| Suburban Hospital Renovation: In February, Suburban Hospital officially announced plans for the first major upgrade and enhancement of its facilities and campus in nearly 30 years. The new campus design has been submitted to Montgomery County for review and approval. If approved, the renovation†will make Suburban, whose aging infrastructure does not support many of the new advances in medical care, a state-of-the-art facility. It will also allow Suburban to enhance the programs it now hosts in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Major features of the project include: A 300,000 square foot addition to house a new surgical wing with 15 operating rooms; physician office space; and more private patient rooms. Today’s modern hospitals house physician’s offices on the premises for the convenience of both doctors and patients, and the lack of such offices now makes it more difficult for Suburban to attract the best doctors. Putting patients in private rooms has also become the norm in modern hospitals as it has been shown to reduce the incidence of infection among patients. Improved vehicular and pedestrian circulation, including orientation of traffic to Old Georgetown Road. Improved emergency and trauma access, including a new main entrance that will separate the pedestrian and private vehicle entrance from the helipad and emergency vehicle entrance. A sustainable design that incorporates green building initiatives. Separate elevators for patients and non-patients. Replacement of the existing parking garage with a new 1,200-space parking garage. An enhanced landscape that includes a variety of gardens, greenways, trees, and paths that will unify the campus and†provide enjoyment to residents, staff, and visitors. Mechanical systems housed below grade to minimize noise and enhance aesthetics. The renovation will involve closing Lincoln Drive at Old Georgetown Road and demolition of a number of homes around the hospital, all of which are already owned by Suburban. Part of the landscaping plan is to create a barrier of trees between the hospital and the surrounding residential area for aesthetic and sound-dampening purposes. A study conducted by Suburban showed that traffic currently using the area of Lincoln Drive that will be closed to traffic is primarily doing so to access the hospital, not to enter or leave the neighborhood. Oakmont is supporting the project, as are most of the neighborhood associations in Bethesda, and the plan was approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board. On December 12, Marilyn Mazuzan, Oakmont liaison to the Suburban planning process, will provide Town testimony at a session of the Board of Appeals. Following their decision, the issue will go before the Montgomery County Council. Oakmont's representative on the Council, Roger Berliner, has agreed to meet with town officials and residents to hear our views. A date and place for this meeting have not yet been determined, but we anticipate it will be some time in late December or early January. To submit views you want to have raised at this meeting or to attend in person, please notify Oakmont Chairperson, Barbara Moskowitz, no later than December 15 at moskowitzeb@yahoo.com. New Proposed Plans for Property near Cedar Lane and Old Georgetown: The McLean School of Maryland has entered into an agreement to purchase the property of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) located at 9111 Old Georgetown Road. This property, also known as Heart House, is located across Old Georgetown Road from Oakmont, going north from Cedar Lane. McLean is a kindergarten through grade 12 school founded in 1954 and currently located on Lochinver Lane in Potomac. The plan is to move the Upper School, grades 9-12, into the building on Old Georgetown, preserving the building and the trees on the property. The school is in the "due diligence" phase of planning with the ACC, investigating feasibility, demographics, finances, traffic impact, access, and zoning issues. McLean has said it is "committed to the practice of being good neighbors, and we hope to develop a partnership with you where McLean School is an asset to -- and resource for -- the existing community." Anyone interested in providing input on this proposal is invited to contact any member of the Oakmont Committee or to contact the McLean School directly: Kelvin J. Dowd, Chair of the Board of Trustees, McLean School, 8224 Lochinver Lane, Potomac, MD 20854, 301-299-8277. The McLean School proposal is the second plan submitted for this property. Previously it was being considered for development of single-family and town houses that would have led to removal of many of the trees. That plan is no longer being considered, although others could be submitted. Oakmont Widening: As many of you are aware, our town’s efforts to replace the old curbs on the south side of Oakmont Avenue resulted in a misunderstanding with the County, which led to the County believing we wanted to consider widening the street. According to Adam Derrick, our contact in the County, in order to install curbs on both sides of the road the County needs to maintain 26 feet from curb face to curb face.† The reasoning behind the 26 feet is when two cars are parked on each side of the street; the road needs to be wide enough for an emergency vehicle to fit through the two cars.† Currently Oakmont is on average 20 feet wide. †This means that in some areas the road would have to be widened by 6 feet to meet standards. †The town of Oakmont did not request this; nor do we support it at this time. Thanks largely to the efforts of Eric Voit at 5611 Oakmont, the misunderstanding has been cleared up, an there will be no immediate widening of the street. Adam Derrick met with residents on July 24, and heard several viewpoints. Some residents of the street support the widening, but nothing can happen without the agreement of 75% of the residents. The County has been asked to provide a plan for widening to allow residents to see exactly what would be involved so we can all make informed decisions. We have not seen such a plan, but we will keep you informed if we do. |