Town Council Work Session
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What historical development and erosion issues are described for Town Branch?
To the early 60s, this whole area was mainly farm field. Then in the late 1960s, early 70s, Mosby Drive developed on the top of Town Branch. In the early 1980s, the bypass was constructed. And then in mid-1990s, Newhall Place was constructed. So you can see the picture in the left is mainly farmer's field, and the picture in the right The town branch is now an urban stream channel. In 2020, residents identified concerns and property risks of erosion. In July 2021, the town completed a study and applied for a $1 million Department of Environmental Quality grant for stream restoration. Existing conditions. The town or the branch in this area basically has three sections. The first section is by Morven Park Road.
and has erosion. What you're seeing right now is the middle section, very, very heavy erosion, a lot of erosion. The section by Morven Park Road has some erosion but not as defined as this. The last section is up near Catoctin Circle and similar, has some erosion but not nearly as bad as this. You can see in this picture Massive undercutting of existing tree roots. There's a fence at the top of the hill that pretty quickly is going to fall. In January 2023, picture on the left, a twin tree that was standing by the side on the banks. And as of June 2024, it's fallen and in the creek. Again, massive undercutting of roots. This fairly large tree has over 50% of its root mass undermined. And picture on the right, there's a tree that's fallen in front of one of our storm sewer outfalls.
Significant bank erosion, street banks, steep banks and instability, undercutting and threatening property issues. As trees fall, the erosion will continue. Property goals. Right now the project goals are to reduce property loss and remove downed trees and debris jams, restore the stream to a more natural condition, minimizing bank erosion during large rain events, improving wildlife habitat, and reestablishing native plants. Some project benefits of the project is it will maintain or improve wildlife habitat. It improves water quality. The pictures here on the left are Tuscarora Creek, similar to Town Branch, before our project had massive bank erosion, undercutting of roots. And then the picture on the right shows improved habitat, well-established banks.
So our current conceptual design, and I've tried to say this in all of the stream walks that I'll get into in a minute, this is our current conceptual design. We met with our engineer. We came up with this concept. We tried to save trees, but current concept had to get it out in the public so we could get input. Our current conceptual design regrades the stream banks within the existing stream easement, requires removal of vegetation and removal of structures within the project limits. It removes berms and gabion walls. It removes failing walls and incorporates new walls where appropriate. Adds elements to reduce energy of the water during larger rain events. Replant vegetation on stream banks to stabilize.
Wherever possible, we'll use on-site materials. Any trees that come down, we'll try to integrate into the construction of our project. And fairly importantly, one of the engineering constraints, this project, as it is currently designed, does not increase the 100-year water surface elevation. One of our primary concerns was Any improvements that we do in the channel, we did not want to improve or did not want to increase 100-year water surface elevation. Right now, they are at or below what residents are experiencing today. Public outreach to date. As soon as the first concept was completed, we scheduled a public meeting on 5-15. Very, very well attended by many of the people who are behind me, I'm sure.
Got a lot of very, very good input.
What are the current project goals and design concepts for stream restoration?
And from that point on, also received numerous emails outlining concerns about the project. Because of the concerns that we received, we scheduled six stream walks from late August to early September with members of council and residents. We have one more that we're trying to plan for three residents that weren't able to make the previous ones.
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Agenda
8 items
1
What historical development and erosion issues are described for Town Branch?
0:00–4:38
2
What are the current project goals and design concepts for stream restoration?
4:38–24:33
3
How is public outreach being conducted and what feedback is shaping the design?
24:33–56:55
4
What funding strategies and storm‑water program updates are being discussed?
56:55–1:39:57
5
How are storm‑water utility credits calculated and applied?
1:39:57–1:45:41
6
What feedback do stakeholder meetings gather for the storm‑water program?
1:45:41–1:53:12
7
What are the council’s next steps for approving a storm‑water fee and funding the study?
1:53:12–2:04:40
8
Which proclamations and council‑retreat dates were approved at the end of the meeting?
2:04:40–7:59:53
Speakers
5 identified
Kelly Burk 10 min
Neil Steinberg 9 min
Zach Cummings 8 min
Todd Cimino-Johnson 4 min
Kari Nacy 1 min
Officials recognised by voice; public commenters shown as “Speaker N” unless they state their name.