Chevy Chase needs a new community center and library. The District says it will build new facilities, but wants to add housing and affordable housing. A number of developers have submitted proposals, but District officials have yet to release them. After more than four years of hearings and arguments, When they do it will be the first time in more than four years of hearings and arguments that the community gets a detailed look at what might get built.

         Some residents oppose any housing, saying the site already is heavily used for public purposes. Some want a substantial amount of housing, saying the District our neighborhood is short of affordable housing. I support some affordable housing at the site, but only so long as it works with the Community Center and Library and fits into the surrounding neighborhood.

  For years, the District pushed the idea of taking two of Connecticut Avenue’s six travel lanes and turning them into protected bike lanes. After objections from residents and businesses, it dropped the idea in June of 2024, but promised to look for other places to locate north-south bike lanes in Ward 3. I opposed the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes out of concern they would further damage buse service and be a nightmare for older residents trying to get safely from cars to curbs.

   The DC Zoning Commission has approved increasing the maximum possible height of buildings along the upper Connecticut Avenue commercial corridor to 70 feet but has not taken the final steps to make the change official. Until now, the maximum possible height was 55 feet, but most buildings in the corridor are 40 feet or less. Over the past four years, I’ve proposed several compromises -- for example, a 60-foot maximum with anything above that height requiring local review and approval -- but haven’t succeeded in selling the idea.

  The District has installed bioretention basins in local streets to encourage rain to soak into the ground rather than run off and thus avoid having to build more multi-billion-dollar stormwater control projects. In September, 2023, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) proposed taking 104 parking places to install still more basins. I worked with residents to convince DDOT to substantially reduce the size of its proposal, something the department did this year.   

  This is likely to be a huge issue in the next few years. Advocates argue that to reduce vehicle energy consumption and thus pollution and to make room for affordable housing, communities must build more densely. And they say that the only way to get greater density is to eliminate single-family zoning and permit the construction of multi-unit buildings. Arlington, VA and Montgomery County, MD are in the midst of fights over the issue. In the next several months, the Bowser administration is likely to propose eliminating single-family zoning. I have substantial problems with the idea.

 Chevy Chase residents depend on car transportation because many people live a substantial distance from the Connecticut Avenue commercial core and because many, including me, are older. While speeders and cut-through drivers must be controlled, neighborhood streets must be passable, and parking must be available. I’ve worked with neighbors on traffic calming and control. I’ve sought support for measures to more efficiently use existing parking.