MVGC at the TOP of the Agenda

MVGC at the Top of the Agenda

By Bob Hydorn

At each MVF Board meeting, it is customary for the President to offer some remarks, usually about something topical.  At last week’s Board meeting, I expressed appreciation to the residents who turned out to share their views on the proposed development of the Montgomery Village Golf Club. They were thoughtful and well prepared. I hope we will hear more from them at future meetings.

On September 19, Monument Realty hosted its second community workshop over at the Hilton Hotel on Perry Parkway. This was the first time that any of the Board, including myself, had seen any plan that showed actual housing units and locations. And yes, from my perspective, it is too dense and does not fit within our community. It was a first cut. I expect there to be modifications in response to feedback from the community.

With that having been said, we are in the midst of a process. The Board has appointed a committee of Board members and Village residents to evaluate and make recommendations to us on the plan as proposed by Monument Realty. The next meeting of the MVF Montgomery Village Golf Course Committee will take place on Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the North Creek Community Center Board Room. This is an open meeting and everyone is welcome to attend. Please put this meeting on your calendar! We need to hear from you!

The Town Sector Zoning for Montgomery Village will expire in 2015, 50 years after it was put in place by the Montgomery County Council at the request of the Kettler Brothers. This zoning enabled the Kettler Brothers to build our planned community with varied housing types which at the time was unique.  There is a population credit cap on the number of units which can be built in the Village. Currently, there are about 160 population credits remaining. It was this feature of our Town Sector Zoning which enabled us to defeat the proposal by IDI to put multiple high-rise condominium buildings on the golf course a half-dozen years ago.

Unlike IDI, Monument Realty has signaled very strongly its desire to work with the community. I think we owe it to the Village and to Monument Realty to continue participating in that process. These series of workshops and meetings will give us all the opportunity to see what kind of plan can be developed that would be beneficial to the future of Montgomery Village while preserving the open green space that has been our hallmark.

Changing the zoning to permit more density via increasing the population credits is another step in this process. Both the Planning Board staff and members of the County Council have said that if we, as a community and as a Board, can’t come together with Monument Realty on a good plan, the change in zoning would be very problematic.

So, at this time, I am recommending that we wait for the report of our MV Golf Course Committee, that we continue to attend the community workshops and meetings, and that we display some patience as the process continues.

In the meantime, you may reach me by email at RobertHydorn@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.