June 7, 2011
By: April B. Mackoff
Lerch, Early & Brewer's Legal Update
The White Flint area of North Bethesda is undergoing a complete makeover. In March, 2010, the Montgomery County Council approved and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission adopted the White Flint Sector Plan, which covers 430 acres bounded by Montrose Parkway, Old Georgetown Road, the CSX Railroad Tracks, and the White Flint Mall. The Sector Plan provides a model framework for the redevelopment of White Flint from a strip shopping center, surface parked area to a mixed-use, more urban community akin to downtown Bethesda. The Sector Plan ultimately will transform Rockville Pike into a tree-lined boulevard with improved crosswalks; create new public parks and open spaces; promote sustainable development and improve the pedestrian and bicycling experience by developing a grid of new public streets.
Since the Planning Board adopted the Sector Plan, numerous developments have occurred that will help facilitate the transformation of White Flint. For example, the Council approved a new set of Commercial-Residential (CR) Zones, which will promote the development of higher density and transit oriented, mixed-use communities in areas of Montgomery County where the master plans recommend redevelopment.
To achieve densities up to the maximum permitted in the CR Zone for a property, a property owner must prepare a conceptual Sketch Plan and engage in an optional method of development process to demonstrate compliance with incentive density benefit standards in several categories.
The Planning Board also approved two documents that implement and annotate the CR Zone. First, the Planning Board approved the CR Zone Incentive Density Implementation Guidelines. These analyze and implement public benefits required by optional method of development projects located in the CR Zone. While an applicant whose property is located in the CR Zone who wishes to develop under the optional method of development can use any combination of incentive density standards to reach or exceed 100%, the Implementation Guidelines provide guidance on which benefits a project should provide and how to calculate incentive density benefits within incentive density benefit categories.
Second, the Planning Board approved the White Flint Urban Design Guidelines. The Design Guidelines are intended to provide guidance to Planning Staff regarding the intent of the Sector Plan’s recommendations, as they review development applications filed for properties located within the Sector Plan area.
During the fall of 2010, property owners in the White Flint area submitted three sketch plans to M-NCPPC:
- Mid-Pike Plaza (Federal Realty Investment Trust);
- North Bethesda Gateway (Promark Real Estate Services and The Fitzgerald Companies); and
- North Bethesda Market II (The JBG Companies).
All three of these sketch plans propose higher-density, mixed-use residential and commercial developments, and were approved by the Planning Board. For these developments, their next steps are to proceed to subdivision and site plans. The White Flint Mall sketch plan is expected to be filed this summer.
The Council also adopted a special taxing district for the Sector Plan area. Beginning July 1, 2011, White Flint property owners will pay an extra 10% property tax to the County. These taxes, together with county capital improvement funds, will help build the network of transportation facilities in White Flint (along with transportation facilities built by developers as part of their own projects).
An advisory committee of residents, business owners and developers now meets regularly to review development plans, discuss various implementation issues, and provide feedback to the Planning Board and Council on a variety of White Flint topics.
Finally, the Planning Board is preparing staging implementation guidelines. These guidelines will govern the pace of development through the four development stages outlined in the Sector Plan. These four stages are tied to the completion of necessary infrastructure improvements.
April Mackoff is a land use and zoning attorney at Lerch, Early & Brewer who is active in the redevelopment of White Flint. For more information about White Flint or the CR Zone, contact April at abmackoff @lerchearly.com or (301) 347-1267.
