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Montgomery County Council Briefing - DEIS-BRAC Alignment Impacts and Recommendations

This briefing highlights the alignment impacts of the transfer of Walter Reed Army Hospital to Naval Medical Center in Bethesda and provides recommendations for transportation, community-based planning, environmental planning, and historic preservation. Key recommendations include future campus development plans, pedestrian tunnel construction, sidewalk and bicycle facility completion, and parking space ratios.

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Montgomery County Council Briefing - DEIS-BRAC Alignment Impacts and Recommendations

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  1. BRAC DEIS Briefing To The Montgomery County Council January 15, 2008

  2. DEIS-BRAC Montgomery County BRAC alignment impacting Montgomery County from the transfer of Walter Reed Army Hospital to Naval Medical Center in Bethesda DEIS includes two Build Alternatives Both alternatives increase staffing and visitors by 2,500 employees and 1,860 visitors a day. The difference - Alt. 2 increases impervious surface by 1.4 acres more than Alt. 1 but in turn, implementation of Alt.1 results in demolishing a historic building.

  3. Issues: • It’s urban • It’s visible • Impact on communities • Lodging for visitors • Poor access & mobility • Site layout, design & construction

  4. Staff’s Briefing • Recommendations -Transportation - Community-based planning - Environmental planning - Historic preservation

  5. Main Recommendations • Submit future plans for campus development to M-NCPPC for mandatory referral review • Staff supports Alternative 2 to avoid demolishing a historic building • Construct the pedestrian tunnel connecting Medical Center Metro to NNMC • Support completion of all sidewalks & bicycle facilities in the identified study area • Follow NCPC standard of parking space to employee ratio of 1:3 for projects within 2,000 feet of a Metro station • Complete the TMP to incorporate specific programs and performance objectives consistent with the County’s Growth Policy • Provide information on lodging need for out-patients and their families

  6. Transportation Recommendations • Transportation Management Plan (TMP) • Future study • Physical improvements

  7. Transportation Management Plan (TMP) • DEIS has proposed bold and innovative strategies that can have a high level of success if implemented. Provisions include the following: • -Transportation Service Coordinator • Ridesharing program (carpool/vanpool) • Parking cash-out program • Parking management program • Shared parking and reserved park-and-ride facilities • Guaranteed Ride Home • Flextime/compressed work week program and telecommuting • Transit amenities and subsidies • Shuttle bus service

  8. Proposed Transportation Improvements • Intersection improvements at five locations: • MD 355 and Cedar Lane • MD355 and North Wood Road • MD 355 and Jones Bridge Road • Connecticut Avenue (MD 185) and Jones Bridge Road • Old Georgetown Road (MD 187) and Cedar Lane • Internal improvements at the site entrances to eliminate the queuing extending onto adjacent streets • Construction of satellite parking • Bicycle and pedestrian improvements • Transit Improvements including a connection in form of a bridge or tunnel between Metro and NNMC • Potential I-495 slip ramp access to the site.

  9. Community-Based Planning Observations and Recommendations • Primary concerns regarding the DEIS land use conclusions relate to insufficient information being provided on critical elements of the expansion related to land use issues. • Without this information the land use impacts of this expansion cannot be fully assessed. • Additional information should be provided as part of subsequent mandatory referral submissions.

  10. Community-Based Planning Observations and Recommendations • Provide Information Regarding Lodging Requirements for • Out-Patients and Their Families • The DEIS provides no data on lodging needs for out-patients and their families - where they would be staying while undergoing treatment at the Base. • Knowing what facilities may or may not be needed (traditional rooms, extended stay rooms, etc.) will inform the master plan effort in White Flint and influence future land use decisions in the Bethesda CBD and North Bethesda.

  11. Community-Based Planning Observations and Recommendations • Complete the Transportation Management Plan Study • The DEIS indicates completion of the TMP as a part of the NNMC campus master plan, but no schedule for completion of that master plan is given. • The TMP Study needs to be a part of the traffic analysis, as it is critical for managing non-vehicular transportation associated with the BRAC expansion, and reducing reliance on personal vehicle use.

