May City Council Message
By: Barry Joffee, Contact this Council member
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Twin Lakes partnership offers advantage to all
Many of you will recall the contention last year surrounding the plan of Twin Lakes to construct 13 garden homes on 2.9 acres of land south of the Safety Center on Montgomery Road. At the time, residents of the Forest Glen Subdivision opposed the plan requirement for a driveway to this new development opposite Forestglen Drive. Residents argued on the grounds of traffic safety factors.
In Pursuance of Long Range Access Management
In consideration of resident concerns and a long range strategic view of access management, the City began working with Twin Lakes to investigate the possibility of a consolidated access point further south on Montgomery Road. This consolidated driveway could serve the majority of the seven parcels of land along the Montgomery Road corridor between Schoolhouse Lane and the Safety Center and thus reduce the potential for multiple driveways onto Montgomery Road as these land parcels become developed in the future.
As a result, Twin Lakes entered into negotiations with the owner of the 2.8 acres of land south of its proposed development, the acquisition of which would have provided the opportunity to relocate the driveway from opposite Forestglen Drive to a consolidated access point further south on Montgomery Road. The launch of the Natural Parkland Initiative Petition, which proposed an ordinance directing the City to acquire all 10 acres of the undeveloped land and preserve it in a natural state, may have resulted in the termination of negotiations between Twin Lakes and the property owner in September last year.
City’s Strategic Role
With the defeat of the Initiative at the polls on November 6 last year, negotiations were once again resumed and the acquisition agreement consummated just days ago, which now enables Twin Lakes to expand its development plans to include 23 senior housing units on a combined 5.7 acres of property. Twin Lakes will need approval from the City’s Planning Commission for its revised plans.
In furtherance of its strategic role, the City has committed to work with Twin Lakes by constructing a consolidated access point on Montgomery Road, approximately 550 feet north of the Schoolhouse Road/Montgomery Road intersection. The benefits to the community are so far reaching that the City has committed approximately $475,000 to design and construct these public improvements to Montgomery Road, including the installation of an additional landscaped median and dedicated turning lanes. All property necessary for the construction of this consolidated access point is to be donated to the City by the property owner.
Benefits to the Community
"Why should the City spend $475,000?" you may ask. There is a simple three-fold answer – safety, safety and more safety! Remember, individual property owners on this corridor have a right to access Montgomery Road from their respective properties. Imagine a scenario where we have multiple driveways on this short strip of road on the east side.
By consolidating an access point for at least 5 of the properties – possibly all 7 — we minimize the potential for additional driveways and thus reduce the number of potential conflict points along Montgomery Road. If this measure averted just one fatal accident or life changing injury, the investment would be vindicated. This benefit on its own justifies this visionary step. Consider some of the other benefits to the community:
- It would replace the approved driveway opposite Forestglen Drive and thus directly address the concerns of this group of residents
- A single access point will be aesthetically more pleasing than having multiple driveways within a short distance of each other
- It will provide the opportunity for the City to construct an additional ‘green space’ median south of the consolidated access point
- The development will also generate local tax dollars to support community services
- The move of the driveway conforms with the City’s access management policies which encourages combining access points wherever possible
- Such a development is consistent with the City’s strategic goal of providing diversity in housing options
A Win-Win
This approach exemplifies a win-win for all parties – residents, developers, administrators and the folks driving through Montgomery north on Montgomery Road everyday. I believe our Council took a visionary step in mandating the investigations and subsequently committing the funding to seize the opportunity when the reality of a strategic access management approach presented itself. And a vote of gratitude to our professional staff who so ably represented the mandated interests of the City in helping make a consolidated access a practical option.
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