Montgomery County Planning Board
2425 Reedie Dr, 14th Floor
Wheaton, MD 20902

Item 10 – 8676 Georgia Avenue, Sketch Plan, Preliminary Plan

Dear Chair Harris and Planning Commissioners:

Please accept the following testimony on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the leading organization advocating for walkable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the D.C. region to grow and provide opportunities for all.

We wish to express our support for the proposed mixed-use development at 8676 Georgia Avenue and 8601 Cameron Street. This development will provide up to 525 additional transit-accessible homes in downtown Silver Spring; improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure in the surrounding area; and offer additional retail and commercial space to serve this neighborhood and its many residents and visitors just blocks from the Silver Spring Metro.

The county is projected to add over 60,000 new households by 2040—over half of which are projected to be renter households in multi-family buildings, per Thrive 2050 (see Housing for All, p.130). Providing more housing and amenities close to high-frequency transit is essential for our county to thrive as a sustainable, equitable, and economically-competitive community, accommodating expected growth while minimizing costly and environmentally harmful sprawl and car dependence.

We wish to note a number of specific reasons why we support this application:

• The development will provide new housing and employment opportunities, with up to 25,000 square feet of new commercial space and up to 525 new multifamily housing units (including up to 79 MPDUs). 
• This site is ideally located to provide access not only to the many amenities in downtown Silver Spring, but also convenient access to opportunities throughout the region due to its close proximity to high-frequency bus routes, the Silver Spring Metro and Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, and future Purple Line stations. These opportunities will be accessible even to those households who for reasons of income, ability, or personal preference do not own a car.
• One-way, separated bicycle lanes on both sides of Cameron Street constructed as a condition of the development will contribute to Silver Spring’s growing bike network, improving connectivity through downtown Silver Spring. Safe and protected bike lanes ensure the safety of bikers and promote more micro-mobility and less auto transit, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
• The development will also improve sidewalks on the property frontage, improving pedestrian safety and navigability through this area.
• The development updates the uses on this site to better match the needs of today’s downtown Silver Spring community, and to better align land use choices on strategic sites near transit with the county’s sustainability and housing equity goals. It will preserve the historic Tastee Diner while also adding well-located housing and retail opportunities to the diner’s current site at 8601 Cameron Street, as well as the adjacent and clearly underutilized site at 8676 Georgia Avenue that is currently occupied by a vacant bank and surface parking lot.

For the reasons listed above, the Coalition for Smarter Growth respectfully encourages the Planning Commission to approve the Sketch Plan and Preliminary Plan applications for this site.

We are grateful for the time and effort of the Planning Board and Planning staff on this matter. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Carrie Kisicki
Montgomery County Advocacy Manager