Lloyd Knowles sees a traffic nightmare brewing in west Columbia.

The source of that nightmare is a pair of plans by two developers to add a combined 6,000 housing units to Wilde Lake and neighboring Town Center over the next 30 years, according to Knowles, of Columbia.

The first of those new units, in Wilde Lake, could be under construction as early as next year.

If those plans are allowed to go forward as proposed the result would be "an additional 10,000 cars" in the two villages and the traffic congestion that would result from those added vehicles, Knowles said after testifying at a May 17 public forum at Slayton House in Wilde Lake.

The forum, which drew about 50 participants, was sponsored by representatives of the Chicago-based developer, General Growth Properties Inc., as part of series of meetings in which they are taking public feedback on the company's proposed master plan to guide the redevelopment of downtown Columbia over the next 30 years.

Company officials unveiled a draft of the plan in March that foresees a newly vibrant Town Center containing 5,500 new residential units, along with new stores, offices, open space and an "arts district" anchored by a rebuilt Merriweather Post Pavilion, all of which would be connected by walking and biking paths, and a new system of streets.

Sees plans in concert

Many of those who testified at the forum, including Knowles, said that General Growth's plan had to be considered in concert with a plan by the owners of the Wilde Lake Village Center to gut the 41-year-old center and rebuild it around 500 new housing units.

Officials of Kimco Realty Corp., which owns the center, unveiled their plan on March 17 but have since begun revising the document.

The latest version of the plan would demolish the center's original core shopping area to build 500 upscale apartments and underground parking, and place retail shops and offices along Lynx Lane.

Kimco officials have said that, pending county approval, some of the first Wilde Lake units could be under construction by 2009.

Officials of General Growth and Kimco have said that their plans are designed to create more activity in the core commercial and civic areas of Wilde Lake and Town Center.

Both plans need the approval of county officials to become reality.

Knowles testified that he is concerned that the street grid General Growth plans to build downtown would reduce traffic on Little Patuxent Parkway and convert Governor Warfield Parkway, which runs between Wilde Lake and Columbia mall, into a main road.

The new grid, along with the additional housing, would destroy the ambiance of Governor Warfield, which the county has designated as a scenic road, said Knowles, who is a plaintiff in a separate legal challenge that seeks to stop construction of a planned 22-story condominium, The Plaza Residences, in Town Center.

Elliott Simons, a Wilde Lake Village Board member, said he was concerned that General Growth's plan to build housing on the section of the mall property that borders Wilde Lake would lead to traffic congestion in the village.

Gregory Hamm, General Growth's general manager of Columbia, said his firm is trying to be sensitive to the concerns of Wilde Lake residents.

Company officials are in discussions with those of Kimco and plan to address traffic issues created by the two projects, he added.

Under Columbia's zoning, Kimco officials may not petition county officials for approval of their Wilde Lake plan but must leave that job to those of General Growth, even though General Growth does not own the Wilde Lake center.

General Growth officials won the right of this so-called "gatekeeper" role over new Columbia projects when they bought the planned community's original developer, The Rouse Co., in 2004.

Vince Marando and Mary Pivar, of the Wilde Lake Village Board, testified that village officials should be privy to General Growth's discussions of the Wilde Lake plan with Kimco officials.

"I think it would be helpful for (village board members) to be included," Pivar said.

Kimco officials did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

E-mail Andrei Blakely at ablakely@patuxent.com.

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