At the July 8 Council meeting, the Council will hold a public hearing on funding for continued professional assistance in responding to the proposed Purple Line project. At the public hearing, residents may share their thoughts on whether or not the Town should allocate additional funds towards future efforts related to the project.
As you are aware, it is not as simple as allocating or not allocating funds. As you prepare your testimony, please consider the following.
Councilmember Fred Cecere, interim liaison to the Town’s Long Range Planning Committee (LRP), and Grant Davies and Kathie Legg, interim LRP co-chairs, are working together with the LRP to analyze the many issues involved with deciding how the Town should move forward, including, among many issues, Governor Hogan’s 3-pronged approach to proceed, whether to focus our efforts on the formal elimination of the project from the state’s transportation plans or on mitigation of the project’s anticipated local impacts, whether to target these efforts at the local, state or federal level, and whether to support the ongoing environmental litigation being pursued independently of the Town. This analysis will lead to possible options going forward, and potentially to recommendations. This will take time and will not be ready for consideration at the July public hearing. When completed, it will be presented to Town residents for review and comment and will form the basis for the Council’s decision on how to proceed.
If you are unable to attend the public hearing, which begins at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall, you may submit comments to the Town Office at townoffice@townofchevychase.org [mailto:townoffice@townofchevychase.org] or at 4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 prior to the hearing.
Thanks,
Al Lang
Mayor