The county council on Tuesday approved a change in zoning laws that will raise building heights — and boost housing — in Fenton Village.
The neighborhood, sandwiched between Fenton Street and Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring’s central business district, has been a hole for years, at-large council member Marc Elrich (D) said during the council’s weekly meeting in Rockville.
“Hopefully, these [zoning changes] will help us fill it out with projects we like,” Elrich said.
According to council documents, the new zoning rules will set building heights along Georgia Avenue’s east side at 90 feet max. However, buildings could reach 110 feet off Georgia if they squeeze in some workforce-housing apartments. Permission to hit that height must come from the county’s planning board, The Gazette reports.
Meanwhile, building heights would ease back to a maximum 60 feet on Fenton Street’s west side, the council documents state. Building heights on Fenton’s east side top off at 45 feet.
The zoning change originally proposed to jack up building heights to 143 feet between Georgia and Fenton, but that plan hit a brick wall in neighboring East Silver Spring. Residents there worried that the tall buildings would create a concrete canyon and ruin Fenton’s “village” character.
The planning board also snubbed the idea of tweaking the zoning rules, suggesting that the area’s sector plan be reworked instead. That prospect made Gary Stith, director of Silver Spring’s regional center, twitch.
“When you do a sector plan, you put a moratorium on development,” Stith recently told the urban-district advisory committee. “If you start on a sector plan now, the Hillerson project won’t get done, the library won’t get done.”
However, language in the approved zoning change allows the planning board to bend sector plan rules to make room for that workforce housing.
MoCo exec Ike Leggett is expected to approve the zoning change. (It was his idea in the first place.)
Lead photo: Mayor Lane in Fenton Village. Credit: Jennifer Deseo/SSP.
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But that dumpster is historic!
I’m in favor of this decision to raise building heights that are allowed-but it’s not fair to refer to Fenton Village as a “hole.” There’s some good small businesses in the area like Kefa Cafe, the Quarry House, and Highland Origin. I don’t believe that increasing building heights is incompatable with retaining small independent businesses. I’m sure, though, that some of my East Silver Spring neighbors will see things differently.
There’s also a “magic” and incense shop, three barber shop/braiding parlors, a gun shop, a tattoo parlor, a “jewelery” store that is never open and a dry cleaners that doesn’t look like it has been cleaned in 40 years. Not saying some of these businesses don’t have a purpose or a place, nor am I against independent business, but they aren’t exactly jewels in the crown of the Silver Spring commercial community. Fenton needs some new life breathed into it, hopefully this will do the trick. Just don’t go changing the Quarry House. Dark and dingy, to be sure, but warm and inviting like an old sweater too. Now THAT is a historic site worth preserving in perpetuity.
It’s true–there are some real gems in Fenton Village (I forgot to mention Negril, Mandalay, Nicaro, and Olazzo) and some other places where you wonder how they stay open. What I’d really like to see redeveloped are the vacant lots, the surface parking lots and parking garages, and some of the auto body places. In addition, the planning department has some interesting ideas for converting parts of Fenton Village into public green space
Don’t forget, Fenton Village is also home to a comic book store and House of Cards, for all your baseball and Pokemon card needs… two of the reasons my kid thinks this is the greatest neighborhood on earth!
If the comic book store goes, I go.
The Magical Oils shop is a brothel, in case you haven’t figured that out yet. So far, the police haven’t. But, hey, they also failed to notice that the T-shirt shop that used to be at the corner of Bonifant and Fenton was a drug dealing operation. They let that one go for years because apparently it’s perfectly normal for the owner of a clothing shop to keep a metal grate over the front door locked 24/7 and do business through that grate. Yeah, and there was nothing wrapped in those t-shirts and everyone knows that people really like to buy t-shirts at 1 am. Hell, I do it all the time.
Editor’s note: Can you substantiate this claim? If so, please provide evidence supporting your argument. — JD (Jul 30, 2008)
I just figured the Magic Oils shop filled the drug vacuum left by the t-shirt shop. Brothel? Really? When I walk past it on the way to the metro/Quarry House all I see is an elderly, rather rotund, latina woman parked in what looks to be a bench seat pulled from a minivan. Is she the madam?
Commentor concensus seems to indicate are plenty of “diamonds in the rough” (Nicaro, Olazzo, Kefa, Quarry House, the Comic book shop, etc.)in the Fenton Village area. Maybe the real question to be asked is whether the building height expansion will help more of these great independent businesses open and flourish in the area or will the inevitable rent increases that come with the bigger buildings quash the independent spirit in favor of more, uh, established business ventures. I hope it’s the former; we don’t need more Macaroni Grills and Baja Fresh in the area.
