In the fairy tale world envisioned by certain members of the Montgomery County Council, the office building in Aspen Hill would be full of workers who biked to their high-paying jobs advancing various progressive causes, and then stopped after work to buy organic food from locally owned shops nearby.

In the real world, the BAE Systems building on Connecticut Avenue has been vacant for three years, and there is no sign of a new tenant on the horizon. Yet at-large County Council members George Leventhal and Marc Elrich oppose allowing the land underneath what neighbors call a “vacant eyesore” to be rezoned for retail use because Walmart wants to build a new store on the site.