Sunday, December 24, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
ICC: update after Dec. 17 community meeting
I'll shortly be putting summaries of the Dec. 17 community meeting in everyone's mailboxes. Thanks to all who attended and gave their views! In the meantime this is the letter I sent to the state representative today, asking him to address the concerns raised by the residents on Sunday evening.
December 19, 2006
Dear Mr. Dickerson:
As I previously mentioned to you, the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association held a community meeting on Sunday, December 17, to discuss the State’s recent offer for our common property, which we received on Wednesday, November 22. The consensus at our meeting was that we need more information about the State’s plans and about the Intercounty Connector’s (ICC) potential impacts on our community before we can make an informed decision about the State’s offer. Accordingly, we ask the State to provide the following information at the earliest possible time:
1. Please survey and stake the portion of our property that the State plans to take for the ICC. How soon can we expect the State to do this? None of us are able to decipher the maps and get a concrete sense of exactly which portion of our property the State would like to purchase.
2. Please provide us with all information that the State has on the vertical profile and appearance of the proposed ICC from existing I-370 to Redland Road, particularly the portion that passes closest to our community. Please provide us with clear graphic depictions, numerical data on the ICC’s elevation and location relative to our homes and land, and all other relevant information.
3. Does the State plan to provide noise barriers along the ICC between existing I-370 and Redland Road? If so, where exactly would they be located, how high would they be, and what would they look like? What cumulative noise levels does the State predict our community would experience if the ICC is built? By cumulative we mean the noise from traffic on the ICC, on the I-370 spur, on Shady Grove Road, and from other sources. If the State does plan to build noise barriers along this stretch of the ICC, by how many decibels does the State predict these barriers would reduce predicted noise levels in our community? If the State does not intend to provide noise barriers along this stretch of the ICC, why not?
4 How would the ICC’s construction affect traffic flow on Shady Grove Road between Route 355 and Midcounty Highway, and on other local roads?
5. How does the State plan to gain access to this stretch of the ICC during construction? Would crews access the site through the cul-de-sac at the end of Berclair Terrace? If so, what impact would that have on our community members driving into Weatherby Drive or using the cul-de-sac of Berclair Terrace for parking, as many of us do?
6. When does the State plan to begin construction of the ICC along the stretch that would pass through our community? How long will this construction last? Please provide the State’s best estimate on the levels of (a) noise; (b) dust and dirt; and (c) air pollution during construction, including the projected length of exposure for each.
7. What impact would air pollution from vehicles on the ICC and other roads, and from other sources, have on residents of our community? Has the State modeled the pollution levels that would occur? Has it assessed the potential impacts on our health?
8. If the State plans to light the ICC throughout the night, what impact would that lighting have on our community?
9. The State’s valuation of the land that it plans to purchase from our homeowner’s association appears not to take into account the drop in property values that would almost certainly occur if the ICC is built so proximate to homes and our neighborhood. If the valuation does not include this impact on our property values, why not? If it does, please explain how.
Thank you for your time. Please let me know of any questions or concerns. I’m sending a hard copy of this letter in the mail as backup.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Witze
Board Member
Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association
December 19, 2006
Dear Mr. Dickerson:
As I previously mentioned to you, the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association held a community meeting on Sunday, December 17, to discuss the State’s recent offer for our common property, which we received on Wednesday, November 22. The consensus at our meeting was that we need more information about the State’s plans and about the Intercounty Connector’s (ICC) potential impacts on our community before we can make an informed decision about the State’s offer. Accordingly, we ask the State to provide the following information at the earliest possible time:
1. Please survey and stake the portion of our property that the State plans to take for the ICC. How soon can we expect the State to do this? None of us are able to decipher the maps and get a concrete sense of exactly which portion of our property the State would like to purchase.
2. Please provide us with all information that the State has on the vertical profile and appearance of the proposed ICC from existing I-370 to Redland Road, particularly the portion that passes closest to our community. Please provide us with clear graphic depictions, numerical data on the ICC’s elevation and location relative to our homes and land, and all other relevant information.
