Rental Housing Study Briefing

In response to concerns raised about affordable housing, and particularly market-rate affordable housing, during discussions of the Long Branch and Glenmont Sector Plans, Park and Planning proposed and the Council funded a county-wide Rental Housing Study. The Planning Department provides this background on the purpose of the study.

The economic trends of Montgomery County and the Metropolitan DC region have exacerbated a rental housing shortage. And providing the appropriate housing stock to meet the demand for affordable housing is a challenge. The purpose of the study is to identify Montgomery County's rental housing issues and needs, and offer holistic and sustainable approaches to meeting them. A goal of the study is to help guarantee long term affordability of rental housing for a diverse range of households. The study will provide recommendations for increasing the availability of affordable rental housing by determining factors that contribute to increased housing costs, identifying best practices that could be implemented to preserve and add to the affordable rental stock, and recommending potential changes to current policies and programs. 

At yesterday's briefing on the study, we learned that 33 percent of all residential housing units are rental units; that 74 percent of renter households earn less than 100 percent of area median income; and that only 19 percent of rental units are affordable to households earning less than 50 percent of area median income.

The Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee will start looking at these issues and recommendations on October 2. Read the full study or watch the briefing.

Four to Interview for Planning Board

We will interview four applicants for the Planning Board on May 11 at 9:30 a.m. The applicants selected for interviews are Peter Myo Khin of Silver Spring, Tina Patterson of Germantown, Dan Reed of Silver Spring and Bruce Romer of Bethesda. This is an important position as the Planning Board serves as the Council’s principal adviser on land use planning and community planning. This means the board is responsible for preparation and amendment of the County General Plan; preparation and amendment of master plans and functional plans; implementation of the subdivision process and a whole lot more. You can watch these interviews live or on demand 24 hours later.

Council Names Gerald Cichy to Planning Board

Congratulations to our newly appointed Planning Board member. Here's the full press release:

The Montgomery County Council today unanimously named Gerald Cichy of Rockville to a soon to be vacant position on the Montgomery County Planning Board. He will begin his term in July, when the second and final term Amy Presley concludes. 

By law, the position had to be filled by a Republican, a voter who declines to affiliate with a party or by a member of another party officially recognized by the Montgomery County Board of Elections. In addition to Ms. Presley (Republican), current board members are Chair Casey Anderson (Democrat), Norman Dreyfuss (Republican), Natali Fani-Gonzalez (Democrat) and Marye Wells-Harley (Democrat). 

Mr. Cichy has more than 50 years in transportation and planning both in Montgomery County and the Washington region. He was director of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation from 1979-84. He also has served as a senior executive at the Maryland Transit Administration, the Maryland Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation.

His experience has included work with the proposed Corridor Cities Transitway in Montgomery County, the planned U.S. Route 29 Busway/BRT, the Purple Line, the ICC commuter bus, transit-oriented development, the B-W Maglev and BRAC transit and rideshare services.

He was awarded a U.S. Patent for a Bus Rapid Transit Vehicle, with doors to directly assess transit platforms. He was the recipient of the Federal Transit Administration’s "Innovative Idea Award" for his concept of a 200-Mile Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System supplementing the 100-Mile plus Metrorail System in the Washington Region. 

“With my recent retirement from the Maryland Department of Transportation and the Maryland Transit Administration, I am able to bring my wealth of experience, time, commitment and energy to this board position,” Mr. Cichy wrote to the Council in his letter of application. “It would be a great pleasure for me to, once again, serve my home County and community.” 

Apply Now for Planning Board

Here's the full press release:

ROCKVILLE, Md., February 26, 2016—The Montgomery County Council is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy on the Montgomery County Planning Board. The second term of Amy Presley (Republican) will expire on June 14, 2016, and she is therefore not eligible for reappointment.

Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20.

