Life just got really, really interesting

I found out on Saturday that my apartment building is slated for demolition so the owners can put up high-rise apartment buildings. It's not just my building, either. It's the buildings on either side of mine, too. Although I just found out about it on Saturday, this process has been in the works since 2003.

At the moment, the zoning for our buildings only allows for construction up to 50' tall. Our management company wants to have the zoning changed to allow buildings up to 175' tall. Actually, part of their area is already zoned for the 175' (see red block in the diagram below).




The proposed change is below:

There would also be two roads added, one of which pretty much cuts through my living room. As if the infrastructure of Montgomery County can handle more traffic...

There are elderly and lower-income residents in all of our buildings, too. Where are they supposed to go? The County Council talks a good game re affordable housing, but their actions indicate slightly different priorities. So tomorrow night I head off to the Montgomery County Council meeting, where I am Speaker #25 on the docket for the public hearing (the last one before the issue goes into committee). Six of the nine council members took about $1.7 million in campaign contributions from developers. Do your own math. Wish me luck—I don't want my home (or any of my neighbors') destroyed in the name of greed.