February

SECTION 5 OF THE VILLAGE OF CHEVY CHASE

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

Date: February 15, 2023

Place: Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue

Time: 7:30 PM

Present: Greg Chernack, Pat Xeller, Josh Galper, Maryann Luongo, and Ashley Kavanaugh

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

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

There were no resident questions.

Agenda Items 4 and 5 were an ordinance and right-of-way agreement that would update the small cell ordinance we adopted in 2019. Both items were introduced and discussed at the January meeting by Town Attorney, Ron Bolt. The 2019 ordinance was in response to an FCC Order compelling jurisdictions to have “published” design standards in place before enforcement. We noted at that time that the ordinance would need to be revisited once national litigation was resolved and once we knew what regulations, if any, would be adopted by the State and County. Full copies of Agenda Items 4 and 5 were listed on the Section 5 website at www.chevychasesection5.org for resident review.

Chairman Chernack moved that Ordinance No. 1-23-1, a non-emergency ordinance to regulate small wireless telecommunications facilities in the rights-of-way be approved; there was a second, and the ordinance passed by unanimous vote.

See notes under previous agenda item. Chairman Chernack moved that the Right-of-Way Access Agreement be approved and implemented in Chapter 13 of the Section 5 Code; there was a second, and the agreement passed by unanimous vote.

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

-The Council continued the discussion regarding a resident’s request to remove a Town tree (a tree located within the public right-of-way) on Underwood Street. The Manager presented the information on non-native trees gathered by the Town arborist. Currently, there are 400 Town trees of which 140 are non-native. The Council asked for further information specific to lace bark elm trees. The Manager will work with the arborist to provide the Council with this information so that they can make a final decision.

-The Manager noted that some municipalities are exploring the idea of trying to negotiate ownership of their streetlights. To date, Chevy Chase Village attorney Suellen Ferguson, has done much of the work on this and the Village has shared the information freely with the other municipalities. The Village has now asked the other municipalities to kick in a monetary retainer if they would like to continue to have access to her advice. Since Section 5 is unlikely to pursue this option, the Council decided not to participate or pay the retainer fee at this time.

-The meeting to discuss the District of Columbia’s decision to remove the reversible lanes on Connecticut Avenue in D.C. and add a bike lane with Montgomery County Department of Transportation was cancelled last month and has been rescheduled for February 23.

-The Manager provided a brief update on the Corso Chevy Chase (4-H) Redevelopment.

-The Manager said that the parcel of land on Windsor Place that the Section was considering purchasing for green space is under contract at this time. As of now, no sale information has been released. The Council discussed ways to identify future greenspace areas for purchase. The Manager will consult with Ron Bolt to get his recommendation for possible land use attorneys and realtors.

-WSSC’s water main project has moved to Underwood Street. Crews will be working on Underwood, Thornapple, Thornapple Place, and Dalkeith for the next few months. The Manager asked the Council for permission to seek help from Joe Toomey to help oversee the repaving part of this project. The Council approved.

-Area municipalities are discussing different ways to allocate ARPA funds. Since the rules require that the funds have a declared and dedicated use by December 2024, some municipalities are considering using the funds for other guaranteed annual services such as salaried employees, trash removal, etc.

-Councilman Will Jawando is set to introduce Bill 6-23, Housing – Sharing Economy Rental and ZTA 23—01, Accessory Residential Uses – Sharing Economy Rental. The bill and ZTA would authorize and regulate the hourly rental of private residential property. The bill is in response to companies that now specialize in allowing homeowners to rent out their swimming pools, backyards, and other parts of their property at an hourly rate. This commercial activity is not currently allowed in the County.

-The Manager said the Section had received notice of a public hearing for the Montgomery County Planning Board’s Pedestrian Master Plan. It is an amendment plan to the 1990 Chevy Chase Lake master plan. The Section will continue to monitor this.

-The Section 5 Council voted unanimously to donate $5500 each to the Chevy Chase Fire Department and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.

-Spring Bulk trash is scheduled for Saturday, March 3.

Chairman Chernack adjourned the meeting. The next meeting will be held March 13, 2023, at 7:30 PM at the Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue. The Village Hall has handicapped access. Everyone is welcome.