  12. Community-Based Planning Observations and Recommendations • Modify DEIS Regarding the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Master Plan • The Draft EIS (page 4-62) concludes that BRAC expansion plans are “consistent with existing plans” and “compatible with adjacent facilities”, causing no direct or significant indirect effects outside the NNMC boundaries. • This assessment is undermined by the DEIS acknowledgement that the proposed expansion is substantially beyond the expectations of the Bethesda Chevy Chase Master Plan. • The Plan anticipated expanded facilities, but the required speed and magnitude of the expansion has the potential to result in significant indirect impacts on the surrounding community.

  13. Community-Based Planning Observations and Recommendations • Modify DEIS Regarding Socioeconomic Impacts • The DEIS (page 4-67) states that the BRAC expansion would have no significant socioeconomic impacts because there is no anticipated relocation of off-base personnel, and thus no additional housing resources are required. • While the BRAC expansion my have little impact on near-term housing needs, the DEIS provides limited information regarding lodging needs for those patients and their families who are not staying on the Base, so that impact cannot be assessed.

  14. Environmental Recommendations There are four primary points of environmental concern. Complete environmental impacts cannot be assessed without additional information. • Include additional information: • Show a 125’ stream valley buffer for the Stoney Creek unnamed tributary. The draft EIS shows this stream as non-tidal wetlands with a 25’ buffer. M-NCPPC Environmental Guidelines place a 125’ buffer from each stream bank. It is not clear on Alternative 1 if new imperviousness impacts the stream buffer. • Clarify the definition of forest. The draft EIS references “woodland” and “forest corridor”. It is unclear which of these areas meet the Maryland Forest Conservation Law definition of forest in terms of size, dimension or species numbers. • Clarify the amount of forest on site. Since the definition of forest is unclear, it is unclear how much forest is on site.

  15. Environmental Recommendations 2. Protect or provide the amount of forest required by the Maryland Forest Conservation Act. The Draft EIS notes that a plan will be developed to comply with the intent of the Maryland Forest Conservation Act. It’s likely that about 5.5 acres of additional reforestion will be required by the Forest Conservation Law. The first priority for planting will be in the stream buffers that are currently unforested and unprotected. 3. Protect existing natural resources by locating placement of future soccer fields. Since the soccer fields require sizeable land area, they should be located in this master planning phase to avoid removal of forest or placement in a stream valley buffer. 4. Provide a plan that includes deconstruction and reuse of existing materials. There is considerable embodied energy in materials of the buildings proposed for demolition. A deconstruction element to the Demolition Plan would help reduce methane produced when these materials decompose in a landfill.

  16. Historical Significance Constructed in 1939-42 to house the U.S. Navy’s principal center for the practice and dissemination of medicine related to the needs of the naval service. The 20-story main tower block is the most significant building on the property. The modernistic building is characterized by a formal bilateral front with two L-shaped wings that envelop a front lawn that slopes down toward Wisconsin Avenue on the east. Montgomery County has recognized the significance of this historic site through the designation of the entire parcel of the National Naval Medical Center to the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation in 1979.

  17. Historic Preservation Recommendations • New construction should respect, and enhance where possible, the historical importance of the other buildings and courtyards on the site. • The proposed additions should meet the appropriate design parameters for the site and building including: • Footprint • Building frontage/setbacks • Symmetry • Building heights • Preservation of view sheds and historic landscapes.

  18. BRAC DEIS Briefing To The Montgomery County Council January 15, 2008

  19. National Institutes of Health National Naval Medical Center Metro Entrance NIH Ave. Weekday Riders: 10,000 +

  20. Traffic Congestion • BRAC will add almost 900 trips during peak hours for a total of approximately 3,800 trips. • NIH and NNMC combined generate half of all Wisconsin Avenue traffic in the vicinity.

  21. Walter Reed Employees and Hotel Rooms by Zip Code 56% live in Montgomery County

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