Water and Noise problems become main environmental issues in Chevy Chase

The Chevy Chase Environmental Committee held its monthly meeting yesterday at Town Hall to discuss issues involving the newly implemented Water Drainage Ordinance as well as the proposal for a noise control policy that would affect local residents.
The 10 members of the Environmental Committee who were present cited four main problems that residents are having with the Water Drainage Ordinance, and proposed valid solutions to the local government policy.

The Water Drainage Ordinance was created in 2005 as a result of resident complaints about increasing storm water management problems throughout Chevy Chase. The ordinance currently states that if a homeowner expands a home or places an impermeable surface that is bigger than 700 feet over the soil, the owner must build a water retention system which has the ability to hold water on the property, preventing it from flowing onto neighboring properties.

Flaws in the ordinance included the applicability of county requirements, the use of permeable surfaces as infiltration devices, the coordination of the water plan with the tree protection plan, and the maintenance agreement of the water drainage ordinance, according to committee member Joan Rood, who headed the discussion on the topic.

“The pressure is all on the town, and its employed engineers to make sure the ordinance are being carried out,” said Environmental Committee member Sally Kelly.

Chevy Chase residents are concerned with the design of the drainage systems that are being used, according to Coralee Hoffman, who said that the standards set up by the ordinance are not being implemented, and the county codes, as well as the state codes are being ignored, as homes in clear violation of the Water Drainage Ordinance are being approved by the Water Board.

“It’s a broader policy issue,” said committee member Ruth Fort, “our county is using this new found legislation to do things below the level that the ordinance has established and only since the towns have gotten more authority have they gained more flexible instead of being stringent.”

Additionally, the question of who should be accountable for damage done to neighboring homes when a drainage system failure occurs was posed. One solution would be to make the maintenance of the water systems the responsibility of the home owners by having it be inspected by an engineer annually and filing the results with the county. This solution would save the town the cost of hiring more engineers to perform the inspections, but would place the cost and responsibility of filing on the residents.

Residents also encountered problems with the maintenance agreement clause of the Water Drainage Ordinance, which states that a financial lender needs to sign the agreement, making them responsible for drainage system maintenance in an instance of foreclosure. Multiple local residents have been denied financing or have had to refinance their mortgages in order to keep to the agreement. According to Council liaison Rob Enelow, there is a proposal going to the Town Council in April that would strike this agreement from the ordinance.

The Environmental Committee also addressed fundamental concerns with a proposed noise restriction policy. A proposal that would limit the amount of noise from commercial sources, such as construction sites and lawn services was brought to the people of Chevy Chase at an information session last month. There was a low attendance and few write-ins at the session, which can be interpreted as a lack of general interest on behalf of local residents to prohibit noise, according to Hoffman.

Some of the committee members, including Hoffman voiced concern over the strict proposed standard, of having to be fewer than 65 decibels, which translates to being able to carry on a conversation, without shouting, with the noise in the background.

“You couldn’t even run a leaf blower under the county standards,” Hoffman said jokingly.
It is important to remember that the purpose of the proposal is to prevent the intrusion of noise onto someone else’s property as the committee stressed the need for the people’s voices to be heard so the issue is not overlooked, according to Fort.

Technology is evolving even in the small residential area of Chevy Chase as concerned committee members were excited about the existence of newer, quieter leaf blowers, which would be preferred in the use of lawn services.

“I would gladly promote a [lawn service] company that used these quiet leaf blowers and tell everyone in the neighborhood to use them,” said Kelly, who believes that lawn services can gain an advantage by using the improved technology.

The Environment Committee’s mission statement is to help the town promote a healthier environment for all town residents and the group meets on the first Thursday of every month. The next scheduled meeting is April 2, 2009, where a presentation on solar panels and wind generators will be brought to the committee.