March

SECTION 5 OF THE VILLAGE OF CHEVY CHASE

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

Date: March 9, 2021

Place: Conference Call Only Due to COVID-19

Time: 7:30 PM

Present: Greg Chernack, Pat Xeller, Maryann Luongo, Philip Giordano, Josh Galper, Ashley Kavanaugh, Julie Sparacino, and several Section 5 residents

Chairman Greg Chernack called the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance.

Chairman Chernack moved that the minutes from the February meeting be approved; there was a second, and the motion passed.

There were no resident comments.

The Town Manager presented an overview of the Section’s current financial status, and entertained questions from the Council.

-The Manager noted that there was one approved private tree removal permit in the past month.

-Section 5 now has 70 homes signed up for our new composting program through the Compost Crew.

-Three Council seats are up for election this May. An official election notice will be sent this week to all Section residents by mail requesting nominations. All nominations must be received in writing by Saturday, April 3. All three incumbents have decided to run again.

-The Town Manager discussed the recent snowstorm and the Section’s policy regarding snow shoveling done by the Town. There were specific concerns about ice and snow removal on Brookville Road and Connecticut Avenue. The Town Manager will check with our current snow removal contractor, Rolling Acres, to see if they might be available to help with shoveling Brookville Road and Connecticut Avenue on a regular basis due to pedestrian safety concerns.

-The Manager provided an update on ZTA-20-07, the zoning amendment put forth by Councilman Will Jawando, which would allow owners of R-60 zoned properties located within one mile of a Metrorail station to build Missing Middle housing (MMH) types, including duplexes, townhouses, and other multi-family structures. We have been anticipating the County Council's response to ZTA 20-07. Council President Tom Hucker opted instead to send a letter to the Planning Board to ask that they consider a different ZTA introduced by Councilman Hans Reimer. Reimer’s ZTA is similar, but it would go further and allow for MMH to be built on Metrorail routes and all housing zones (R-200 to R-40) would be impacted. Hucker asked that the Planning Board/Staff provide a report on the ZTA around the time of Thrive Montgomery's transmittal to the County Council, which means the ZTAs and Thrive Montgomery will be considered all at once.

-In a separate Thrive Montgomery matter, Section 5 was asked to sign a letter being sent to the Montgomery County Planning Board Chairman, Casey Anderson, regarding the Thrive Montgomery process. The letter was drafted by the same coalition of area municipalities and communities as in the past. The letter argues that the Thrive Montgomery process lacked ample time for public comment and that the original proposal has been revised substantially and the final product has not been made easily accessible. The Council agreed to sign the letter. Chairman Chernack made a motion to sign the coalition letter; there was a second, and the motion passed.

-The Manager asked for the Council’s approval to begin work on revising the Section’s fence regulations. When we revised the Chapter 9 building regulations several years ago, we did not include the chapter 10 fence regulations. We would like to make minor changes and also move them to chapter 9 so that all the building regulations are together. The goal would be to have it ready for presentation at either the April or May meeting and vote on it at either the May or June meeting.

Chairman Chernack adjourned the meeting. The next meeting will be held April 13, 2021, at 7:30 PM via conference call. Everyone is welcome.