Many discussions about new rail lines involve the potential for Transit Oriented Development around stations. In the debate over Maryland’s Purple Line, though, talk of TOD has been largely absent. After all, the line will connect destinations that are already pretty dense, and already experiencing healthy infill development.

Turns out there is at least one new TOD likely to be built along the Purple Line, assuming the line is built as light rail along the original Georgetown branch right-of-way. The TOD, to be located just east of Connecticut Avenue, would be pretty low-density as these things go. It would be, according to developers, comparable in character to King Farm in Rockville, though much smaller.

Naturally, the same folks who oppose the Purple Line also oppose the TOD. Maureen Jais-Mick, co-chair of a group pushing for buses on Jones Bridge Road instead of trains in a rail right-of-way, says the village-like proposal will turn Chevy Chase residents into “rats in a maze”. She goes on to say “We’ve got good development going in. We’ve got good green space. Why do they want to bulldoze it?”

BeyondDC admits we’ve haven’t spent a whole lot of time at the location of this proposed development, immediately east of Connecticut Avenue, between Manor Road and Chevy Chase Lake Drive, but we did pull it up via aerial, to interesting results. Turns out to be a bunch of surface parking lots, apartment buildings, an aging strip mall, what looks like an industrial lumber distribution yard, and a high-rise office building that, if the description of a King Farm-like village is to be believed, is much taller than anything likely to be built.

Given that context, does someone want to explain to us Jais-Mick’s comments? BeyondDC must just not get it. Replace a parking lot and lumber yard with a nice walkable village? Sounds pretty good. Ought to have a nice effect on nearby residential property values, too.

Purple Line opponents want to save this? Really?

Update #1: Montgomery County blog Just Up The Pike points us towards a website for the TOD that includes a small site plan. We’re not exactly talking about the Empire State Building here.

Update #2: Ryan Avent at The Bellows takes a stab at telling us what’s really going on with neighborhood opposition.