Category: Testimony & Letters
CSG Comments: May 2022 Visualize 2045
Our primary comments are contained in the joint letter with over 30 other organizations from
across TPB’s region.
LETTER: May 2022 Visualize 2045 Sign-On
Yet the TPB board members made no substantive changes, and the
CSG Testimony on MoCo FY23 Operating Budget
In the FY23 operating budget, we urge you to prioritize transit, affordable housing, climate change, and parks.
Letter: Affordable Housing at Chevy Chase Library
The twenty-one undersigned organizations urge you to redevelop the Chevy Chase Library with mixed-income housing. We believe this is an opportunity to model the future of Montgomery County by mixing housing and a public facility in one location near transit, services, amenities, and jobs. This project is key to meeting the county’s goals to achieve racial equity and social justice, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
Letter to MDGA Leadership re: the proposed suspension of the Maryland gas tax
On behalf of the Transform Maryland Transportation Coalition (formerly Save MD Transit), we thank you for your support of the Transit Safety & Investment Act during the 2021 General Assembly. The bill will help assure MTA’s current maintenance needs will be addressed over the next five years.
TESTIMONY re: Strathmore Square (Support)
March 16, 2022
Montgomery County Planning Board
2425 Reedie Dr
Wheaton, MD 20902
Item 6 – Strathmore Square: Preliminary Plan Amendment No. 12019018B & Site Plan No. 820220070 (Support)
Testimony for March 17, 2022
Jane Lyons, Maryland Advocacy Manager
Thank you, Chair Anderson and Planning Commissioners, for the opportunity to provide testimony on the Strathmore Square project. My name is Jane Lyons and I’m speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization advocating for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the DC region to grow and provide opportunities for all.
We support the application by Fivesquares Development and are excited by the vision of Strathmore Square. This project will bring much needed activation to the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station, including 220 units of housing (33 MPDUs), jobs, a 1.2 acre park, shared street, bike amenities, public space, and other improvements to the area. This is an opportunity to turn a parking lot into a vibrant community.
It is our hope this project will serve as an example of what can be achieved with transit-oriented development in the county. Projects like Strathmore Square are needed to provide the public benefits that contribute to making the county a more attractive, inclusive, and sustainable place to live. By concentrating more housing, retail, and jobs at a Metro station, Montgomery County will be making it easier for more residents to be less reliant on a private vehicle and bring additional business to destinations like the Music Center at Strathmore and Pike & Rose in North Bethesda.
Thus, we urge you to support the plan amendment and site plan for Strathmore Square. Thank you for your consideration.
MoCo Better Buses FY23 Budget Letter
The Montgomery Better Buses coalition strongly urges you to support bus riders and transit workers in the FY23 operating budget, FY23 capital budget, and FY23-28 Capital Improvements Program (CIP). Our coalition consists of nearly 30 groups, including labor, climate and transit advocates, service providers, and community organizations.
CSG Testimony to County Council on Silver Spring Downtown & Adjacent Communities Plan
We support the draft of the Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan, although we believe there is room for improvement to think more strategically, creatively, and boldly about certain elements, such as affordable housing.