Session to address recommendations for Wisconsin Avenue and other districts
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, will conduct the third work session to review the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan on Monday, October 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring. MD). The session will continue the discussion of the district-by-district zoning recommended for established and emerging centers that was outlined in the Public Hearing Draft of the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan.
The new Plan recommends increasing density in Bethesda by approximately 20 percent with greater increases near identified centers of activity and gathering spaces, including the Farm Women’s Cooperative Market, Bethesda Metrorail Station and Veteran’s Park.
The October 5 work session will address the Pearl District, the Wisconsin Avenue District and the remaining four districts, as time permits.
A fourth work session is scheduled for October 22nd to address the high performance area, ecology, parks and open spaces, and affordable housing as outlined in the Sector Plan. All work sessions will be held at the Montgomery County Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910).
At the conclusion of these discussions, the Planning Board’s recommendations will be incorporated into the Draft of the Sector Plan and sent to the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee in November 2015. That committee will hold a public hearing prior to its work sessions on the plan. Final Council action is anticipated in spring 2016.
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.
View the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan Public Hearing Draft.
For questions or comments about the Bethesda plan, please email bethesdadownplan@montgomeryplanning.org