Planners and Planning Board will discuss recommended zoning and building heights for residential areas flanking Bradley Boulevard
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, will hold a work session for the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan on Thursday, February 4 at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD). Discussion will focus on zoning and building heights for the South Bethesda District, a residential area of garden apartments, townhouses and single-family homes situated to either side of Bradley Boulevard. For details about the work session, consult the Planning Board Agenda.
The next work session is scheduled for Thursday, February 25, 2016. Consult the Planning Board Agenda webpage two weeks prior to this work session to find out more specifics about the session. Following the work sessions, the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan will be revised at the direction of the Planning Board and reviewed by the Board before being sent to the County Council later this year.
Learn more about the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan.
Background on the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan
The new plan builds on the success of Downtown Bethesda by offering ways to strengthen its centers of activity – Bethesda Row, Wisconsin Avenue corridor, Woodmont Triangle and other established and emerging districts – over the next 20 years. Among its recommendations is a high performance area that incentivizes more energy-efficient buildings, new parks, tree-lined streets and innovative storm water management. The priority of the plan is to create a truly sustainable downtown. Other goals of the plan focus on:
-A mix of housing options, including preservation of market-rate affordable apartments and new moderately priced dwelling units in exchange for development incentives.
-New and/or expanded civic greens at Veteran’s Park, Bethesda Farm Women’s Cooperative Market and along part of the Capital Crescent Trail.
-Economic competitiveness within the region based on new development, public amenities and proximity to transit, including Metrorail and proposed Purple Line light rail.
-Density averaging (a planning tool that allows square footage to be sent from one mixed-use site to another mixed-use site) to create or enlarge parks, protect significant community landmarks and retain affordable housing.
Work on the Staff Draft of the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan began in January 2014. Community participation was encouraged through public meetings and workshops, online surveys and happy hour events, which were intended to reach residents who don’t typically participate in the planning process.
The Plan serves as an amendment to the approved and adopted 1994 Bethesda Central Business District Sector Plan and the 2006 Woodmont Triangle Amendment to that Sector Plan.
For questions or comments about the Bethesda Downtown Sector plan, please email bethesdadownplan@montgomeryplanning.org