Council Minutes, Dec. 2009

SECTION 5 OF THE VILLAGE OF CHEVY CHASE

MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETING

Date: December 8, 2009

Time: 7:30 PM

Place: 5906 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase Village Hall

Present: Karin Flynn; Peter Gray; Frances L. Higgins; Chris Richardson; Andrew Smith; Al Carr, State Representative, 1 Section 5 resident

1. Agenda Item: Minutes

   Andrew moved that the November 10, 2009, Council minutes be approved as revised; Peter seconded motion. The motion passed unanimously.

   Old Business
2. Al Carr, State Representative

   Al Carr explained to the Council that he plans to introduce legislation in the 2010 State legislative session that will streamline the process by which a resident receives a building permit from the County Historic Commission. If the resident receives a building permit from the Historic Commission, he/she will not have to comply with more restrictive municipality zoning regulations which are in effect in the municipality in which he/she lives.

3. Agenda Item: Update on Zoning Project

   Peter provided a summary of residents' responses to the zoning survey. Sixty-three residents out of a possible 226 Section 5 households responded to the zoning survey. This is 28% of the total resident population. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents did not want more restrictive regulations than the County has presently. A majority of the respondents did favor regulation of front yard non-vegetative surfaces.

   Peter's recommendations:

   1. Since there is little support from residents for more restrictive zoning regulations than the County's, the Section 5 Council should table the matter.
   2. Because a majority of respondents favor regulation of front yard non-vegetative surfaces, the Council could consider an amendment to Section 5's current building regulations (Section 9-200, Code of Ordinances already contains impervious surface provisions to facilitate drainage) limiting front-yard non-vegetative surface coverage. (See Appendix A).
   3. Since half the respondents expressed interest in attending a free presentation by a zoning expert, the Council should consider inviting Jakubiak & Associates to a meeting with interested residents.

   Decision:A complete copy of the survey report will be posted on Section 5's web site. It was suggested that the recommendations in the report be labeled as Peter's and not necessarily those of the Council's. The Council decided to contact Jakubiak, Inc., a town planning company, and ask someone from that firm to attend a Section 5 meeting and provide a report concerning the effects of building projects on the character of Section 5. The manager will contact the company and determine a convenient date for the meeting and report back to the Council. The Council asked the manager to make it clear to Jakubiak that it would not contract the firm for anything other than possibly the vegetative surfaces issue on front lawns. The Council will consider Peter's recommendations at its January meeting.

4. Agenda Item: Traffic Calming Devices

   Alec revised a copy of an RFP which the Town of Chevy Chase provided. This RFP solicits bids from traffic engineering firms who will assess whether 1) the installation of "No Turn" signs will reduce rush hour cut through traffic volume in Section 5, and 2) the installation of speed bumps will reduce traffic speed on Section 5 streets. If the contractor concludes that signs and/or speed bumps will be effective for the stated purposes, he/she will then make recommendations based on sound traffic control practices, that, when implemented, will provide Section 5 with reduced cut through traffic volume and speed.

   Decision: The manager will contact several traffic engineering firms to determine their interest in presenting a bid and report back to the Council.

   New Business
5. Agenda Item: Treasurer's Report

   Section 5 received an income tax check from the State in November ; $146,673.22 of this check was for the 2009 third quarter and $54,490.49 was for delinquent taxes for 2008-09. Section 5 has paid $200,000.00 for the road project which was recently completed. Section 5 has retained $10,000. 00 of the total cost for this project to guarantee that the work meets road project standards. There are some discrepancies between the figures in the 2008-09 audit report and figures in Section 5's Quick Book records. The manager will contact the accountant and rectify these discrepancies.

6. Proposed Purchase of Property for a Park

   Andrew said that there is not a property in Section 5 which could be purchased using its Open Space funds. There are State funds designated as Open Space money which are given to municipalities to purchase open space. He said that the owner of the property on Brookville Road which has been on the market for more than two years might consider donating the back lot of this property to Section 5 as an open space. This back lot has a stream running through it and is protected from development because it is considered wetlands.

   Decision: The manager will contact the owner of the property on Brookville Road which has been on the market for two years. She will ask the owner if she is interested in donating or selling the back lot of her property on Brookville Road. The manager will also contact LGIT, Section 5's insurance company, and ask about the liability to Section 5 if someone is injured on the hill on the Brookville Road property. This hill has traditionally been used by people for sledding.

7. Manager's Report

   A Woodbine St. resident has asked if he may widen his driveway to provide additional driveway space to exit his driveway. He presented a drawing of the proposed widening to be considered at the December 2009, Council. It is not clear from the drawing what the increase in impervious surface will be.

   Decision: The manager will contact Alan Beal and ask him to look at the drawing and the actual driveway site and report back to the Council about his opinion concerning the granting of this request.

   There are two speed limit signs in Section 5 which post the speed at 20 MPH. Section 5 does not have an ordinance to support this speed limit. When Section 5 does not have ordinances regulating certain aspects of town life, the County's ordinances are in effect.

   Decision: The manager had planned to remove the two 20 MPH signs and replace them with 30 MPH signs; however, the Council decided to wait to replace these signs until it has made a decision about creating an ordinance which would limit the speed to a speed that would be appropriate for a residential area such as that of Section 5. The manager will contact the abutting towns about their speed limits.

   Decision: The Council agreed to engage its trash hauler to collect household trash on Saturday, December 26th because of the holiday on December 25th and pay an extra fee for this service.

   The manager suggested that the Council pay the solid waste charge for each Section 5 resident. This is a charge on the County's real estate tax bill. It is a charge of less than $100.

   Decision: Andrew moved that Section 5 pay the solid waste charge for each Section 5 household for the fiscal year 2009-10. Karin seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

   Decision: The Council agreed to give Mark Peyton who takes care of the trees, leaf collection and snow removal in Section 5 a $2,500 holiday bonus.

   Decision: If the holiday trash fund does not collect $5,000, the Council agreed to add money to make up the deficit. This fund will then be divided among the trash and recycling personnel of Montgomery Sanitation and Recycling, Inc., Section 5's trash hauler.

8. Adjournment Andrew moved that the meeting adjourn, Chris seconded the motion and the it passed unanimously.