Members serve four-year terms and are limited to two full terms. No more than three members of the Planning Board may be from the same political party, and each member must be a resident and registered voter of Montgomery County when appointed. Since three Democrats are currently serving on the Board, this position must be filled by either a Republican, a voter who declines to affiliate with a party, or a member of another party officially recognized by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

In addition to Ms. Presley, current board members are Chair Casey Anderson (D), Norman Dreyfuss (R), Marye Wells-Harley (D), and Natali Fani-Gonzalez (D). Annual compensation for board members is currently $30,000. The chair currently earns $200.000.

The Planning Board serves as the Council’s principal adviser on land use planning and community planning. Planning Board members also serve as commissioners of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The Planning Board’s responsibilities with regard to planning include preparation and amendment of the County General Plan; preparation and amendment of master plans and functional plans; formulation of subdivision regulations; preparation of or recommendations on text amendments to the County Zoning Code; implementation of the subdivision process by reviewing and approving all preliminary plans, site plans and other plans for development; advice on the planning implications of capital facilities and programs of the County government, Montgomery College, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and Montgomery County Public Schools; commenting, under its mandatory referral authority, on plans for public facilities of local, state and federal agencies; and approval of the work program and the annual operating budget for the Planning Department and the Commission’s bi-county offices.

The Planning Board sits as the Park Commission and approves the annual Parks Department operating budget and Capital Improvements Program (CIP); land acquisition contracts and major development contracts for parks; development plans for individual park facilities; policies for park operations; and park user fees.

The Planning Board meets all day, including into the evening, every Thursday and will schedule other meetings, as needed. The entire Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission meets the third Wednesday of every month. On average, a Planning Board member may spend two full days a week in scheduled and informal meetings. Additionally, substantial time is required for preparatory work and other activities related to Planning Board responsibilities.

Letters of application expressing interest, including a resume listing professional and civic experience, should be addressed to: Council President Nancy Floreen, County Council Office, Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Applications can also be submitted via email to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov

Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20. It is the Council’s policy not to consider applications received after the deadline. After the closing date, Councilmembers will review the letters of application and select applicants for interviews to be held soon thereafter.

Letters of application and resumes are made public as part of the appointment process, and are available for public review. The interviews are conducted in public and will be televised. A resume of professional and civic experience should be included with each letter of application. A financial disclosure statement of assets, debts, income and family property interests will be required to be filed by each applicant. Only the ultimate appointee will be required to make the financial disclosure statement available to the public.

Council Approves Aspen Hill Minor Master Plan Amendment

After months of technical analysis and considerable community input, the Council approved the Aspen Hill Minor Master Plan Amendment which will provide opportunities for re-use of the former Vitro/BAE property in a way that focuses on design and encourages pedestrian use.

The plan creates mixed-use options for redevelopment of a long-empty office building and neighboring properties. Based on neighborhood concerns, we restricted the "big box" potential for the Vitro/BAE site while providing flexibility for future retail and possible residential use.

The area being addressed covers about 14 acres west of Connecticut Avenue near Aspen Hill Road. The vacant Vitro/BAE property encompasses ten of those acres. At the time the Council reviewed the 1994 Aspen Hill Master Plan Amendment, the Vitro/BAE office building was occupied and the Master Plan supported the continued office focus.

We are grateful to the Aspen Hill community for its tireless commitment to its neighborhood's future. We listened long and hard to the concerns of residents in crafting a sustainable solution for this challenging site. The passage of this plan paves the way for much-needed and long-anticipated redevelopment in the area.

New Zoning Code Takes Effect Thursday

On the day before Halloween we will say "rest in peace" to the old zoning code. Council President Craig Rice, Councilmember Cherri Branson and I will join with County Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson, Planning Board members and staff at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at a park next to Park and Planning Headquarters in Silver Spring for ceremonies to “bury” the County’s Zoning Ordinance that was originally established in 1977. Earlier this year, we approved the first major revision to the ordinance in 37 years. The new regulations go into effect on October 30.

After we bury a copy of the hefty original zoning ordinance in Royce Hanson Park, we will unveil the slimmer, easier-to-navigate new ordinance in an interactive presentation.
           
