In a memorandum addressed to County Executive Isiah Leggett and Planning board Chairman Royce Hanson, five members of the County Council shared several concerns about the new Silver Spring Library and Fenton Village area.

Councilmember’s Mike Knapp (District 2, D), Valerie Ervin (District 5, D), Marc Elrich (At-Large2, D), Phil Berliner (District 1, D) and George Leventhal (At-Large, D) placed their names on the memorandum. Not on the letter were Duchy Trachtenberg (At-Large, D), Nancy Floreen (At-Large, D) and Phil Andrews (District 3, D).

According to the document, the new Silver Spring Library would measure up to 62,000 gross floor area and four stories, this includes library and art space. As Montgomery County’s most populous territory, the measurements place the Silver Spring Library almost on equal footing with the recently completed Rockville Library, labeled as a regional library with a 64,285 gross floor area.

Another part of the project includes a 118,000 gross floor area retail and residential component in six stories. 118 residential units would include 36 MPDUs and 36 Workforce units, leaving 46 units at market rate. No word on whether the residential component would be for sale or for rent. Also left out was whether the retail component would be affordable space for local small business.

The letter notes that on April 29th ,“the Health and Human Services Committee discussed the County Executive’s recommended FY 09-14 Capital Improvements Project (CIP) for the Silver Spring Library and whether the requested FY 09 appropriation for design should be delayed until the Council has a better opportunity to review the design concepts and discuss how the project will fit into the larger community. During the worksession, the Committee affirmed its commitment to have a state of the art library in downtown Silver Spring and approved $5 million dollars for final land acquisition.”

The Committee questioned why the County Executive branch wants to build the Library in two phases and “whether the County’s existing design process for public facilities or a design competition would result in greater community input and participation in the design process”.

The reason according to the County Executive office is that the recommended process makes for a fast track project and that a design competition actually leaves less room for public input than the County’s process for designing public facilities. But there were little if any formal discussions for public input on the design of the Silver Spring Transit Center, which used the County process. In both cases we have ended up with the and the Silver Spring Civic Center (by way of a design competition) and Silver Spring Transit Center and neither are anything to write home about.

ZTA 08-08 would allow greater density and taller buildings in the Fenton Village area but the committee and the County Council wants to hold back on any funding related to the Silver Spring Library until they can ensure design excellence and compatibility with the Fenton Village area. A work session is aimed at June.