3. Does the State plan to provide noise barriers along the ICC between existing I-370 and Redland Road? If so, where exactly would they be located, how high would they be, and what would they look like? What cumulative noise levels does the State predict our community would experience if the ICC is built? By cumulative we mean the noise from traffic on the ICC, on the I-370 spur, on Shady Grove Road, and from other sources. If the State does plan to build noise barriers along this stretch of the ICC, by how many decibels does the State predict these barriers would reduce predicted noise levels in our community? If the State does not intend to provide noise barriers along this stretch of the ICC, why not?
4 How would the ICC’s construction affect traffic flow on Shady Grove Road between Route 355 and Midcounty Highway, and on other local roads?
5. How does the State plan to gain access to this stretch of the ICC during construction? Would crews access the site through the cul-de-sac at the end of Berclair Terrace? If so, what impact would that have on our community members driving into Weatherby Drive or using the cul-de-sac of Berclair Terrace for parking, as many of us do?
6. When does the State plan to begin construction of the ICC along the stretch that would pass through our community? How long will this construction last? Please provide the State’s best estimate on the levels of (a) noise; (b) dust and dirt; and (c) air pollution during construction, including the projected length of exposure for each.
7. What impact would air pollution from vehicles on the ICC and other roads, and from other sources, have on residents of our community? Has the State modeled the pollution levels that would occur? Has it assessed the potential impacts on our health?
8. If the State plans to light the ICC throughout the night, what impact would that lighting have on our community?
9. The State’s valuation of the land that it plans to purchase from our homeowner’s association appears not to take into account the drop in property values that would almost certainly occur if the ICC is built so proximate to homes and our neighborhood. If the valuation does not include this impact on our property values, why not? If it does, please explain how.
Thank you for your time. Please let me know of any questions or concerns. I’m sending a hard copy of this letter in the mail as backup.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Witze
Board Member
Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association
Saturday, December 16, 2006
ICC: So what are they taking exactly?
Just a brief update to let you all know that the state has not yet marked the plot of land they want to take with stakes. They are supposed to do this but until they do, we do not have a very good idea of where exactly the land is. I have a document from the survey company that purports to show the property lines, but I cannot understand it (and I've done geology field work before!)
We can discuss this at tomorrow's meeting but first on our agenda in next talking to the state will be to make sure we all understand where the property is exactly.
We can discuss this at tomorrow's meeting but first on our agenda in next talking to the state will be to make sure we all understand where the property is exactly.
ICC: Lessons from our neighbors
All: I am meeting tomorrow with Connie McKenna, who lives on Briardale and is on the board of the Shady Grove Woods HOA. I think she will have lots of valuable and useful information as we move forward on this. In the meantime, here is an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post back in July:
Don't Take Our Yards
The ICC Plans Are Overrunning Derwood
Sunday, July 23, 2006; B08
Most of us in Derwood have done our homework on the planned intercounty connector because our town is slated to be the ICC entry point. This summer we've watched Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan ram through the approvals before the November elections. We've seen surveyors' plastic ribbons fluttering in our woods. We've blanched as the state pushes forward on eminent-domain seizure of homes in nearby Cashell Estates.
But no one told us that a midnight confiscation of our private property was in the plan.
My neighbors received "takings" notification letters from the State Highway Administration on the Friday before the Fourth of July weekend. No map was included and no details given on square footage. A few days later an appraiser arrived in back yards and reported that the SHA would cut checks in August.
Our homeowners' association was alarmed to suddenly see on the appraiser's map that the new ICC right of way includes not only parts of our yards but also two parcels of our common land, even though we've received no notification. Melinda Peters, the ICC project director, confirmed that we were on the list. She responded to our questions by saying that we should have known that the proposed ICC right-of-way boundaries would cut into our yards. Maps available at public hearings and on the SHA Web site told the story, she said, but she admitted that the plans are "something an engineer can decipher much more easily than a person looking at a map."
