County board OKs new housing project by Cabin John Park near Seven Locks School

The County Planning Board has voted in favor of a housing developer's plan to destroy a wooded area abutting Cabin John Park and stuff it with townhouses near the busy intersection of Seven Locks Road and Democracy Boulevard.

The 5.3 acre site - just a mile north of Seven Locks Elementary School - is currently uninhabited, hosting specimen trees that include ancient white oaks and sycamores. The Potomac Almanac's Ken Millstone has the story.

In another bow to developers and against the wishes of the neighborhood, the board recommended to re-zone the land from present limits of one single-family home per 9000 square feet of ground, to enable the townhouse construction.

The wooded property sits across the road from The Heights School. The Texas-based developer plans to build as many as 31 townhouses on the property.

The county discounted concerns of worried neighbors that the dynamiting of the hill on the project site would damage their aging homes, and appears ready to shut its eyes to environmental concerns about stormwater management and traffic.