub, scheduled to go into the historic Silver Spring firehouse, may actually be a Matchbox. While I prefer the former, I’d love to have me some rockin’ mini burgers within walking distance. I’ve been known to make the trek to Matchbox in Chinatown just for that sole purpose. And no offense to Jackie, but while the mini Elvis burgers are tasty, they just don’t cut it like these babies.