This approach sets a very high bar of government reliance on citizen initiative to defend something we all take for granted: our yards. The state, it turns out, fingered our land at least 18 months ago. But we didn't get official notice until the federal government approved ICC plans last month.
Really, they could have given us a heads-up.
The state is moving so quickly now that all this occurred before the Montgomery County Planning Board signed off on the state's current ICC plans. On the afternoon of July 13, the county board, in its single public hearing on ICC construction and design, listened to citizens' angry protests. Homeowners challenged the state's rushed process and its plan to leave the actual design of the road to private contractors. The "parkway-like" ICC we've been promised is really a cloverleaf-heavy, interstate-like juggernaut. For the first time the planning commissioners heard about the property seizures on Briardale Road. My neighbors and I showed up, hoping the county could negotiate to hold back the state's bulldozers.
The next day The Post reported that 350 property seizure letters had gone out last month to people who live on the ICC right of way. Among them are my neighbors, the McCarthys. When their nature-loving son was killed in a car accident 12 years ago, they scattered his ashes in their back yard. That private space is now slated for seizure.
At the county's Planning Board session Thursday, the commissioners were squirming. Only one, however, voted against approving the state's ICC plans. The others said that their hands were tied by the board's advisory status. They offered no remedy for the homeowners whose property will be confiscated.
Some of the affected people stood in the back of the hall, quietly telling their stories to each other. An immigrant on Norbeck will lose his entire front yard. "I wish they'd take my house because I'll never be able to sell it now," he said. A Derwood couple closed on a new home days before they received their "takings" letter; now they're paying two mortgages because they can't sell the house that's losing part of its back yard. And there are the McCarthys, forced to publicly revisit their grief in the hope of preserving the sanctuary they never wanted to share.
The county Planning Board and the State Highway Administration clearly share the McCarthys' aversion to publicity. But there are plenty of similarly wrenching stories now along the state's proposed ICC right of way. Perhaps if more are known, officials will call off their bulldozers.
-- Connie McKenna, Derwood, is vice president of the Shady Grove Woods Home Owners Association.
Don't Take Our Yards
The ICC Plans Are Overrunning Derwood
Sunday, July 23, 2006; B08
Most of us in Derwood have done our homework on the planned intercounty connector because our town is slated to be the ICC entry point. This summer we've watched Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan ram through the approvals before the November elections. We've seen surveyors' plastic ribbons fluttering in our woods. We've blanched as the state pushes forward on eminent-domain seizure of homes in nearby Cashell Estates.
But no one told us that a midnight confiscation of our private property was in the plan.
My neighbors received "takings" notification letters from the State Highway Administration on the Friday before the Fourth of July weekend. No map was included and no details given on square footage. A few days later an appraiser arrived in back yards and reported that the SHA would cut checks in August.
Our homeowners' association was alarmed to suddenly see on the appraiser's map that the new ICC right of way includes not only parts of our yards but also two parcels of our common land, even though we've received no notification. Melinda Peters, the ICC project director, confirmed that we were on the list. She responded to our questions by saying that we should have known that the proposed ICC right-of-way boundaries would cut into our yards. Maps available at public hearings and on the SHA Web site told the story, she said, but she admitted that the plans are "something an engineer can decipher much more easily than a person looking at a map."
This approach sets a very high bar of government reliance on citizen initiative to defend something we all take for granted: our yards. The state, it turns out, fingered our land at least 18 months ago. But we didn't get official notice until the federal government approved ICC plans last month.
Really, they could have given us a heads-up.
The state is moving so quickly now that all this occurred before the Montgomery County Planning Board signed off on the state's current ICC plans. On the afternoon of July 13, the county board, in its single public hearing on ICC construction and design, listened to citizens' angry protests. Homeowners challenged the state's rushed process and its plan to leave the actual design of the road to private contractors. The "parkway-like" ICC we've been promised is really a cloverleaf-heavy, interstate-like juggernaut. For the first time the planning commissioners heard about the property seizures on Briardale Road. My neighbors and I showed up, hoping the county could negotiate to hold back the state's bulldozers.