We will celebrate the modernized code’s clarity and ease of use, which will encourage community engagement and foster innovation. Previously, only experts in land use generally could navigate the zoning ordinance, but now it will be easier for more people to get comprehensive information about every County property in an interactive, online format.

Since its establishment in 1977, the zoning ordinance has undergone more than three decades of piecemeal changes—all of which combined to create a disjointed system where antiquated, complicated rules made the zoning process difficult for individuals to understand. In a coordinated effort to address these issues, the Council, the Planning Board and staff members have spent about five years reviewing, streamlining and overhauling more than 400 land use categories, 123 zones and 1,200 pages of rules.

With more predictability in the system, businesses will be able to act more nimbly and be more responsive to community concerns. That’s good news in a County that has long been criticized for failing to support job creation.

The new zoning code has broader land use categories that are inclusive of an ever evolving marketplace. The rules help to promote smart growth principles with more density allowed in and around transit. In addition, residential uses are generally permitted in commercial zones, which will create more mixed-use developments.

The zoning code rewrite is one example of how the County’s land use evolution is entering an exciting stage of development. The current Council has devoted considerable time to land use issues, and during its four-year term has approved more master and sector plans than any other Council in recent memory.

In addressing master and sector plans around the County, the Council has focused on creating cutting-edge centers for innovation in areas that have historically been underutilized, like the White Oak area.

The revised zoning ordinance is now available at:
www.montgomeryplanning.org/development/zoning/documents/FULLCh_59withzta9.30.14_000.pdf .

Council Appoints Natali Fani-Gonzalez to Planning Board

I'm looking forward to working with our new Planning Board member, Natali Fani-Gonzalez. She's a great communicator, and she has a real sense of Montgomery County. She will make a terrific addition to the team. Here's the full press release:

The Montgomery County Council today unanimously named Natali Fani-Gonzalez to a vacant position on the Montgomery County Planning Board.

Ms. Fani-Gonzalez, a Kensington resident, was one of 25 applicants for the position. The Council interviewed four of those applicants. She will serve a four-year term.

Ms. Fani-Gonzalez is the founder and principal of The Matea Group, a strategic public relations firm based in Montgomery County.

In her letter of application, Ms. Fani-Gonzalez wrote, “During the past decade, I have shown initiative, creativity in problem solving and a commitment to building consensus and excellence in a variety of settings. Through my public relations firm, I have successfully advanced local, state, national and international issues, including global migration and development, the Maryland Dream Act, online privacy and Internet freedom, transparency in elections, access to health care, the national Deferred Action for Undocumented Children, Women’s rights, family economic justice and veteran’s rights.”

Earlier this year, Ms. Fani-Gonzalez was awarded a citation by the Maryland General Assembly for outstanding contributions to the state. 

In her letter of application and in her interview with the Council, Ms. Fani-Gonzalez, who is fluent in English and Spanish, told Councilmembers she could bring a unique perspective to the five-member Planning Board.

“As part of the millennial generation—the largest and most diverse generation in the history of the nation, I will bring a pragmatic vision with a strong social conscience amplified by the use of technology,” she wrote in her letter of application. “Indisputably, the planning of a strong and successful Montgomery County must include the realities of my generation: an innovated, open-minded, achievement-orientated, socially focused, informed and high-tech community.”

Schedule for Planning Board Interviews

Here's the schedule for tomorrow's interview of four applicants for the Montgomery County Planning Board. One applicant who was selected for an interview—Mohammad Siddique—has since withdrawn his application.

• 2 p.m. Charles Kauffman
• 2:30 p.m. Victor Weissberg
• 3 p.m. Dennis Kamber
• 3:30 p.m. Natali Fani-Gonzalez 

You can watch the interviews live or on demand on County Cable Montgomery.

Council Will Interview Five for Planning Board

We will interview five applicants for the Planning Board on Tuesday, September 23. Here is the entire press release:

ROCKVILLE, Md., September 16, 2014—The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, Sept. 23, will interview five applicants for a vacant position on the Montgomery County Planning Board. The position is a four-year term. 

