Process & Findings

The Glenmont Community Visioning Workshop process provided a structured outlet for community collaboration in the identification of a common vision for the Glenmont Shopping Center and surrounding area. A variety of mediums were utilized to inform the public of the workshops, including a Planning Department-hosted project webpage, flyers, newspaper announcements, and email blasts.

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process
stakeholder interviews
Prior to commencing the Community Visioning Workshop series, the project team interviewed numerous area property owners, business owners, civic association representatives, faith-based organization representatives, public interest group representatives and public agency representatives to gather their perceptions of the areas strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities for change. The responses received during these conversations informed the project teams concurrent analysis of existing conditions, and established the foundation for developing the Preliminary Vision. For a more detailed list of those interviewed, please see the Appendix.

workshop 1 (242012)
The first of the Community Visioning Workshops was held on a Saturday morning and attended by approximately 95 people. In an effort to attract a larger, more diverse segment of the Glenmont community, the first workshop offered Spanish translation services. This workshop introduced the Glenmont community to the visioning process with a brief outline of the Sector Plan amendment process and a presentation of the current opportunities for, and challenges to, redevelopment in the Sector Plan Area. The opportunities and challenges presented were collected from conversations with area stakeholders and analyses of the Sector Plan Areas current land use framework, pattern of development, circulation network, pedestrian/bicycle facilities and ownership. Specific strengths, challenges and opportunities within an approximately 1/4-mile radius of the Glenmont Metro station were represented graphically on large maps, which were displayed at the workshop for participants to review and provide comments. Following the presentation, workshop participants formed small groups to discuss and identify, on large table-sized maps, issues and opportunities for the future of Glenmont. During this exercise, facilitators posed several questions to engage participants in a discussion of the overall vision for Glenmont:

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1. What do you love about Glenmont and would not want to change? 2. What are the three most pressing issues in Glenmont today? 3. How can Glenmont take advantage of its Metro station (and the possible introduction of Bus Rapid Transit)? 4. What kinds of changes would you like to see at the Glenmont Shopping Center? 5. What other changes are needed in Glenmont regardless of what occurs at the Shopping Center? 6. The vision for Glenmont in the 1997 Sector Plan was: The Glenmont of the future will be a transitoriented area. A compact mixed-use center will be the focus of community activity and will establish a sense of place. New development will be concentrated around the new Metro station. Existing neighborhoods with single-family homes surrounding the new development will be preserved and protected. Is this vision still valid for Glenmont? If not, how would you update it? A complete set of the materials presented at Workshop 1 can be found in the Appendix.

workshop 2 (2222012)
Using the information garnered from the first Community Visioning Workshop, Planning Department staff and the consultant team worked together to produce a Preliminary Vision for the Glenmont Sector Plan Area, which was presented at the second Community Visioning Workshop. This workshop was attended by approximately 70 people and also offered Spanish translation services. The project team began the second workshop with a presentation of the Preliminary Vision and accompanying precedent images of representative development, open spaces and pedestrian/bicycle facilities from other communities. Following the presentation, participants were once again asked to gather into smaller groups to discuss whether or not the overall Preliminary Vision appropriately addressed and responded to the ideas and concerns expressed at the previous workshop. Two existing multifamily enclaves were identified on Preliminary Vision as question mark areas for discussion among the groups. Facilitators engaged participants in discussions of potential future uses, and the associated scale and type of development, that might be appropriate for these areas if they were to redevelop. A complete set of the materials presented at Workshop 2 can be found in the Appendix.

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findings
workshop 3 (3212012)
The project team incorporated the comments and feedback on the Preliminary Vision from the second Community Visioning Workshop to generate the Draft Vision, which was presented at the third, and final, Community Visioning Workshop. At this workshop, which was attended by approximately 75 people, the project team presented the Draft Vision, an associated Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity Diagram and a Draft Vision Statement, largely based on the 1997 Sector Plan Vision Statement. Following the presentation, attendees were encouraged to visit facilitated stations where they could view and comment on the Draft Vision, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Connectivity Diagram, the Draft Vision Statement and an illustrative interpretation of what the Glenmont Shopping Center and immediately adjacent area might look like if redeveloped in the future. Attendees were provided with individual comment sheets, as well as large notepads at each station, to document their ideas and concerns. Additionally, the Planning Department created a comment section on the Glenmont Sector Plan webpage where community members could continue to submit their comments for the duration of the Sector Plan amendment process. A complete set of the materials presented at
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workshop 1 (242012)
strengths The Glenmont community identified the Glenmont Metro station, local parks, neighborhood schools and existing and proposed public transportation routes as assets. Community members value the existing commercial anchors in the Glenmont Shopping Center, including Shoppers Food Warehouse, CVS, Staples and Country Boy, as well as their proximity to area fire and police stations. Community unity and appreciation is strong in Glenmont, and residents expressed how much they value the communitys demographic diversity and the variety and affordability of the existing housing stock. challenges The Glenmont Shopping Center is considered by nearly all residents as the major deterrent to change in Glenmont. More specifically, residents indicated its outdated appearance, poor internal access and lack of services. Participants also highlighted the unsafe and

