Town Houses Proposed for BETCO Site

The BETCO or Hoyt property is under consideration for a town house development. This is the 1.8 acre parcel occupied by the Brick and Block Company located at the end of Butler Road across the creek paralleling the Little Falls Parkway. The property is currently zoned Light Industrial.

EYA (www.eya.com), a local urban-infill townhouse developer, proposes to redevelop this property with 28 to 32 LEED certified million dollar plus town homes. The developer has also agreed to provide public access to the Capital Crescent Trail. The community will not be gated.

LFWA has been aware of the project from the beginning as EYA has met with representatives from neighborhood and community groups. We have not opposed the proposal as we believe it will be a significant improvement to the watershed compared to current conditions, which are 99 percent pavement. Any new development will be regulated by the new County stormwater permit standards.The new project will also reduce local truck traffic and the associated noise from those trucks.

Assuming the project is approved, LFWA intends on working with Park and Planning to see that the project is as environmentally friendly as possible and conforms to the new stormwater regulations.

LFWA will try to keep everyone up to date about the status of the project by posting information on this web site.

Bridge Over Creek to Parkway

One of the controversial aspects of the EYA proposal is to build a bridge to provide access to the project over the channelized portion of the Little Falls Branch about where the wide turnout spot is located on Little Falls Parkway mid-way between River Road and Massachusetts Avenue. To construct the bridge the developer needs permission (an easement) from the Maryland-National Park and Planning Commission (Park and Planning) because the Little Falls Parkway is Park and Planning property.

Easement Agreement

Park and Planning has agreed to provide an easement; in return EYA has agreed to pay Park and Planning $500,000 for public amenity and watershed improvement projects such as stream restoration; invasive species management program within the Little Falls Stream Valley Park and the Capital Crescent Trail; trail restoration projects along the Capital Crescent Trail; and possibly other projects. Park and Planning has indicated that they will solicit public and neighborhood input on these projects.

Traffic Impact

Many people are concerned about the impact on traffic from this development. The developer and Park and Planning have said that the number of cars and trips that will be associated with the project, compared to the current traffic on Little Falls Parkway, will be very small. They have also pointed out that the project will eliminate the truck traffic going into and out of the BETCO property.

Rezoning
The developer has also petitioned to have the site rezoned from Light Industrial to allow for residential townhouses.