Buildings up to 110 feet, packed residential units and flooded classrooms. This is what Montgomery County residents will face with the implementation of the redevelopment plan for the Westbard Shopping Center.

The vote on the Westbard plan has been delayed and revised for months, but the final vote passed today in the County Council.

It includes 1200 new residential units, changing the current zoning law, which used to restrict the area to 580 units, according to Cindy Gibson, chief of staff for councilman Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda) and NBC Washington. Affordable housing will make up 15 percent of the total new units.

The county legislature should revisit the plan in order to create a proposal honoring the community’s desires with minimal repercussions for the area.

The Westbard area should be redeveloped, but not to the extent that the plan currently allows. A revised plan should reduce the number of total residential units built, but make a greater percentage of the units affordable housing. This would keep class sizes manageable, but still open up the community.

The Westbard shopping center redevelopment is long overdue. Ninety percent of Sumner neighborhood residents support a reconstruction plan that considers the effect on class sizes and traffic, according to a neighborhood poll conducted by Sumner Citizens Association. If the remodeling is done correctly, then it can increase the appeal of the area.

The Montgomery County Planning Board has estimated that class size per grade in grades K-5 will increase by 99 students, middle school by 43 and high school by 53 due to the redevelopment. Estimates from the Save Westbard campaign’s website are starkly different, with projections ranging from 500 to 1,500 total new students.

Even the more modest MCPB projections will have disastrous effects on an already overcrowded school system. The number of new students will increase over time, as more families move into the area. This is a problem because with larger class sizes, teachers spend less individual time with each student, limiting student achievement.

The council should also increase the amount of affordable housing in the plan. More affordable housing will make this community more accessible for a greater number of people. Allocating only 15 percent of residential units isn’t sufficient. The council should make half of the new housing affordable to promote integration in the community. This would substantially change the area’s demographics, which would make our community more attainable and diverse.

The reconstruction of the Westbard Shopping Center has the potential to change the community for the better. However, the current plan disregards consideration of community impacts and overlooks the possibility of bettering the community. Councilmen should alter the plan to adequately address potential community effects. Only then will Westbard, and the broader community, truly be saved.