Outcry at Rockville Hearing on Over Crowded Schools

Julius West Middle School student Alexandra Jolka testified that school children are forced to sit on the floor in the aisles of school buses when they are being transported to and from school as a result of the current 120 percent overcapacity. Attorney Matt Gordon of the law firm Linowes and Blocher for B.F. Saul and Senior V.P of Acquisitions and Development for B.F Saul D. Todd Pearson testified on the Wegmans lease term's deadlines.

The proposal for increased school overcrowding and increased traffic congestion by B.F. Saul, Wegmans, and the City of Rockville drew a standing room only crowd at a four and a half hour public hearing at Rockville City Hall on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. The public hearing, which was recorded live, primarily focused on the city council's proposal to permit an increase in public school overcapacity as defined in the Adequate Public Facilities Standards (APFS) from the current 120 percent to 150 percent overcrowding as acceptable so that B.F Saul's Twinbrook Quarter development project with Wegmans can begin.

The leading advocate for such an increase in overcapacity came from City of Rockville Councilmember Mark Pierzchala as reported in the Sentinel. Those who favor development point the finger of blame at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for not adequately planning ahead to take into account population growth in various county school districts.

D. Todd Pearson, a Senior V.P. with B.F. Saul, blamed school overcrowding on the lack of funds in the county's budget, and advocated for an exemption to the existing APFS so that development can bring jobs, affordable housing, and an increase in the tax base in order to fund schools.

Melissa McKenna, a former candidate for County Council, testified that no waiver or exemption should be extended to B.F. Saul, because the precedent would be demanded in the future by other developers.

The driver behind the unpopular proposal hinged around Wegmans contingency in the lease with B.F. Saul Company as an anchor tenant in the Twinbrook Quarter on Rockville Pike and Halpine Road. The 18 acre Twinbrook Quarter site is just 600 feet from the Twinbrook metro, and is four times bigger than the now struggling Rockville Town Center.

Brian Barkley representing the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.

The overwhelming majority of the testimony rejected the proposal. The courtroom eloquence of Brian Barkley representing the Rockville Chamber of Commerce testified before the council, "We urge you to decide these issues based on the facts." Mr. Barkley claimed that there would be zero increase in capacity for four years due to the required time to build and lease. He also assured the council that the Chamber of Commerce did not have a developer with a vested interest in B.F. Saul's Twinbrook project, but said nothing about shareholders.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs), LLCs, companies like B.F. Saul, and just a handful of mega affluent families are driving the "smart growth" transformation near the metro stops for the return on investment. Shareholders - not municipal governments, tax paying voters, teachers and students, or commuters - are the primary concern of those who run publicly traded companies. Because of that, violating sensible growth rules drive companies like B.F. Saul's Saul Centers (NYSE: BFS) so that the price to earnings ratio of 33 will move upwards. That key stock price indicator tells us that the value of the stock is 33 times higher than the actual income from the underlying assets. That number is a benchmark for investor enthusiasm.

Rockville Pike and the metro stops represent the gold rush not just for developers, but for investors caught up in the irrational exuberance that comes from inflating the stock price for the eventual pay off.

The very short notice for the public hearing and findings in projected increases in over capacity in the schools was viewed by many in the hearing room as an either or decision: either address the overcrowding problem or allow it to get worse so that Wegmans can open.

Anastasia Oksuk: Overcrowding in schools breeds emotional health and social problems.

Overcrowding in schools breeds emotional health and social problems according to testimony presented by Anastasia Oksuk. Her testimony was supported by recent incidences at an adversly impacted school in Rockville. In January 2019, a spray painted swastika appeared on the exterior of Richard Montgomery High School, as reported by Patch.com. A month earlier, a racial slur appeared there when red cups were placed to spell the "N word" in a chain link fence. Though the school has a zero tolerance for the types of bigotry evidenced by these recent disturbing episodes, the city and the MCPS have allowed the overcrowded school conditions that breed the problems alluded to in testimony.

Right now, school children are forced to sit on the floor in the aisles of school buses when they are being transported to and from school as a result of the current 120 percent overcapacity according to the Julius West Middle School student Alexandra Jolka, who testified. Once they get to school, many school children are taught in outdoor trailers.

This makes no sense given that just 800 households within the jurisdiction of the Luxmanor Citizens Association in the North Bethesda portion of 20852 represents about $1 billion in residential real estate, which translates into about $10 million in annual real estate tax revenues paid to the county. Many households in this pocket send their children to private schools, and pay a disproportionate share of taxes for the benefit of others in the county.

