Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a regional nonprofit based in DC. I would like to express my support for the good work of the Office of Planning. In addition to diligent work on small area plans and development review, the Office of Planning’s major effort to revise and update our outmoded, 1950s zoning code is coming to completion this year. I have appreciated how DCOP has engaged the public through working groups, and provided us with new research and analysis to support a robust discussion. OP’s detailed assessment and proposed code revisions will help us fulfill the 2006 Comprehensive Plan vision to build a sustainable, inclusive city.

We have weighed the concerns expressed by a variety of residents and groups regarding the best course for the Falkland North site. The decision regarding the historic designation of the south and west parcels, and the redevelopment of the existing buildings and grounds of the north parcel will continue to be one of earnest disagreement among some stakeholders. Opponents of redevelopment of the north parcel point to the distinctive social and architectural history of the site and the loss of numerous mature native trees. We acknowledge that these are indeed significant losses. However, we believe that the benefits of the proposed project for Falkland Chase North outweigh these losses, along with the preservation of the historic south and west parcels. After careful review of plans, reports, a brief site visit, and comments from opponents and proponents, we believe that this project has many local, county and regional benefits.

Please accept these comments on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a regional organization based in the District of Columbia focused on ensuring transportation and development decisions are made with genuine community involvement and accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural

We would like to express our support for the White Flint Sector Plan and urge the Council and County Executive to create a feasible transportation infrastructure financing plan to move this effort forward without delay. We call on the Council to work with the Executive to establish a financing plan that is fair, accelerates redevelopment, and rightfully places this high value Metro-oriented development plan as a top priority for County and state transportation spending. The urgent need to create a workable, timely transportation financing plan requires us to rethink our spending priorities.

As you know I have been very critical of how this panel was established and by its failure to include rider representatives and members of non-business stakeholder groups, therefore my appearance should not be seen as endorsement of the panel. It is a great loss to this panel not to be able to tap into some of the great expertise that we now find among the riders and whose intelligent and creative analysis you can see in outlets such as Greater Greater Washington.