The next day The Post reported that 350 property seizure letters had gone out last month to people who live on the ICC right of way. Among them are my neighbors, the McCarthys. When their nature-loving son was killed in a car accident 12 years ago, they scattered his ashes in their back yard. That private space is now slated for seizure.
At the county's Planning Board session Thursday, the commissioners were squirming. Only one, however, voted against approving the state's ICC plans. The others said that their hands were tied by the board's advisory status. They offered no remedy for the homeowners whose property will be confiscated.
Some of the affected people stood in the back of the hall, quietly telling their stories to each other. An immigrant on Norbeck will lose his entire front yard. "I wish they'd take my house because I'll never be able to sell it now," he said. A Derwood couple closed on a new home days before they received their "takings" letter; now they're paying two mortgages because they can't sell the house that's losing part of its back yard. And there are the McCarthys, forced to publicly revisit their grief in the hope of preserving the sanctuary they never wanted to share.
The county Planning Board and the State Highway Administration clearly share the McCarthys' aversion to publicity. But there are plenty of similarly wrenching stories now along the state's proposed ICC right of way. Perhaps if more are known, officials will call off their bulldozers.
-- Connie McKenna, Derwood, is vice president of the Shady Grove Woods Home Owners Association.
ICC: update on Dec. 12 meeting with politicians
Art Carter, and Gregg and Melissa Price, went to the Tuesday meeting with local elected representatives. Here's a brief update from Melissa:
"Gregg and I went on Tuesday, and Art. It was an opportunity for the community to voice their opinions on the ICC to the senators. They had some large maps of where the road would be, etc. However, the senators did not really say anything that really would convince them to change their minds, since it has already been approved. They were saying that right now the only
thing that could stop the ICC now would be an an envionmental lawsuit. We learned that there is a group out there, that is in the works of putting a lawsuit out in early Dec. (Jean might know the name of that group?) I felt I learned the most from Jean's son Greg, who was at the meeting. He did an excellent job in voicing his opinions and sharing the environmental facts etc."
Greg Smith, who is Jean Smith's son, is planning to attend the Sunday Dec. 17 meeting at my house. Note that the two lawsuits Melissa mentions are planned from the Audubon (on violations of the National Environmental Policy Act), and Environmental Defense/Sierra Club (on the reported failure to assess the impact of pollutants on local communities). They are slated to be filed by the Dec. 20 deadline.
"Gregg and I went on Tuesday, and Art. It was an opportunity for the community to voice their opinions on the ICC to the senators. They had some large maps of where the road would be, etc. However, the senators did not really say anything that really would convince them to change their minds, since it has already been approved. They were saying that right now the only
thing that could stop the ICC now would be an an envionmental lawsuit. We learned that there is a group out there, that is in the works of putting a lawsuit out in early Dec. (Jean might know the name of that group?) I felt I learned the most from Jean's son Greg, who was at the meeting. He did an excellent job in voicing his opinions and sharing the environmental facts etc."
Greg Smith, who is Jean Smith's son, is planning to attend the Sunday Dec. 17 meeting at my house. Note that the two lawsuits Melissa mentions are planned from the Audubon (on violations of the National Environmental Policy Act), and Environmental Defense/Sierra Club (on the reported failure to assess the impact of pollutants on local communities). They are slated to be filed by the Dec. 20 deadline.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
ICC: Meeting TUESDAY, Dec. 12, with state representatives
[I received this email from the Campaign to Stop the ICC - I cannot attend, but am posting in case anyone else from SGSTA can. Please note the original posting said Thursday Dec. 12 - it should have said Tuesday Dec. 12.]