The Council received letters of interest from 25 applicants. The Council selected the following five applicants to interview for the position: Natali Fani-Gonzalez, Dennis Kamber, Charles Kauffman, Mohammad Siddique and Victor Weissberg. 

The interviews will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The times of the interviews will be announced later this week.

The public is invited to attend the interviews, which will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The broadcast also will be streamed at: 
www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/ondemand/index.html. 

The interviews will be rebroadcast on Friday, Sept. 26, as part of a rebroadcast of the Council’s activities on Sept. 23, including its morning general session. The rebroadcast will begin at 9 p.m. Friday and will be available before that time on demand.

The resume of each applicant to be interviewed is available as part of the information packet on the interview process. That information can be viewed at:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/Resources/Files/BCC/Planningboardapplicantsresumes9-15-14.pdf.

Apply Now to Planning Board

Now that current Planning Board member Casey Anderson has been selected as chair, we are looking to fill the vacancy he leaves. Get your resume in by September 3. Here's the full announcement:

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 15, 2014—The Montgomery County Council is re-advertising for applicants to fill a vacant position on the Montgomery County Planning Board.  Casey Anderson (Democrat), who has served on the Planning Board since June of 2011, was designated by the Council today to replace Françoise Carrier as chair.  Since the Council designated a sitting board member, the current vacancy on the board remains. The term currently occupied by Ms. Carrier and soon to be vacant will expire on June 14, 2018.  

During the recruitment for board chair, the Council received 19 applications. The Council has decided to readvertise for the board member vacancy, but all previous applicants who were not appointed as chair will be considered for this vacancy if they remain interested in serving.

Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

No more than three members of the Planning Board may be from the same political party, and each member must be a resident and registered voter of Montgomery County when appointed.  Members serve four-year terms and are limited to two full terms. The position can be filled by a Democrat, a Republican, a voter who declines to affiliate with a party or a member of another party officially recognized by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

In addition to Mr. Anderson (D), current board members are Norman Dreyfuss (R), Amy Presley (R) and Marye Wells-Harley (D). Annual compensation for board members is currently $30,000.  
The Planning Board serves as the Council’s principal adviser on land use planning and community planning.  Planning Board members also serve as commissioners of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The Planning Board’s responsibilities with regard to planning include preparation and amendment of the County General Plan; preparation and amendment of master plans and functional plans; formulation of subdivision regulations; preparation of or recommendations on text amendments to the County Zoning Code; implementation of the subdivision process by reviewing and approving all preliminary plans, site plans and other plans for development; advice on the planning implications of capital facilities and programs of the County government, Montgomery College, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and Montgomery County Public Schools; commenting, under its mandatory referral authority, on plans for public facilities of local, state and federal agencies; and approval of the work program and the annual operating budget for the Planning Department and the Commission’s bi-county offices.

The Planning Board sits as the Park Commission and approves the annual Parks Department operating budget and Capital Improvements Program (CIP); land acquisition contracts and major development contracts for parks; development plans for individual park facilities; policies for park operations; and park user fees.  

The Planning Board meets all day every Thursday and often meets one other evening a week. The entire Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission meets the third Wednesday of every month.  On average, a Planning Board member can expect to spend at least two full days a week in scheduled and informal meetings.  Additionally, substantial time is required for preparatory work and other activities related to Planning Board responsibilities.

Letters of application expressing interest, including a resume listing professional and civic experience, should be addressed to: Council President Craig Rice, County Council Office, Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Applications can also be submitted via email to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3. It is the Council’s policy not to consider applications received after the deadline. After the Sept. 3 closing date, Councilmembers will review the letters of application and select applicants for interviews to be held soon thereafter.

