How a devastating hurricane launched a planning career

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Montgomery Planning is proud to have a team of planners who reflect Montgomery County’s rich culture. As part of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting some of our planners working to craft a better future for our diverse county.

When Hurricane Maria roared through Puerto Rico, Justine Gonzalez Velez saw how homes that had been allowed in areas prone to landslides and flooding were destroyed and swept away.

“A lot of people, a lot of families in Puerto Rico, lost their houses,” said Gonzalez Velez, who was in his first year of college at the time. “They lost their lives. They lost all the things they had worked for their entire lives – and that was a byproduct … Continue reading

Montgomery and Prince George’s planning directors celebrate and reflect on Community Planning Month

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By Lakisha Hull and Jason K. Sartori

October marks National Community Planning Month, a time to recognize the visionary work of planners and community leaders in Montgomery County and Prince George’s County who shape the places we call home and who stand out for their thoughtful, methodical, and innovative land use and sustainable development strategies.

We’re not just reshaping landscapes but also enriching lives through transit-oriented development, preservation of green spaces, and inclusive housing initiatives. As planning directors for Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, we are proud to lead departments that not only envision the future but actively engage residents and a variety of other community stakeholders in realizing it. Montgomery Planning and Prince George’s Planning are both departments … Continue reading

Findings from the 2024 American Community Survey: Montgomery County, Maryland, and the United States

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This September, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2024 American Community Survey data, 1-year estimates, providing a wealth of new statistics about Montgomery County. This blog highlights key demographic and housing information about the county from this new data release and how the county compares with Maryland and the United States.

Key demographic statistics for 2024

Montgomery County had 1,082,273 residents in 2024 and continued to be Maryland’s most populous county with 17% of the state’s population. Since 2020, the county’s population has increased by more than 20,000 people, or 1.9%, higher than the state’s growth rate (1.4%) but lower than the national growth rate (2.5%).

In addition, the county had 389,161 households in 2024. However, the number of … Continue reading

Building community one bike ride at a time

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By Montgomery Planning Staff

Montgomery Planning is proud to have a team of planners who reflect Montgomery County’s rich multiculturism. As part of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting some of our planners working to craft a better future for a diverse Montgomery County.

Almost every Friday, Mario Emanuel Perez and his two children set off for a 30-minute bike ride to their Silver Spring elementary school, picking up dozens of other students and parents along the way.

Perez, who goes by “Ema,” organizes the weekly “bike bus” to encourage people of all ages to ride. The cycling trips, he said, benefit their health, take traffic off the road, and shorten the school’s car drop-off line. Meanwhile, he … Continue reading

Planning for the storm: Solutions for more resilient communities

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By Montgomery Planning staff

Flooding is a growing threat to Montgomery County due to severe storms caused by climate change. Whether it’s damaging homes, disrupting traffic, or harming local ecosystems, the impacts of flooding are real and intensifying.

As the agency responsible for land use and planning for the future, we’re uniquely positioned to help reduce flood risks and build a more resilient county. Our approach is rooted in smart growth, environmental stewardship, and interagency collaboration.

Understanding the problem

Flooding happens when rainfall overwhelms the land’s ability to absorb water and the capacity of natural and built drainage systems like streams, wetlands, and storm drains. In Montgomery County, many neighborhoods were built before modern stormwater standards existed, leaving them … Continue reading

How rethinking stairwells could boost housing in Montgomery County

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This blog post is also published as a Greater Greater Washington guest column.

A key contributor to Montgomery County’s housing crisis might surprise you: Stairwells.

As in most of the United States, Montgomery County apartment buildings taller than three stories must have two stairwells connected by a hallway. It’s part of a century-old building code requirement to help residents quickly escape in case of a fire.

But many experts now say double stairwells have become redundant amid modern sprinkler systems, fire-resistant walls, and other vastly improved fire-protection technology. Moreover, the requirement significantly increases building costs, takes up space that could be used for additional or larger apartments, prices out smaller developers, and makes it difficult to build on smaller lots … Continue reading

Delivering more benefits for communities through development

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Montgomery County just updated its policy that drives the amenities communities receive with new development

Every day, Montgomery County residents and visitors enjoy the public benefits of private development.

At Pike & Rose in North Bethesda, sculptures and colorful murals and landscaping greet diners and shoppers. Another nearby development, Strathmore Square, encircles a 1.2-acre publicly accessible park with space for pop-up markets and performances. The United Therapeutics office building in downtown Silver Spring generates its own solar power, giving it a net-zero carbon footprint. Marriott’s high-rise headquarters in downtown Bethesda includes a wide, lighted walkway between Wisconsin and Woodmont avenues. Many of these developments also offer subsidized, affordable housing options for county residents.

Such amenities help make new developments … Continue reading

Meet the new Montgomery Planning

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Following the adoption of Thrive Montgomery 2050 in 2022, the big question on our minds at Montgomery Planning has been – what’s next in terms of implementation? Thrive, the county’s updated General Plan, has big implications on how we grow as a county in the decades to come and marks a shift in how we plan. As we began developing Montgomery Planning’s new Strategic Plan, which outlines internal goals and objectives over the next five years, we realized we need to look at the department’s structure to position our organization for that shift.

We felt the timing was right to do so. The last time we had a comprehensive organizational structure update was in 2011. A lot has changed … Continue reading

Seeking regional solutions for the future of our communities

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Over the past year, I had the honor of serving as the Chair of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). Our impact on the bi-county region of Prince George’s County and Montgomery County is enormous and cannot be understated. I have the pleasure of serving alongside my counterpart Peter Shapiro, who is the Chair of the Prince George’s County Planning Board. Every new fiscal year, on July 1, we swap the position of Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission. I would like to take a moment to reflect on the great work that we have done together over my first term.

Housing

I know the importance of affordable housing. My parents were able to access government-subsidized housing … Continue reading

Deciding the year’s most excellent designs

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All of us at Montgomery Planning are excited to once again celebrate the best architecture, landscape, and/or urban designs in Montgomery County this fall. The 2025 Design Excellence Awards presentation on Thursday, October 16, 2025, will be held in conjunction with the AIA Potomac Chapter’s Celebrate Design event in Bethesda at the Marriott International Hotels Headquarters (a 2023 Design Excellence Merit winner).

One award will be the newly named Gwen Marcus Wright Design Excellence Award in Architectural, Urban Design, and Landscape design. The second award, Exceptional Housing, will honor multi-family residential projects built in the county over the past ten years. Award submissions are being accepted through Monday evening, July 21, 2025.

For each Design Excellence Awards celebration, Montgomery Planning … Continue reading