Town Council Approves Sector Plan Addition

The Kensington Town Council voted to approve design guidelines and an addition to the town's proposed sector plan at a contentious meeting Tuesday night, setting the stage for the county's next discussion of the plan.

The , proposed by the Planning Board and approved by the council Tuesday, give developers an idea of what the town and county would like to see in redevelopment, including widened sidewalks, right-of-way landscaping and public art. 

The council also voted 3-1 to approve adding language to the plan to targeted for redevelopment.

While all four councilors support the idea, Councilmember Lydia Sullivan took issue with the resolution's promise of "exploring additional height" for the Konterra property in the area in exchange for public amenities, such as above- or underground cross-track walkways, or a parking structure.

"I can't support it with that paragraph in there," Sullivan said. "I'm not comfortable making a decision to explore additional height at the bottom of the economy when it may not be necessary."

Councilmember Mackie Barch said redevelopment in Kensington is far from a forgone conclusion, and that the town needs to secure a few anchor developments to get the ball rolling. That could mean being flexible on building heights and densities, he said.

"Getting Konterra is crucial to making the Village Center a reality," he said.

Under the current draft of the plan, the Konterra property is in an area zoned for a maximum of 60 feet in height, and Barch said any variance granted by the town would not exceed 75 feet.

Councilmember Sean McMullen said that while he is fine with looking into allowing more height for Konterra, he doesn't want the town to fall into a slippery slope with future projects.

"I don't want to create interested property owners by granting variances," he said. "I'm willing to explore 75 feet, as long as 'explore' means developers are proving to us why 60 isn't good enough."

Chris Bruch, a town resident who works in development, warned the council to be cautious about granting exceptions to developers. It's commonplace for property owners to say they need greater heights and densities for a project to work, but that may not always be the case, he said.

Marlene Michaelson, senior legislative analyst with the County Council, said the Planning Board would make a final decision on whether to allow 75 feet for the Konterra development, and the town will need to refine its desired criteria in order for the board to make a ruling.

The design guidelines and Village Center concept were among three issues the County Council  before continuing its sector plan discussion. The Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee also tasked Kensington with adopting a mid-income housing policy, and the town has scheduled a meeting on the issue for Feb. 13.

The PHED Committee will continue its discussion of the Kensington Sector plan at its Feb. 6 meeting, sending it to the full County Council later in the year.