Letters of application and resumes are made public as part of the appointment process, and are available for public review. The interviews are conducted in public and may be televised. A resume of professional and civic experience should be included with each letter of application. A financial disclosure statement of assets, debts, income and family property interests will be required to be filed by each applicant.  Only the ultimate appointee will be required to make the financial disclosure statement available to the public.

Questions for Planning Board Applicants

Tomorrow we will interview Casey Anderson, Norman Dreyfuss, Mike Knapp, Rose Krasnow and Meredith Wellington for the position of Planning Board Chair. Here are the questions which have been provided to the applicants in advance:

1. Why do you want to be chair of the Planning Board and what in your background qualifies you for this role?
2. What do you feel are the most important issues facing the Planning Board, and what would be your top three priorities as chair?
3. What is your understanding of the role of chair as it relates to other members of the Board and to the Council?
4. How do you think we should deal with future development and redevelopment issues, and what is the Planning Board’s role in supporting existing communities?
5. Many of the Council’s land use decisions require balancing the community’s desires for further economic development, neighborhood protection, and enhanced environmental protection. What factors would you look at in trying to achieve a reasonable balance in individual cases?
6. What is your view of the Planning Board’s overall responsibility for our park system, and what do you see as the chair’s role?
7. As you know, this position carries with it obligations for attending meetings, making appearances and other activities that include some nights and weekends.  Will you make the time commitments required to fulfill these elements of the role?  Have you engaged in community outreach activities?  If so, what were they?
8. Are there any potential conflicts-of-interest of which we should be aware?
9. Are there other points about your interest in the chair that you would like to call to the Council’s attention?

The interviews will be held in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The public is invited to attend the interviews, which will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The broadcast also will be streamed at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/ondemand/index.html.

The interviews will be rebroadcast on Friday, July 11, as part of a rebroadcast of the Council’s complete activities on July 8, including its morning general session. The rebroadcast will begin at 9 p.m. Friday and will be available before that time on demand.

The resume of each applicant to be interviewed is available as part of the information packet on the interview process. That information can be viewed at:
http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=1678&meta_id=67608.

White Oak Master Plan Overview Available On Demand

If you missed the Planning Board's overview of the Draft White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan yesterday, it is now available on demand on County Cable Montgomery (choose the June 17 Council session video). The Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee as well as the full Council will be looking at the plan next month. Here's the tentative schedule:

PHED Committee meetings:

July 1 – Discussion of transportation issues
July 3 – Transportation issues, continued
July 7 – Discussion of land use issues
July 10 – Land use issues, continued
July 16 – Land use issues, continued

Full Council meetings:

July 22 – Full Council worksession
July 29 – Final vote

To weigh in, e-mail county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Council to Interview Five for Planning Board Chair

On July 8 we will interview five candidates for chair of the Montgomery County Planning Board. They are Casey Anderson, Norman Dreyfuss, Mike Knapp, Rose Krasnow and Meredith Wellington. Current Board Chair Francoise Carrier’s term expires on June 14, and she indicated that she would not apply for reappointment. Eighteen people applied for the vacancy.

If we appoint either of the current board members, Mr. Anderson or Mr. Dreyfuss, there would be a vacant seat on the board. In that case, we would conduct a second round of interviews, selecting interviewees from the remaining applicants on the list.

Interviews are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. on July 8, in the third floor hearing room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The interviews are open to the public and will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery. The broadcast also will be streamed through the Council Web site at and will be available on demand within 24 hours.

Apply Now for Planning Board Chair

Apply now to fill a position on the Montgomery County Planning Board for the expiring term of Françoise Carrier (Democrat).  Her term will expire on June 14, 2014.  Ms. Carrier, who serves as the Planning Board Chair, has indicated that she will not apply for reappointment.

The Council will designate a new chair in conjunction with the appointment process by designating either the appointee or another sitting Board member to be the chair. If a current member of the Board is designated chair, the new appointee will serve as a board member.