inaccessible pedestrian and bicycle facilities, as well as the prevalence of major thoroughfares with high volumes of traffic, as discouraging pedestrian and bicycle activity throughout the Sector Plan Area. The inability to move safely by foot or bike throughout the Glenmont community, from the single- and multi-family residential communities to

Workshop 3 can be found in the Appendix.

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the Glenmont Shopping Center, is considered the main obstacle to establishing successful, compact and walkable mixed-use development in Glenmont. Specific concerns regarding pedestrian and bicycle safety include an overall lack of pedestrian lighting, especially within the vicinity of the Glenmont Metro station; high speeds of vehicular traffic; vehicular turning movements that conflict with pedestrian traffic; the lack of marked and signed pedestrian crossings at key pedestrian crossing points; the frequency of curb-cuts; the lack of designated bicycle facilities; and the lack of setbacks and buffers between sidewalks and roadways. According to participants. the community has also been impacted by both the perception and reality of crime. If not addressed, this perception could impede redevelopment efforts and threaten the communitys overall peace of mind.

shops; restaurants; a daycare facility; a hotel; a central green space or plaza where the community can gather for outdoor events; professional offices/ employment; and residential development. On the other hand, a few community members expressed reservations about new growth and development, including comprehensive redevelopment of the Glenmont Shopping Center and adjacent sites into denser, mixed-use areas. The community is adamant that redevelopment of the Glenmont Shopping Center, the properties directly west, across Layhill Road, and the Privacy World property should consist of three- to sixstory structures that appropriately step-down and transition to surrounding, existing residential neighborhoods so as not to dwarf them with highrise structures. It is also critical to the community that new development

opportunities The majority of the community overwhelmingly welcomes redevelopment of the Glenmont Shopping Center and the Layhill Triangle properties directly west of the shopping center, across Layhill Road, to capitalize on the proximity of these areas to the Glenmont Metro station. Specifically, the community would like to see a Town Center on the Glenmont Shopping Center property with neighborhood services and amenities such as grocery stores; coffee

improves pedestrian access and mobility, provides for organized parking, and accommodates internal vehicular connections to avoid intensifying the high volumes of traffic on Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road. Residents identified the need for enhanced pedestrian and bicycle facilities and connections to and from Brookside Gardens, the Metro and from the Glenmont Shopping Center as well as between surrounding residential communities and destinations across Georgia Avenue, Randolph Road, Layhill Road

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and Glenallan Avenue.

Streetscape improvements

workshop 2 (2222012)
In general, the Preliminary Vision was well received by participants. They were pleased with the inclusion of the mixed-use Town Square concept and associated public plaza/green space, and supported the proposed open spaces and open space connections. They valued the proposed streetscape enhancements and improvements to pedestrian and bicycle facilities along Glenallan Avenue, Georgia Avenue, Randolph Road and Layhill Road. land use and buildings Overall, the community stated a preference for threeto six-story, mixed-use and multifamily residential development, particularly at the Glenmont Shopping Center, contingent on the appropriate transition to the surrounding, existing single-family neighborhoods. Some community members also preferred that the entire Glenmont Shopping Center be shown as mixed-use, and expressed an interest in development at higher densities than what was depicted in the precedent images that accompanied the Preliminary Vision (approximately 7+ floors). circulation and access In addition, participants articulated a range of opinions of the bifurcation of Layhill Road, with some in favor of, and some concerned about, its purpose and impacts on the surrounding area. However, the community generally concurs that mixed-use

are desired along Glenallan Avenue, Georgia Avenue, Randolph Road and Layhill Road. The community encourages the extension of the Glenmont Greenway south along Georgia Avenue, as well as active, programmed open space and recreational uses at the County-owned property in the southwest corner of the Georgia Avenue/Randolph Road intersection. Finally, the community is also very excited about the prospect of customizing the water tower to symbolically identify Glenmont and establish a positive image for the community. A summary of the feedback received at Workshop 1 can be found in the Appendix.

