Update: The City has posted the video of this meeting.
The City will hold a work session tonight, a major topic of which is the Crown Farm development. Note that there are sixteen new documents posted on the Crown Farm/SDP-06-005 page. One major concern is that the the Crown Farm plans could get ahead of the historic preservation review process. As part of the annexation agreement (section 10 (b), pages 18 and 19 of the agreement, pages 46 and 47 of the pdf), the historic structures on the Crown Farm property are to go through the City’s normal historic preservation process, but with some language that says that this review will not delay various other parts of the planning process. However, to my knowledge, HPAC has yet to be asked to review any properties. And as the agreement states that the City will bear all the costs associated with historic preservation, I would think it would be the City that needs to get a move on here. I’d encourage anyone concerned with the impending loss of historic structures in Crown Farm to make your concerns known to the City, possibly by coming to the work session tonight.
Another concern I have heard has to do with the planned density in some parts of Crown Farm; many people believe that some of the proposed densities are too high. However, I would generally be supportive of having some pockets of very high density, especially near the planned transit stop. In order to have a successful pedestrian center in a development like this, you need there to be a large number of people within a short walking distance, and you need to make it easier to walk and take public transportation than to drive. I believe that this is one thing that has not worked well in, for example, Kentlands. While they built a large number of properties within a reasonable walking distance of a retail center, they kept the overall density of Kentlands low, and designed everything around the the automobile according to the classic suburban pattern — retail may be only a five minute walk away, but it also a two-minute drive. The retail center itself is dominated by large, sprawlish parking lots which are daunting to cross on foot, and the most pedestrian-friendly parts — notably Market Square near the movie theater — face away from these parking lots and as a result many people don’t even have any idea what stores are in there. I would hope that Crown Farm would not repeat this mistake, and that they are able to build a vibrant, high-density, modern urban core, near high-quality public transportation.
City of Gaithersburg
JOINT WORK SESSION
Mayor and City Council
Planning Commission
Monday, December 11, 20067:30 p.m.
- Presentation of the Cultural Arts Advisory Committee’s "Cultural Arts Programs, Facilities, and Initiatives Plan," Followed by Selected Cultural Arts Update
Background Material (pdf file)- Joint - SDP-06-005 - Crown Farm (Proposed Plan Includes a Mix of Uses, Including 2,250 Residential Units and 320,000 Square Feet of Future Commercial Uses on approximately 180 Acres of Land)
Background Material - Part 1 (pdf file)
Background Material - Part 2