Session addressed zoning and land use recommendations for transitional areas between Wisconsin Avenue and adjacent neighborhoods
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, conducted a work session to review the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan on Tuesday, December 15 at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring. MD).
View the December 15 Staff Report for the Bethesda Sector Plan work session.
The new Sector Plan recommends increasing density in Downtown Bethesda near identified centers of activity and civic gathering spaces. Staff discussed the design challenges of tall buildings as a result of this increased density. The need for pedestrian-friendly, active ground-floor spaces, low to mid-rise building bases and innovative facades was stressed for the area.
The work session focused on recommended zoning and land uses for the following areas:
-Eastern Greenway Districts north and south of East-West Highway. These transitional areas lie between the Wisconsin Avenue corridor and adjacent single-family residential neighborhoods.
-Due to the lengthy discussion on the Eastern Greenway and testimony from the public, the zoning recommendations for the Arlington North, Arlington South, Battery Lane and South Bethesda Districts were not examined as had originally been planned for the work session. Staff and Planning Board members will discuss the zoning and building heights for the remaining districts, as time permits, during the next work session on January 7, 2016.
Future work sessions will be held in January and February of 2016 to discuss affordable housing recommendations, density transfer incentives, parks and open space and environmental recommendations in the Plan.
View the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan Public Hearing Draft.
Background on the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan
Launched in 2014, 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. One of its recommendations is a high performance area that will incentivize more energy-efficient buildings, new parks, tree-lined streets and innovative storm water management. Making Bethesda into a truly sustainable downtown – economically, socially and environmentally – is the plan’s top priority.
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 Capital Crescent Trail.
-Economic competitiveness within the region based on new development, public amenities and proximity to transit, including Metrorail and the proposed Purple Line light rail.
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 plan, please email bethesdadownplan@montgomeryplanning.org