Tuesday -- December 12
Shady Grove Town Hall Meeting with State Senators and Delegates from Districts 19 and 39
Make Sure That These State Representatives Hear Your Concerns About the ICC
Time: 8:00pm
Place: Mill Creek Towne Elementary School
17700 Park Mill Dr.
Derwood, Md 20855
Featuring: Sen. Mike Lennett* Sen. Patrick Hogan
Del. Henry Heller Del. Charles Barkely
Del. Roger Manno* Del. Nancy King
Del. Benjamin Kramer* Del. Saqib Ali*
*Invited
Ask These Elected Officials To:
1. Press the State Highway Administration to halt all action aimed at acquiring homes, and public and private land, for the ICC until all legal issues have been full resolved and until the new Montgomery County government and the O'Malley administration have set their transportation priorities.
2. Urge Martin O'Malley to hold town hall meetings as part of the state transportation priorities review.
3. Demand that the State Highway Administration fully assess the impacts of toxic air pollution from the ICC on communities near the ICC. The State has refused to assess and disclose these impacts even though cars, trucks and other vehicles generate many toxic and carcinogenic pollutants and even though the ICC would slash through dozens of communities and very near schools and parks.
4. Demand that the State restate the ICC's construction costs in light of sharp increases in the cost of energy and construction materials. The State has not restated the ICC's costs in two years.
Tuesday -- December 12
Shady Grove Town Hall Meeting with State Senators and Delegates from Districts 19 and 39
Make Sure That These State Representatives Hear Your Concerns About the ICC
Time: 8:00pm
Place: Mill Creek Towne Elementary School
17700 Park Mill Dr.
Derwood, Md 20855
Featuring: Sen. Mike Lennett* Sen. Patrick Hogan
Del. Henry Heller Del. Charles Barkely
Del. Roger Manno* Del. Nancy King
Del. Benjamin Kramer* Del. Saqib Ali*
*Invited
Ask These Elected Officials To:
1. Press the State Highway Administration to halt all action aimed at acquiring homes, and public and private land, for the ICC until all legal issues have been full resolved and until the new Montgomery County government and the O'Malley administration have set their transportation priorities.
2. Urge Martin O'Malley to hold town hall meetings as part of the state transportation priorities review.
3. Demand that the State Highway Administration fully assess the impacts of toxic air pollution from the ICC on communities near the ICC. The State has refused to assess and disclose these impacts even though cars, trucks and other vehicles generate many toxic and carcinogenic pollutants and even though the ICC would slash through dozens of communities and very near schools and parks.
4. Demand that the State restate the ICC's construction costs in light of sharp increases in the cost of energy and construction materials. The State has not restated the ICC's costs in two years.
Friday, December 08, 2006
ICC: area in question to be staked
Alvis Dickerson, the representative from the Maryland state highway administration, has requested that the area in question be marked by stakes. I don't know when this might happen but hopefully it will transpire before the Dec. 17 meeting. I'll try to keep an eye out and post something here when the stakes have gone up.
ICC: update
The state has provided this rendering of what our section of the ICC would look like. Not sure this provides very much detail at all, but here you are.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
ICC: more information
For more information about the ICC, try these links:
iccstudy.org - the official state website describing the project
gsgca.org - Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance, working on this and other issues. Note there is a Dec. 13 issue if anyone is interested in attending.
shadygrovewoods.org - another local homeowners' group that has received a buyout offer
iccstudy.org - the official state website describing the project
gsgca.org - Greater Shady Grove Civic Alliance, working on this and other issues. Note there is a Dec. 13 issue if anyone is interested in attending.
shadygrovewoods.org - another local homeowners' group that has received a buyout offer
ICC offer: more information
Hi everyone,
I am trying to get better maps from the state of the plot of land they are looking to purchase from us. I have also asked whether they can stake it out so we can better see the part that will be affected. The land in question is behind the first row of townhouses on the left as you enter Weatherby Dr. If I can get a better map I will try to scan it and post it here ahead of the Dec. 17 meeting. (I am sorry, I realized I did not include the map attachment as I had promised in the memo I sent out yesterday.)
