In the spirit of Just Up The Pike’s “County Government Head-to-Head Tour“, the Silver Spring Scene decided to join the crusade and find answers to some pressing questions.

It was a cold and cloudy Monday afternoon in Montgomery County’s government seat, a snow storm was around the corner. Crossing Maryland Avenue you could see the new Rockville Town Center in the distance almost complete — it was just a steel frame about a year and a half ago. It speaks of the odd relationship between development and those who oppose it. While Rockville’s Mayor Giammo is highly supportive of Adequate Public Facility Ordinances (APFO) and moratoriums…at the same type he hails one of the biggest developments in the county as the crown jewel and saving grace of the County Seat.

Waiting about 15 minutes in the reception area, we followed his Chief of Staff as we finally made our way into the office of George L. Leventhal. After the typical introductory segue we finally got down business.

Mr. Leventhal disclosed his notion of what he thought younger generation wanted from Montgomery County — an interesting place to live. It’s the shopping and restaurants, the activity and vibrancy he said. Using Silver Spring as an example Mr. Leventhal proclaimed, “They dig it”.

Growing up in Bethesda, Leventhal noted Hot Shoppe’s was where to get the the “high class meal” of the day. The former and now defunct Marriott food chain, pales in comparison to the variety of cultural cuisines that make Bethesda the affluent “restaurant Mecca” it is today.

While the former may be true, I professed that it was the high-skilled jobs that was mainly responsible for attracting a younger generation. I noted how Montgomery County was overly focused on residential growth over job growth in the last 15 years and could do a much better at attracting jobs and office development. Mr. Levethantal agreed. But what do we do about it?

According to Mr. Leventhal the same 50 people make a testimony in front of the county council, you’ll be hard pressed to find anybody less than 50 years old, making the County Council inclined to believe that this is the “voice” of Montgomery County; it couldn’t be further from the truth. I can attest to this, having attended all roundtables for Park and Planning’s Centers and Boulevards framework discussions, I was by far the youngest person there. But knowing the testimony is skewed shouldn’t the council and planning try different methods to reach the younger demographic? Nobody has time to make a testimony at 10:30 am on a Monday morning, that’s a task best left for retirees not young workers who are trying to make a living and/or go to school.

One has to wonder though, if George Leventhal (a council member pinned as a pro-growth advocate) was re-elected in the face of a supposedly anti-growth majority, have all the voices been heard?

Leventhal disclosed a miss understanding between him and members of the “Neighbors For a Better Montgomery“, a political action committee that believes development is resulting in a lower quality of life for the County. An article in the Washington Post says “he came loaded like a prosecutor to cross-examine two of the leading players in a group that has for the past year mocked him and other elected officials as being puppets for the development industry.” Mr. Leventhal proclaims this was not the case and that he may have played devil’s advocate but was not irate.

I presented a zoning question to the 2 time council member; it referred to the erroneous zoning laws around the county and how urban districts like Silver Spring and Bethesda are being left out of proper zoning. It just so happened, that Mr. Leventhal had a postcard of the Silver Spring Transit Center lying on his desk, they council had received a presentation on it recently. Holding the postcard in one hand and pointing at it with the other, he proclaimed, “This looks dense to me, we’re not Manhattan”. These are not the words I wanted to hear from the smart growth member on the county council. When are we going to embrace our urban areas in Montgomery county and stop holding back?

With all due respect, neither is Chicago or even Arlington, Va, there can only be one Manhattan. Don’t get me wrong, no one asking for 1,000′ft buildings in the middle of downtown Silver Spring. But at least officials in Arlington, where close 400′ ft buildings are going up, see the corridor for what it is, an urban place and they are not hesitant or unsupportive to guide the area towards the urban place it was meant to be. In Montgomery County we are indecisive, “is Silver Spring urban or suburban?” ironically its characteristics could revival some small to mid-size cities. With this kind of attitude and indecision, we allow the CBD to go stagnant and back into decline. The zoning is also at odds with the White Flint area, where a tower approaching 300′feet is under construction and would be the tallest in the state outside Baltimore. With this in mind does the zoning make any sense at all?

One unspoken truth is the role past zoning laws played in the decline of downtown Silver Spring. We wouldn’t see the current revitalization if it was not for an amendment to current zoning for great height. With 99 percent of Montgomery County highly rural and suburban, shouldn’t there be a few spots for those who desire an urban environment?

Responsible for the legislation to require “Green Building” features in all new public and private buildings, I questioned Mr. Leventhal about why the Silver Spring Civic Center, a publicly funded facility, wasn’t planned with “Green” features in mind regardless of legislation; surely an intensive green roof would have been achievable. It would also help quench the thirst of green space in the CBD. Mr. Leventhal could not answer that question but said he would find out.

So after about an hour and a half, Mr. Leventhal has promised me two things, a chat with the State Secretary of Economic Development and to find out if the Civic Center will be altered into a ‘Green’ design. I plan to hold him to it.