> Community Progress Reports (1/30/2007)
Courtyard at Rio Homeowners: The HOA Board has decided to send out periodic progress reports to let the community know what actions are being worked on, and this is our first report.
Crown Farm Issues
On February 8th, there will be a special community meeting to discuss the impact of the Crown Farm development on our community and to develop a proposed solution. A meeting notice was sent out through Abaris to all Homeowners requesting your attendance and ideas. The meeting will start at 7:30 pm, and it will be held at the Fields Road Elementary School .
Reserve Fund Issue
At the last Board meeting, a special “research committee” was formed to conduct and independent review of the landscaping expenses incurred last summer. Hossein Hadari agreed to chair this committee and two other homeowners agreed to work with him on the review. Results from their review are expected by the next Board meeting in March. The Board will review their findings and provide a formal report to the community on all action taken with regard to this issue.
Community Website
The Community website is being set up to host community content. Volunteers are welcome.
January 17th Meeting with Washingtonian Tower Residents and Fred Felton, Assistant City Manager for the City of Gaithersburg regarding the Crown Farm Development
Four Board members attended this meeting and the following is a summary of this meeting. The “blue” text indicates the status of whether we as a community can affect the outcome by our actions.
1. The Crown Farm developer’s plans for the number of housing units, types of units, amount and location of retail space, and land for a high school have been approved by the City of Gaithersburg . (This appears to be cast in stone now so we cannot have any impact on density, land usage, or location.)
2. The route of the light rail is set. There is no negotiation on this point. When and if the light rail will be built is still in question because of funding. I think Mr. Felton said that it would be about 6 years before construction would start on the rail. (It doesn’t sound like we can have any impact on the route of the light rail.)
3. The City of Gaithersburg wants to obtain control of Fields Road from the Montgomery County . If they are successful in their efforts, then they want to make Fields Road a divided highway and have the light rail run down the center of the road. If they are not successful, then they will have the light rail run along the Crown Farm side of Fields Road . No land will be taken from our side of the road. There was some discussion of sound barriers to minimize the light rail. Design plans for the sound barriers have not been finalized. (We may be able to have some impact on this design.)
4. Traffic circles verses traffic lights is still up for discussion, and this will be a topic of the January 22 City of Gaithersburg meeting. (We can voice our concerns and get as many homeowners as possible to attend the City of Gaithersburg meeting. We can at least try to have some impact on this design.)
5. The Crown Farm developer is having discussions with Avalon about obtaining a right of way to develop a pedestrian walkway on their side of Winners Drive to permit Crown Farm residents easy foot access to the Washingtonian Center. (The Board could set up a meeting with the management of Avalon (I am thinking at the VP level) to voice our community’s concerns and try to get a feel what Avalon management is going to do. If we discover that they are going to sell a right of way, we should try to dissuade them, if possible.)
6. Mr. Felton said that he would work with us to get a nice fence for our community to prevent and/or minimize pedestrian foot traffic. He suggested a 4- to 6-foot wrought iron fence with brick pillars. He said that we need to let him know what we want, and he (i.e., the City of Gaithersburg ) would help us get the Crown Farm developer to pay for it. (The Board is planning a special meeting with the community on February 8tto obtain the thoughts and opinions of the community.)
> Crown Farm Development:
The City of Gaithersburg and developer plan to build a walk path to Washingtonian Center through Courtyards @ Rio, which will affect house value and raise security and other concerns.
Rosalind MacLennan is leading the communication and negotiation with different parties. Please support her and join the Google Groups for details and updates.