Thanks
Alex
I am trying to get better maps from the state of the plot of land they are looking to purchase from us. I have also asked whether they can stake it out so we can better see the part that will be affected. The land in question is behind the first row of townhouses on the left as you enter Weatherby Dr. If I can get a better map I will try to scan it and post it here ahead of the Dec. 17 meeting. (I am sorry, I realized I did not include the map attachment as I had promised in the memo I sent out yesterday.)
Thanks
Alex
ICC news: offer from state for buyout of land
IMPORTANT MEMO
To: Members of the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association (owners of residences on Weatherby Drive, Derwood, MD)
From: Alex Witze, Secretary, SGSTA board of directors
Re: Financial offer from the state of Maryland to purchase right-of-way and other necessary rights for a common plot of land for the Intercounty Connector highway
Date: December 4, 2006
On Nov. 22 Art Carter, president of the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association, received a letter from the Maryland State Highway Administration. It offers $102,000 to SGSTA for the purchase of the right-of-way, easements, and/or other rights necessary for a small plot of land owned by SGSTA in the common area behind the first row of townhouses (on the left side as you enter) on Weatherby Drive. This is an eminent domain offer made in connection with the proposed Intercounty Connector highway.
Everyone who owns a place on Weatherby Drive needs to be involved in discussions as to whether to accept this offer or not. There will be a meeting at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 17, at my house (#7519). Please plan to attend. If you cannot attend, please let Art Carter (#7522) or another board member know, preferably in writing, what you think we should be doing with regards to this offer.
The plot of land in question is a wedge of 3,246 square feet that has been valued at $31.41 per square foot, based on recent sales of similar property in the area. The state has produced a thick document from a surveyor’s company that describes their rationale for valuing the land at this amount. The three board members (Art Carter, Steve Edgar, Alex Witze) all have a copy of this document; contact any of them to look it over prior to the meeting. They will all bring copies to the Dec. 17 meeting.
In the meantime, Art has copies for everyone of a map showing the proposed ICC route, as well as brochures from the state describing the procedure for eminent domain offers. Please stop by his place (#7522) if you would like a copy ahead of time.
You can reach Art at 301-963-9719 or me at 301-926-5274 or awitze@gmail.com. I will try to post relevant links and more information at www.weatherbydrive.blogspot.com in advance of the Dec. 17 meeting.
To: Members of the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association (owners of residences on Weatherby Drive, Derwood, MD)
From: Alex Witze, Secretary, SGSTA board of directors
Re: Financial offer from the state of Maryland to purchase right-of-way and other necessary rights for a common plot of land for the Intercounty Connector highway
Date: December 4, 2006
On Nov. 22 Art Carter, president of the Shady Grove Station Townhouse Association, received a letter from the Maryland State Highway Administration. It offers $102,000 to SGSTA for the purchase of the right-of-way, easements, and/or other rights necessary for a small plot of land owned by SGSTA in the common area behind the first row of townhouses (on the left side as you enter) on Weatherby Drive. This is an eminent domain offer made in connection with the proposed Intercounty Connector highway.
Everyone who owns a place on Weatherby Drive needs to be involved in discussions as to whether to accept this offer or not. There will be a meeting at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 17, at my house (#7519). Please plan to attend. If you cannot attend, please let Art Carter (#7522) or another board member know, preferably in writing, what you think we should be doing with regards to this offer.
The plot of land in question is a wedge of 3,246 square feet that has been valued at $31.41 per square foot, based on recent sales of similar property in the area. The state has produced a thick document from a surveyor’s company that describes their rationale for valuing the land at this amount. The three board members (Art Carter, Steve Edgar, Alex Witze) all have a copy of this document; contact any of them to look it over prior to the meeting. They will all bring copies to the Dec. 17 meeting.
In the meantime, Art has copies for everyone of a map showing the proposed ICC route, as well as brochures from the state describing the procedure for eminent domain offers. Please stop by his place (#7522) if you would like a copy ahead of time.
You can reach Art at 301-963-9719 or me at 301-926-5274 or awitze@gmail.com. I will try to post relevant links and more information at www.weatherbydrive.blogspot.com in advance of the Dec. 17 meeting.
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