Board approves townhouse development at Takoma Metro

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007

Board approves townhouse development at Takoma Metro

Despite WMATA ruling, residents to keep fighting

by Mike Meno | Staff Writer

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The Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority board voted unanimously Thursday to approve townhouse development at the Takoma Metro station, leaving residents and officials on both sides of the Maryland-District line vowing to continue their fight against the project.

Residents in Takoma Park and the Takoma neighborhood of Washington, D.C., have protested Metro’s plan to sell 6.8 acres to Bethesda-based developer EYA, which would build 86 townhouses on the site, some with two-car garages, because they say it would endanger pedestrians, limit access for the handicapped and destroy existing green space. Under the deal, WMATA would receive $2.25 million.

More than a dozen residents who attended the board meeting Thursday, wearing red and holding signs opposing the development, bellowed ‘‘shame, shame” after the board approved the plan, 5-0.

‘‘It’s a real shame that government didn’t work for the people here,” said Takoma Park City Councilman-elect Josh Wright, whose Ward 1 is adjacent to the site, after hearing the decision. ‘‘We had very reasonable demands that transit go first ... But I also think we’re not done fighting.”

Residents and a few City Council members have said that they would take legal action if the board approved EYA development.

Takoma Park Mayor-elect Bruce Williams said Monday that the city has not made a decision about how to proceed, but that the Metro decision will be addressed by the incoming City Council as soon as possible.

Approval by the WMATA board sends the proposal to the Federal Transit Administration and District planning and zoning officials.

The Takoma station’s fate was the only topic on the agenda of a special meeting Thursday, which the board arranged after a request from Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) to delay the vote, originally planned for Oct. 25.

O’Malley had been asked by officials from Montgomery County and the City of Takoma Park to reach out to the two governor-appointed Maryland representatives on the Metro board during an Oct. 24 speech at Takoma Park Middle School.

Maryland officials who oppose the EYA plan include U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and the Takoma Park City Council, which has passed resolutions against the development since 2002.

On Thursday, however, board Chairwoman Elizabeth M. Hewlett of Maryland said that Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari had asked the Maryland representatives to vote in favor of the proposal, after he had received a commitment from EYA to address some of the community concerns.

Because the Takoma station is in the District, Maryland representatives have been reluctant to oppose the plan supported by District representatives, including Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D). At his Oct. 24 appearance, O’Malley said Maryland would need District support for future development of Metro sites in Prince George’s County.

In an effort to satisfy opponents of the EYA plan, the board also approved an amendment by District representative and D.C. Councilman Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) that asked District planning officials to consider an alternative plan for the site development put forward by the City of Takoma Park.

But officials and residents who attended the meeting, which did not include public comments, said that after eight years of their protests, the amendment was too little, too late, and they will continue to oppose the project.

‘‘We’re certainly not letting this drop,” said Sara Green, a District resident on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, who opposes the plan. ‘‘This is not going away.”