To: Montgomery County Planning Board and Isaiah Leggett, County Executive
Montgomery County: Protect our watersheds, save our trees
We ask that the County vigorously enforce State and County stormwater laws and green space requirements and save mature trees on the site of the proposed Chelsea Court townhouse development in Silver Spring.
Why is this important?
The Chelsea School, located in the Seven Oaks/Evanswood neighborhood of Silver Spring, is selling its land, with the historic pre-Civil War Riggs-Thompson house, to the developer EYA. Although developers such as EYA must comply with all State and County environmental laws and regulations, Montgomery County has thus far failed to hold EYA to these requirements.
It is vital that the County ensure that trees are preserved, and stormwater runoff properly managed, in order to avoid polluting nearby Sligo Creek and the Anacostia Watershed. It is also vital that EYA strictly adhere to green space requirements on the property, and that the Riggs-Thompson house and it setting are properly preserved.
Environmental site design is not being followed in this proposed development. EYA’s plans violate State and County laws that require managing stormwater by preserving natural features --- which at the Chelsea site include numerous mature trees and steep, erodible slopes --- and using sensible design techniques, such as clustered development. The County’s forest conservation law also obliges EYA to preserve all significant trees on the site unless EYA can demonstrate that preserving them creates an unwarranted hardship.
We cannot understand why County officials have failed so far to impose these requirements. Instead, EYA plans to clear-cut the site, destroying 64 trees --- only a handful outside the historic property would be preserved --- and to re-grade nearly the entire area, disturbing highly erodible steep slopes and creating new slopes, including one that takes part of the Riggs-Thompson lot and comes within 30 feet of that historic house itself. The County is also ignoring the zoning requirement that 50% of the townhouse development be maintained as green space accessible to its occupants. Instead, the County allows EYA to count the Riggs-Thompson property towards this requirement.
The Chelsea property has 89 mature trees, many more than 100 years old. The 63% tree canopy coverage in the surrounding neighborhood is an important part of the green ring around downtown Silver Spring, which has only 14% coverage. Trees combat global warming by helping to clean the air, and the areas around them, and their root systems are very effective at protecting Sligo Creek and the Anacostia Watershed by controlling stormwater runoff. It would be tragic and foolish to lose these benefits in order to allow EYA to squeeze the maximum number of townhouses onto the Chelsea site.
We therefore urge the Montgomery County Planning Board, and all other State and local officials, to vigorously enforce State and County stormwater laws and green space requirements, and save as many mature trees as possible, on the site of the proposed Chelsea Court townhouse development in Silver Spring.
It is vital that the County ensure that trees are preserved, and stormwater runoff properly managed, in order to avoid polluting nearby Sligo Creek and the Anacostia Watershed. It is also vital that EYA strictly adhere to green space requirements on the property, and that the Riggs-Thompson house and it setting are properly preserved.
Environmental site design is not being followed in this proposed development. EYA’s plans violate State and County laws that require managing stormwater by preserving natural features --- which at the Chelsea site include numerous mature trees and steep, erodible slopes --- and using sensible design techniques, such as clustered development. The County’s forest conservation law also obliges EYA to preserve all significant trees on the site unless EYA can demonstrate that preserving them creates an unwarranted hardship.
We cannot understand why County officials have failed so far to impose these requirements. Instead, EYA plans to clear-cut the site, destroying 64 trees --- only a handful outside the historic property would be preserved --- and to re-grade nearly the entire area, disturbing highly erodible steep slopes and creating new slopes, including one that takes part of the Riggs-Thompson lot and comes within 30 feet of that historic house itself. The County is also ignoring the zoning requirement that 50% of the townhouse development be maintained as green space accessible to its occupants. Instead, the County allows EYA to count the Riggs-Thompson property towards this requirement.
The Chelsea property has 89 mature trees, many more than 100 years old. The 63% tree canopy coverage in the surrounding neighborhood is an important part of the green ring around downtown Silver Spring, which has only 14% coverage. Trees combat global warming by helping to clean the air, and the areas around them, and their root systems are very effective at protecting Sligo Creek and the Anacostia Watershed by controlling stormwater runoff. It would be tragic and foolish to lose these benefits in order to allow EYA to squeeze the maximum number of townhouses onto the Chelsea site.
We therefore urge the Montgomery County Planning Board, and all other State and local officials, to vigorously enforce State and County stormwater laws and green space requirements, and save as many mature trees as possible, on the site of the proposed Chelsea Court townhouse development in Silver Spring.