Senior Assisted Living Planned for Westwood Center II

December 17, 2020: Planning Board Approves Plans

The Planning Board in a 4 to 1 vote, approved the plans for a Senior Living facility. The approval including the requirement that the developer convey to Montgomery Parks land adjacent to the Willett Branch for a future park. The land will be conveyed with the asphalt removed and graded, but with no landscaping or water feature as described for the site in the Sector Plan. Parks will finish this gateway park when it acquires all the parcels along the Willett Branch necessary for building the Greenway.

Our comments requesting that the developer be required to build the small gateway park are HERE.

Background:

An assisted living senior housing development is planned by Kensington Senior Living for the sites of the Westwood Center II mini-mall at 5110 Ridgefield Road, and at 5471 Westbard Avenue. Regency Center, the developer, originally proposed luxury apartments for the site, but switched the plan to the assisted living facility. It will include 112 units, structured parking and unspecified amenities. Current zoning for the 2.92 acre site, under the 2016 Westbard Sector Plan, is CRT-1.5, C-0.5, R-1.5 with a maximum height of 75'.

Although it is labeled Phase 2, this parcel will be redeveloped before the Giant Food Shopping Center (Westbard Center). The plan was presented to the community at a virtual meeting in April, 2020. More information on that meeting HERE. After extensive comments and responses, the Planning Board hearing is set for December 17, 2020. Because of the restrictions mandated by the pandemic, this meeting will also be virtual, but the public is invited to testify by signing up on the County site HERE.

To Submit Comments, email the Planning Board at MCP-Chair@mncppc-mc.org by December 7.

A copy of our August 20, 2020 comments is HERE.

What we like about the Plan:

The stormwater management is 100% Environmental Site Design (ESD) and primarily utilizes infiltration techniques. Micro-biorention planters are planned for the back side of the building (the side facing the creek and new park) and will capture, treat most of the stormwater from the property, allowing it to soak into the ground. This is super important for recharging the groundwater that the new creek needs for a healthy base flow! You can see the planters that line the building in the picture above (on the right).

Land along the Willett Branch will be conveyed to Montgomery Parks for the gateway entrance to the new Willett Branch Stream Valley Park. Click HERE to learn more about this park.

What we don’t like about the plan:

Building is too close to the Trail. While the pictures show a wide trail with landscaped areas on either side, the reality is that the trail hugs the edge of the building on one side and the steep banks of the Willett Branch on the other. The Sector Plan calls for the buildings to embrace the park and invite users. A 75-foot wall uphill and a steep drop off downhill is not inviting.

Parcel dedicated for the new Greenway will not be landscaped. The area to be conveyed to Parks will become the gateway entrance to the future Willett Branch Stream Valley Park (the Greenway). When the park is completed, the concrete will be removed from the creek and the new park will feature a sparkling naturalized creek with paths that will meander through the area before connecting to the Capital Crescent Trail. It will be a ribbon of green through this otherwise paved area, and a national model for urban stream restoration. However, Montgomery Parks has stated that they will not begin to build the park until all the parcels along the Willett Branch are acquired. Meanwhile, the gateway park will be left as grass without even a bench to sit on. As it could take years for all the parcels to be acquired, it is imperative that the conveyed land be landscaped as a gateway park before the rest of the park is built. As the main amenity provided by the development, it must be delivered with the completion of this new building.

Water Feature for park will not be built. An important part of the gateway park is a small water feature where the Kenwood Tributary joins the Willett Branch. The plans call for day-lighting the tributary and creating a small waterfall in the gateway park. If this work is not done when the building is constructed and the road is re-aligned, it will be difficult to do later as the Kenwood Tributary runs under the road.

Kensington must make a significant contribution towards the park.

At a minimum it should include: 

1. Grading requested by Parks that will allow the future Greenway to be built, as well as a path around the building that interacts well with adjacent properties. (Note that such a path is contemplated in the fire approval documents.)

2. Landscaping of the regraded area that makes it attractive, but that can easily be removed when the park is built—there is no need to go 10 or more years without some landscaping on the site. Furthermore, Kensington should be providing funding for this type of open space. In their Statement of Justification, Kensington relies on open space provided by the Greenway, and it is clear that the Greenway will not be built for many years!

3. A condition of use and occupancy of the new building that both a Parks and a DPS structural engineer certify that the Greenway site is accessible for construction and is structurally sound, and that the walls around the stream are stable after construction has taken place. Any issues with the retaining wall or stability of soil must be remedied before use and occupancy. A sediment study should also be requested at that time to ensure the soil is secure.

4. Construction of the water feature.

A copy of our August comments can be found HERE.

A copy of our December comments are HERE.

Pre-submission Meeting, April 23, 2020

On Thursday, April 23, Kensington Senior Development LLC publicly presented their plans for redeveloping the Westwood Center II, located at the corner of River and Ridgefield Roads, into a Senior Living Community. The building will cover the entire 2.9 acre property. 112 assisted living suites are planned, along with the support services needed for the community. The back of the property will abut the Willett Branch and the building is designed to allow the residents to enjoy a view of the new park from patios and balconies located above the first floor. The first floor will primarily be a parking garage. There are no plans for access from the rear of the building to the park.

The stormwater management will be 100% ESD, relying primarily on green roofs. There are also plans for several small bio-retention planters. (NOTE: This is updated in the submitted plans. The stormwater management is primarily being handled with micro-biorention planters and a small green roof.)

Because of the physical distancing restrictions of the pandemic, this meeting was held as a conference call. Slides of the presentation were available by google document for participants to view during the presentation. A PDF of the document is available HERE.

Petition for Right-of-way Abandonment approved by Planning Board

On November 19, 2020, the Planning Board approved the developer’s abandonment petition allowing re-alignment of Westbard and Ridgefield Avenues, based on the staff recommendation. The petition goes next to the Montgomery County Department of Transportation for consideration, and then to the Montgomery County Council for a vote. The abandoned portions will be granted to Regency. Their plan is to build town houses on one portion and to plant the other portion with trees.

Little Falls Watershed Alliance opposes the abandonment of Blocks D and G. The measure for determining if a parcel should/can be abandoned is if there is a public use for it. It is our position that the parcels could be used for stormwater management for the new road. The applicant was given a waiver for doing most of the stormwater management because there wasn’t sufficient room for treatment methods. The right-of-ways proposed for abandonment would provide more room for stormwater treatment. Our comments to the Board are HERE.