If you build it, they'll come

A Wegmans with a complete beer and wine section would be warmly welcomed in Rockville. The reality insofar as traffic congestion is concerned, however, is that the proposed new grocery store would pull in customers from well outside the greater Rockville and Bethesda areas and increase traffic congestion. Wegmans in Germantown does just that. Customers come from well beyond Germantown for the Wegmans experience.

There is another consideration. Wegmans is to grocery stores what big box stores are to communities with established businesses. There will be many casualties, as well as many other consequences.

You do not need to be a financial analyst or an economist to see that the economic declaration of war brought on by the proposed emergence of Wegmans on Rockville Pike would sink the Safeway that just opened one block south of Twinbrook Quarter after having relocated from Loehmanns' Plaza. The new grocer would torpedo Fresh Market, which is just across the street in Congressional Plaza. And it would bury Dawson's Market in Rockville Town Center, currently subsidized by the City of Rockville. And Balducci's customer base, which pays $50 per pound for a good cut of steak, may venture onto Rockville Pike for a look and see at the Wegman's shopping experience.

Dawson's Market, an anchor tenant in Rockville Town Center, currently requires a $400,000 per year subsidy from the city to keep its doors open to serve the residents in Rockville Town Center. The miscalculations from overdeveloping and over saturating a marketplace with competitors, like grocery stores, was driven by privatized profits, but resulted in socialized losses. And, such is the very likely fate for the proposed transformation of multiple properties along Rockville Pike and several metro stations from the Rockville Town Center down to the White Flint Pike Area District.

Twinbrook Quarter is currently predicated upon Wegman's as the required anchor tenant for construction to begin. Attorney Matt Gordon of the law firm Linowes and Blocher representing B.F. Saul testified for the need to amend the APFS with an exemption to permit the project to move forward in order to increase the city's tax base. Over several years in multiple building phases, the mixed-use development would include 900,000 square feet of commercial space and 1,865 residential units in 11 massive buildings with some as tall as 200 feet in height.

The development concept for the Twinbrook Quarter is in keeping with the micro city being built in stages one mile south in the White Flint Pike Area District anchored around the White Flint metro. Pike & Rose, a Federal Realty Investment Trust project, was a key piece for the White Flint Pike Area District and is currently near final build out. Federal Realty Investment Trust's stock (NYSE: FRT) has a price to earnings ratio of 43, which means that investors are quite confident in the REIT. If the cheerleaders for the White Flint Pike Area District are not the developers, you can bet they are the stock holders.

Developers claim that the marketplace is largely driven by millennials, who want to bike and walk to public transportation. That is just packaging and marketing for the perceived target market. The day to day evidence on the road suggests otherwise. Traffic congestion on Rockville Pike, Wisconsin Avenue, Old Georgetown Road and all of the tributaries has only worsened with the increased development that touted pedestrian oriented communities.

All of the proposed growth from Twinbrook Quarter, further stressed schools, increased traffic congestion, and economic activity hinges around the City of Rockville permitting public schools to go to 150 percent of capacity to accommodate B.F. Saul and Wegmans.

The City of Rockville's Mayor and Council. Pictured from left to right are Councilmember Beryl L. Feinberg, Councilmember Mark Pierzchala, Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton, and Councilmember Virginia D. Onley.

This writer testified with the following in the public hearing, "The 'smart growth' that is being pushed on us is not sensible. It's irrational. Earlier we heard a phrase about a Ponzi scheme. We have short sale condos right now on the market. Dawson's should be allowed to fail. You should not be subsidizing failure."

"These condos that are being built are designed to breed dissatisfaction. They are too small. People move out of them. They come into communities like where we are. In Windermere. Luxmanor. Tilden Woods. Farmland. Twinbrook. They move there because they are single family homes. They're suburban homes."

"This conversation tonight should be about bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is the inability to meet an obligation. And, you have one to all of us, not just to the folks who are in the city, but to those of us who are in the county. You already cannot manage your obligations. The conversation should be, How do we get down to 100 percent capacity? How do we get Wegman's in here? How do we allow B.F. Saul to develop without creating an additional problem?"

"I can tell you that a good school district drives home values, drives people to want to come into a community - or want to leave."

City of Rockville Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton and the city council will make a decision on whether to grant B.F. Saul an exemption on Monday, January 28, 2019.

This is the eleventh article in a series on Windermere and community planning in North Bethesda.

Visit www.WindermereNeighbors.org.