No more than three members of the Planning Board may be from the same political party, and each member must be a resident and registered voter of Montgomery County when appointed. Members serve four-year terms and are limited to two full terms. The position can be filled by a Democrat, Republican, a voter who declines to affiliate with a party, or a member of another party officially recognized by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

The Council will designate a new chair in conjunction with the appointment process by designating either the appointee or another sitting Board member. Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on April 7.

In addition to Ms. Carrier, current board members are Casey Anderson (D), Norman Dreyfuss (R), Amy Presley (R) and Marye Wells-Harley (D). Annual compensation for Board members is currently $30,000, and the Chair currently earns $168,450.  The Council expects to set the salary for the Chair prior to the appointment.

The Planning Board serves as the Council’s principal adviser on land use planning and community planning.  Planning Board members also serve as Commissioners of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The Planning Board’s responsibilities with regard to planning include preparation and amendment of the County General Plan; preparation and amendment of Master Plans and functional plans; formulation of subdivision regulations; preparation of or recommendations on text amendments to the County Zoning Code; implementation of the subdivision process by reviewing and approving all preliminary plans, site plans and other plans for development; advice on the planning implications of capital facilities and programs of the County government, Montgomery College, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and Montgomery County Public Schools; commenting, under its mandatory referral authority, on plans for public facilities of local, state and federal agencies; and approval of the work program and the annual operating budget for the Planning Department and the Commission’s bi-county offices.

The Planning Board sits as the Park Commission and approves the annual Parks Department operating budget and Capital Improvements Program (CIP); land acquisition contracts and major development contracts for parks; development plans for individual park facilities; policies for park operations; and park user fees.

The Montgomery County Planning Board meets all day every Thursday and often meets on one other evening a week. The entire Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission meets the third Wednesday of every month. On average, a Planning Board member can expect to spend at least two full days a week in scheduled and informal meetings. Additionally, substantial time is required for preparatory work and other activities related to Planning Board responsibilities.

Send your letter of application expressing interest, including a resume listing professional and civic experience, to: Council President Craig Rice, County Council Office, Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Applications can also be submitted via email to county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, April 7.  It is the Council’s policy not to consider applications received after the deadline. After the April 7 closing date, Councilmembers will review the letters of application and select applicants for interviews to be held soon thereafter.

Letters of application and resumes are made public as part of the appointment process, and are available for public review. The interviews are conducted in public and may be televised. A resume of professional and civic experience should be included with each letter of application. A financial disclosure statement of assets, debts, income and family property interests will be required to be filed by each applicant.  Only the ultimate appointee will be required to make the financial disclosure statement available to the public.

Revised FAQ Page on Zoning Code Rewrite

If you still have questions about the Zoning Code Rewrite, check out the recently revised FAQ page. Here is just one example of what you can find there:

Q: Why are non-residential buildings allowed in R-60 and R-90 if they will introduce non-residential uses into single-family neighborhoods?

A: Non-residential buildings do not introduce non-residential uses into single-family neighborhoods. The uses that are allowed in a zone are determined by the Use Table in Section 3.1.6. Currently, in single family zones, the code allows for uses such as churches, day care facilities, non-residential offices, libraries, schools, etc. The provisions for nonresidential buildings will establish standards that do not currently exist for the buildings that contain these uses. These buildings would only be permitted if they contain a use that is legal, as outlined in Section 3.1.6. The purpose of creating the nonresidential building is to protect residential neighborhoods from the impacts of non-residential uses. For example, there are currently no limits on density for non-residential uses in the R-90 or R-60 zones. The proposed draft represents a substantive change that limits the density of uses located in non-residential buildings and requires increased street frontage, setbacks for parking lots, larger side setbacks from neighboring residential properties, and screening.

Gwen Wright Selected as Planning Director

The Montgomery County Planning Board has selected a new planning director, placing a professional who has held top planning jobs in the City of Alexandria, Virginia, and our own Montgomery County Planning Department at the helm of the county’s 150-member planning department. I look forward to working with Gwen Wright once again beginning July 1.

The Planning Board has been vetting planning director candidates for several months since the departure of its previous director, Rollin Stanley, in May 2012. The search process resulted in a number of qualified candidates who were considered before the Board made its final selection.

