The Planning Board recommended allowing an exchange of jobs for townhouses Thursday in the reclassification of 4.5 Germantown acres.

The land, located at the intersection of Lullaby Road and Father Hurley Boulevard, is currently zoned for technology/business park development and was expected to provide about 100 new jobs. However a developer has submitted plans for 29 townhouses on the site instead.

The long, narrow piece of land was once part of the B&O Railroad alignment and is near the CSX railroad line. It is proposed to be developed as part of the Kinsgview Ridge subdivision. The property would feed into Northwest cluster schools. Joe Lavorgna, director of school planning, estimated 16 additional students from the townhouses and said the cluster was capable of accommodating the change.

The board's recommendation was forwarded to the hearing examiner who will hold a hearing June 17. The final decision on reclassification will be made by the County Council.

The Planning Board received several letters from the community about the development, including one from Germantown Alliance expressing support and one from Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce expressing concern.

There were also two letters from the leadership of nearby Village at Oak Hill Association. Community manager Nancy Keen wrote May 19 that while the association supported the development, there were concerns about parking, traffic, landscaping and other issues. Keen said the association would like to annex the new development to "allow for continuity and a sense of community."

Greenway Village community center advances

The Planning Board approved plans Thursday for a small community center being added to Greenway Village in Clarksburg.

Both the board and the County Council approved the 2,000-square-foot center, to be constructed in the upper level of a community pool house, as a change in the area's development plan in late 2004. This week's approval was for a site plan, which relocated the pool house and officially added the additional space.

Ongoing residential construction at Greenway Village encompasses 164 acres of what will eventually be a 374-acre development. The completed project will have 1,330 homes as well as parkland, a middle school and a commercial shopping area. The community center is intended to ensure that community amenities appear concurrently with development at the site.

According to the planning staff report, community space might not otherwise be constructed for seven years or more as part of the retail area of the development. The Clarksburg Civic Association's planning committee, which has had input on the project, "still has misgivings" the report said. However "they do see it is favorable to have a center earlier rather than later."

Marion Joyce of the board's community relations division said the pool was scheduled to open in June 2006.

In the plans, the pool house was moved from one side of the pool to another fronting Chestnut Glen Road. Conditions imposed by planners include requiring two bike racks and a community notice board. The community center will be for "business and community activities promoted" by Clarksburg homeowners associations or similar non-profits.

The Greenway Village development is bounded by Newcut and Skylark roads and Route 97.

Upcoming

The board is scheduled to discuss a preliminary plan Thursday for 85 acres on Clarksburg Road, about 2,500 feet northeast of the intersection with Moxley Road. The project, called Clover Ridge, would involve building two homes.