By Canaan Merchant (Elections Committee) • September 3, 2019
In Reston, fights over how the area should grow are on to a new round, this time over some parking lots just outside of a Metro station. A development proposed for an area near the Silver Line would include new office space, retail storefronts, and apartments, but one local group is not pleased.
A report from the Urban Institute says that in order to house residents at all income levels, the Washington region will need to add 374,000 new housing units by 2030, and 141,000 of those need to cost $1,300 or less a month. (Robert McCartney / Post)
A report from DC’s Office of Planning says the city may revisit regulations on short term rentals in order to let residents rent out two units. The short term rental laws set to go into effect October 1 will limit residents to renting out one unit only. (Nena Perry-Brown / Urban Turf)
Six Blue and Yellow line stations reopened this week after being closed all summer. The closures drove low ridership numbers in Virginia, with 16% fewer people on Metro rail in June and 10% fewer in July compared to 2018, though Metro says bus ridership increased. (Max Smith / WTOP)
A group of Kensington residents appealed the county’s approval of a six-story, 94-unit senior living center in Montgomery County circuit court. The group wants the county to change the design of the building to address their concerns about parking and traffic on the corner of Knowles Avenue and Connecticut Avenue. (Caitlynn Peetz / Bethesda Beat)
Monica Goldson became the permanent CEO of the county school system this July. She wants to expand full time pre-K programs in the county, improve special education services, and use some extra money from the state to give raises to teachers. (Kavitha Cardoza / WAMU)
The county council often uses text amendments to approve new development to avoid the long process of a zoning-map amendment. After the now-abandoned attempt to put an Amazon fulfillment center in Westphalia, residents are pushing back, saying that text amendments also cut out public notification and input on zoning changes. (Rachel Chason / Post)
The tour bus driver who hit and killed a pair of women crossing the street in December 2018 pled guilty to negligent homicide in court. He answered his phone while making an illegal left turn onto Pennsylvania Avenue, killing two women in the crosswalk. (Natalie Delgadillo / DCist)
Takoma Park, which straddles the DC-Maryland border, was the first true Washington suburb, founded in 1883 by a teetotaling developer. The neighborhood has a rich history, from its early days as a dry town to the 1960s when the residents successfully fought off a proposed highway expansion. (Danya AbdelHameid / DCist)