Please, people:
Play nice.
Darn, I was really hoping to score with the elderly, rather rotund, latina woman parked in what looks to be a bench seat pulled from a minivan.. Here’s my suggestion: re-name the area Funton Village, then the masses will flock there!
I believe the parking garages and lots are on their way out, to be redeveloped into buildings. The auto body shops serve a useful purpose. Fenton Village is a great place.
Nobody mentioned Weller’s Cleaners. It is under new management, with more environmentally-appropriate cleaning process. And they kept the awesome tailor, Mohammed, who can fix and alter things so beautifully.
The Safeway is great, too. It had some stocking problems in the past, but is in much better shape these days. And they seem to keep expanding their healthier foods. They have a great selection of sorbets, and the best ones are the house brand.
I know several people in Silver Spring Park who have complained to the police about that place over the years. Nothing has ever been done to my knowledge. But criminals can smell undercover cops a mile away. The attempt to close the Easley St. crackhouse in the ’90s proved that but good.
Editor’s note: This person’s screen name, and the content of his/her comment, have been edited. — JD (Jul 31, 2008)
Wow there’s a whole underground economy operating out of Silver Spring storefronts right under our noses. Next thing you know, Satriale’s will be opening up in Fenton Village. Anyone want to do a stakeout with me? I’m curious now.
“The Safeway is great, too” … Unless the changes are VERY recent… I dunno what you’re talking about. On MANY occassions we’ve tried there to avoid the insane lines in giant and everytime we say never again (until the lines annoy us enough at giant.. then we try again.. and say never again.. etc…). The produce is just icky.. the generic brands aren’t as nice as giant’s… it just never ever works out for us.
The Safeway is evidently trying to do *something*, as last time I was in there half the inventory was on movable, metal shelves, and the empty, permanent shelves looked like they had been coated in sludge from the 1970s. But as it is? I’m gonna have to call BS on “The Safeway is great, too.”
Sligo – I’m totally up for the stakeout. You know, for informational purposes. Wheaton had a
brothelAsian Massage Parlor – who says we can’t be as high-fallutin’ as them?I’ve never really understood all the Safeway hate. Is it the world’s best grocery store? No. But I’ve never really had problems there (except for once buying a pack of Popsicles that had apparently not been stored properly, and all were melted when I got home, a 5-minute walk away.) But they refunded my money immediately when I went back with the package, and that was that.
Why do people complain about that store all the time as if it’s the worst place ever? Have you ever *seen* what passes for supermarkets in the District, for example?
Bring on the people, bring on the noise. By any logic, they will reduce crime and bring more retail opportunities. If you want to live in a subsidised main street environment, may I recommend your closest communist country???
Just don’t take away my gun store, talk about village ambiance!
Thayer-D said: “…may I recommend your closest communist country???”
Wouldn’t that be the People’s Republic of Takoma Park?
Editor’s note: I hope so, because I don’t want to schlep to Cuba. — JD (Jul 31, 2008)
The auto shops may serve a useful purpose–it certainly is helpful to have auto repair located near transit for those of us who are one-car households. Still, why are there so many auto body shops concentrated in one place? Off the top of my head I can count five auto shops in Fenton Village within a few square blocks they are: 1) On the corner of Wayne and Fenton; 2) On the corner of Bonifant and Fenton; 3) On Fenton between Bonifant and Thayer; 4) On the corner of Thayer and Fenton opposite the Safeway; and 5) On Thayer between Fenton and Georgia. And that’s not counting all of the places on Sligo Avenue just south of Fenton Village. Admittedly, numbers 1 and 2 above will be demolished and replaced with the Silver Spring library.
We do need auto repair places in the Silver Spring CBD but there’s also a lot of valuable land that could be put to more high density uses like apartments and offices with first floor retail which would also make the area a more pleasent place to walk and to live.
We do need all the auto body shops because when nimbys help kill the purple line we’ll need the shops to keep our gas guzzling fume spilling cars in check.
I also want to spotlight Silver Spring Books as a continuing great resource for our community. Many of us in ESS fear that small businesses like this and the comic store, Thair market, etc. will be priced out with new building rents and that developers will not include adequate space ground floor/street front retail. Just look at what is happening in the rest of the downtown CBD – esp. south SS. They make lots of promises – but who is there making sure they DELIVER.