Montgomery Planners Push For Project's Fast Approval

Montgomery County planning officials are trying to help a developer win quick approval of an 18-story apartment building and nearby commercial office building in Bethesda before a housing moratorium takes effect because of school crowding.

The 457-unit apartment building proposed by Donohoe Development, up for consideration today by the Planning Board, is expected to eventually draw 19 new elementary-age students, 18 new middle school students and 15 new high school students, according to school system enrollment predictions. A planning staff report recommends board approval.

Meanwhile, a County Council committee is urging Montgomery's school board to quickly ask the council for extra school construction money for Bethesda. If the school board takes the council's advice, it would make its request several months ahead of schedule and shortly after county officials, saying money was tight, approved one of the most austere school budgets in recent memory.

The debate over housing and schools highlights the challenge Montgomery faces as it encourages growth near public transit while trying to maintain its well-regarded public school system and address classroom shortages across the county.

The moratorium is required by Montgomery's growth management law when school enrollment reaches a specific tipping point.

School system data predict substantial crowding in Bethesda, Clarksburg and part of Germantown in five years unless classroom space is built. The data prompted the Planning Board on June 8 to approve the one-year residential building moratorium.

That snared the Donohoe project, which was to reach the board in the middle of next month, after the moratorium takes effect. The company asked the Planning Board to speed things up.

"We were pretty much ready to go; we were at the end stage," said Emily J. Vaias, Donohoe Development's attorney. "I don't think we had to rush anything."

School board Vice President Patricia O'Neill (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) said she was concerned about the efforts to accelerate the approval of the Donohoe project.

"What is the point of having an annual growth policy and a moratorium if you are just going to ignore it?" asked O'Neill, a longtime Bethesda resident.

But county officials said they are worried about the effect of a moratorium during a recession in an urban area targeted for growth. "We will examine all options" to lift the moratorium, said Jennifer Hughes, a top aide to County Executive Isiah Leggett (D).

A letter to the school board from council committee Chairman Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) and members Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty) and Marc Elrich (D-At Large) suggests that even with a tight budget, the council will find a way to take care of the Bethesda schools. The letter makes no mention of Clarksburg and part of Germantown, which are also facing a moratorium that goes into effect Wednesday.