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redevelopment of uses directly west of the Glenmont Shopping Center, across Layhill Road, is appropriate and maximizes the development potential of land adjacent to the Glenmont Metro station. An additional concern of some community members is the potential influx of vehicular traffic associated with additional residential development on already congested roadways within the Sector Plan Area. However, most of the community is aware that the introduction of mixed-use development within close proximity of the Glenmont Metro station will promote the use of alternative modes of transportation, as well as establish an internal street network that will increase pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular mobility within the Sector Plan Area. Members of the community also brought additional circulation and access improvements to the attention of the project team. These include improvements to the Glenmont Circle/Randolph Road intersection; dedicated pedestrian/bicycle access to Brookside Gardens; improved pedestrian crossing facilities at the intersections of Randolph Road with Livingston Street and Terrapin, Heurich and Judson Roads; and a reduction in the frequency of curb cuts throughout the Sector Plan Area. public spaces Additional suggestions for public realm improvements identified by the community include the utilization

of the medians along Denley and Judson Roads as playgrounds, as well as the reuse of the County-owned parcel at the southwest corner of the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road as a dedicated, programmed public open space. Specific uses of this facility suggested by the community include a community garden, sports fields, a community center, a playground and a village green. residential redevelopment The consensus from the community on the future use of the existing Winexburg Manor property is that residential uses should occupy the majority of the site, but that concentrated areas of professional office uses, such as accountants, dentists, interior designers, and the like, could also be allowed. The consensus from the community on the future treatment of the existing Glenmont Forest property is that residential uses should occupy the majority of the site, but that concentrated areas of retail development could be allowed along Randolph Road, across from the Glenmont Shopping Center. Ideas for mixed-use development in this area included uses such as dry cleaners, coffee shops and small restaurants to serve the surrounding residential communities. A summary of the feedback received at Workshop 2 can be found in the Appendix.

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workshop 3 (3212012)
The community was fairly supportive of the changes incorporated into the Draft Vision, and felt that the Draft Vision Statement was an improvement over the Vision Statement produced for the 1997 Sector Plan. The community generally expressed a preference for development that ranges from two to six floors in height along Randolph Road and Georgia Avenue, with some residents preferring lower, and others preferring higher, buildings. land use and buildings Several proposed community members should expressed incorporate that an development

the nearby single-family residential neighborhoods. Correspondingly, some participants suggested designating a green buffer along the edge of the adjacent Glenmont Shopping Center to better preserve the residential community. circulation and access A number of concerns about the Layhill Road bifurcation remained, including the perception that it will have a negative impact on existing and future traffic patterns in the Sector Plan Area, as well as on pedestrian mobility between the Metro and the Glenmont Shopping Center. Moreover, community members identified additional barriers to pedestrian mobility, including the at-grade pedestrian crossing improvements, specifically on Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road, which they feel do not adequately address pedestrian safety issues. Several community members feel that constructing underground or overpass pedestrian facilities will provide safer and more appropriate crossings along Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road. In addition, streetscape improvements and bicycle and pedestrian facilities are highly desired by the community, some residents are concerned about the impact of these on-street facilities on private property. Participants asked whether the streetscape improvements would be accommodated within the

appropriate range of land uses and densities to withstand future shifts in market trends. Community members feel that a possible new Metro entrance at the Glenmont Shopping Center is an important feature, and will serve as a potential catalyst for future development on both the Glenmont Shopping Center site and development directly west of the shopping center, across Layhill Road. Additionally, the community remains excited about the prospect of branding the water tower with the Glenmont identity. Some community members remained concerned about the transition in scale and type of new development on the Glenmont Shopping Center, the Winexburg Manor and Privacy World properties, to
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existing rights-of-way, or whether additional rightof-way on private property may be required to construct these facilities. Finally, the community generally supports the proposed open space connections and associated trail network. However, some residents are concerned about the negative impact these facilities may have on their adjacent properties. In particular, residents of the Glen Waye Gardens Condominium object to the designation of a greenway network and associated trail through their community. A summary of the feedback received at Workshop 3 can be found in the Appendix.

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