Putting Suburban Hospital one step closer to a long-planned major campus upgrade, a Montgomery County Council committee on Monday agreed to close one block of a Bethesda street adjacent to the facility.
In a 3-0 vote, the council's transportation committee found no severely ill effects to traffic patterns if Suburban is allowed to build over one block of Lincoln Street, which intersects with Old Georgetown Road at the hospital. The committee's recommendation now goes to the full county council, which could still vote against the hospital.
Even though the Montgomery County Board of Appeals granted Suburban a zoning special exception, with neighborhood-requested changes, in October, a denial of the bid to close Lincoln Street would be a major blow to Suburban's plans. The county council will hear the matter July 19.
The Huntington Terrace Citizens' Association, which is fighting the expansion, saw the lawmakers' role as a key opportunity to stymie the larger, $230 million plan.
Earlier Monday, the neighborhood group said it would appeal the underlying zoning approval to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.
As they voted, the three members of the committee told upset neighbors that their concerns had been heard, but that they would not use its chance to overrule the zoning process.
"I know the community is not going to be pleased with the result of our actions here, and this is as polarizing as anything I've been involved with," said Committee Chair Roger Berliner, D-Potomac. "But I do think the community was heard by the Board of Appeals, particularly in regard to the number of houses [demolished as part of the project]."
In a statement released before the vote, Huntington Terrace resident Bob Deans said the group continues to hope Suburban, a subsidiary of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine, will agree to its demands.
"We have asked Suburban, repeatedly and publicly, to meet with representatives of Huntington Terrace to discuss our ideas for improving the plan," Deans wrote. "Suburban has refused to do so. We are left with no option but to pursue our interests through the judicial process."
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