By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 9, 2007

With little discussion, the Metro board unanimously approved a townhouse development at the Takoma station yesterday over long-standing objections of neighbors in the District and Maryland who said the project would limit access for disabled riders and put pedestrians in harm's way.

The 5 to 0 vote brought shouts of "shame, shame" and boos from the two dozen opponents who lined the front row of the meeting room, wearing red shirts and promising to continue their efforts to block the project.

At issue is Metro's plan to sell 6.8 acres surrounding the station to Bethesda-based developer EYA for an 86-unit townhouse and retail development. The project has the support of D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), whose ward includes the Northwest Washington neighborhood, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), the ward's previous council member.

Much of the opposition has come from Takoma Park. Many residents walk to the station and enjoy the sloping tree-lined green space that buffers the residential area from trains and buses. Opponents won a temporary victory last month when Maryland officials, including Gov. Martin O'Malley (D), U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D), persuaded the board to delay its decision.

The board's action yesterday to approve the land sale was a significant step, sending the project on to the Federal Transit Administration and to District planning and zoning officials.

Community activists left the meeting disappointed that they had failed to persuade the board to rework the design of the transit center. The plans, they said, would create a dangerous mix of cars and buses, reduce the number of parking spaces at the station, make it more difficult for disabled riders to use the elevator and shrink space available for additional bus bays.

"We appreciate that it is hard to go back to square one, but if this is built this way, it's going to be a mess," said Megan Scribner, who lives six blocks from the station in Takoma Park.

The project, which has been debated since 1999, won the support of Maryland's two voting representatives on the Metro board in part because of a conversation O'Malley's transportation secretary had with the developers. Board Chairman Elizabeth Hewlett of Maryland told the audience that Secretary John D. Porcari had received a commitment from EYA to try to address the community's concerns about pedestrian safety and access for disabled riders.

"This is an important project that's had a lot of debate, and we had to find a middle ground," said Maryland board member Peter Benjamin. "We can't always do what every group wants us to do, but we can do what's best for the largest number of people and the region."

Project opponents won a small concession when D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), a District representative, introduced and the board adopted a requirement that the staff analyze an alternative design from Montgomery County and make changes to the plan "as appropriate."

Metro's board consists of six voting members, two each from the District, Maryland and Virginia. The location of the Takoma station, on the District side of the border with Maryland, complicated the situation. Maryland representatives were inclined to defer to the District on the Takoma project so as not to jeopardize plans to build around Metro stations in Maryland, particularly in Prince George's County.

Bruce Williams, the incoming mayor of Takoma Park, said such dynamics underscore a broken process at Metro and that the city is considering legal action. He urged board members to break what he called a pattern of parochialism. "There's distrust among the jurisdictions," Williams said.

Metro has also come under sharp criticism from a panel of experts who said it had failed to encourage development at its stations, and the transit agency has begun overhauling its "joint development" process.