Ms. Wright was with the Montgomery County Planning Department from 1987 to 2008, most recently as Acting Director of the Department and prior to that as Chief of Countywide Planning. Currently, she is Chief of the Development Division at the City of Alexandria, Virginia’s Department of Planning and Zoning. She has a degree in Architecture and Architectural History from Yale University. Ms. Wright has been a speaker at the national conferences of the American Planning Association and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a university instructor in planning and zoning and preservation, and a board member of the Maryland Association of Historic District Commissions.

As planning director, Ms. Wright will oversee a department responsible for making recommendations to the board on master plans, development applications, forest conservation, historic preservation, and a host of other land-use issues.

Thanks go to Rose Krasnow for her exceptional efforts as Acting Planning Director since Mr. Stanley’s departure. We are extremely grateful for her management expertise, her unfailing professionalism and her willingness to serve in this demanding position.

Planning Board to Hold Hearing on Rapid Transit

This is your chance to have your voice heard. Here is the Planning Board's press release:

 

Have an opinion about a plan that would bring rapid transit to Montgomery County? If so, mark your calendar for a May 16 public hearing scheduled by the Montgomery County Planning Board.

 

The public hearing is to invite input on the draft Countywide Transit Corridors Plan, which recommends a system to place high-quality buses in the county’s most congested areas – inside-the-Beltway communities, suburban activity centers and highly traveled commuter corridors. The draft plan recommends 10 transit corridors spanning 79 miles.

 

Along with forecast population increases, Montgomery County is expected to add more than 200,000 jobs over the next 30 years without the ability to expand roadway capacity. For the last two decades, policy-makers and planners have encouraged alternative modes of travel to reduce congestion.

 

BRT provides a flexible, cost-effective alternative to congested roadways, planners say, by offering reliable, fast connections in areas where development and density is not high enough to warrant rail. Planners focused on creating transit connections to Metro’s Red Line, the planned Purple Line and MARC.

 

The plan also makes recommendations to improve accessibility for bicycles, pedestrians, and train riders, such as designating bicycle-pedestrian priority areas around major stations and adding a third track on part of the MARC train’s Brunswick Line.

 

The Planning Board will begin a detailed review of the plan in the weeks following the public hearing, before revising and finalizing a new version for transmittal to the County Council in the summer.

 

Sign up to speak at the public hearing at http://www.montgomeryapps.org/planning_board/testify.asp; at date prompt, scroll to May 16.

 

The Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan will amend the Master Plan of Highways, which will be renamed the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.

 

Who:

Montgomery County Planning Board

 

What:

Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan public hearing

 

When:

6 p.m. Thursday, May 16

 

Where:

Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium

8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring

Find a Forest Conservation Easement

Do you have a forest conservation easement on or near your property? Easements protect forests on private land by limiting certain activities, part of the Planning Board's emphasis on forest conservation. Now you can locate easement areas using the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's online tool.

User-Friendly Tool Highlights Current Development

Want to know more about development projects proposed near where you live or work? To stay abreast of Montgomery County development activity, visit the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission’s online development finder to learn details about building applications to be considered by the Planning Board.

Planning Smarter Open House this Saturday

Want to know more about how the Montgomery County Planning Department helps create great communities? Check out this Saturday’s open house to get a crash course in how good planning results in great communities. The event is particularly great for those who are not familiar with the Planning Department or the work that they do. Eleven exhibits will be set up throughout the building, focusing on the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite, Historic Preservation, three master plans including Wheaton, Chevy Chase Lake, and the White Oak Science Gateway, the minor master plan amendment process, a major development in each of the three geographic areas, interactive GIS maps and rapid transit. There will even be a city building activity for children. If you can’t attend but still want to learn more, visit the virtual open house.

Planning Smarter Open House
10 a.m.- 1 p.m. Saturday, October 6
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
www.montgomeryplanning.org/planningsmarter