This article was written by WTOP’s news partner Bethesda Today and republished with permission. Sign up for Bethesda Today’s free email subscription today.
The Village of Friendship Heights filed a lawsuit May 13 asking a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge to decide whether updated plans for the redevelopment of the 26.5-acre GEICO site on Western Avenue should still be subjected to 1998 county development requirements that applied to the early plans for the site.
The filing of the lawsuit does not halt the latest project plans, dubbed Friendship Commons, from moving through the county’s development process. But it does request the court to decide whether specific project elements, including taller heights of the proposed multifamily buildings and construction of a new sports field, should be changed to abide by previous requirements. Leadership of the Village of Friendship Heights has previously voiced opposition to the new plans and concerns about the plans’ proposed removal of mature trees and decision not to preserve or adaptively reuse the mid-century style GEICO building.
The requirements, or “binding elements,” approved by the county under a local map amendment for the area in 1998, address factors ranging from density, design specifications, building configuration, green areas to open space, recreation and traffic, according to the Village’s complaint. Their suit is asking for a declaratory judgment, a legal determination made by a court that rules on a legal dispute or uncertainty, on the matter.
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