SILVER SPRING, MD – Preparing for the next phase of a project that will overhaul the Montgomery County zoning code, the Planning Board on Thursday will review a report that describes in detail the potential approach to the document.
Drafted with a team of consultants hired by the Planning Department, “Zoning Montgomery: Approach and Annotated Outline” addresses how to organize and write the document, section by section.
The zoning code regulates development throughout the county by specifying what, where and how property owners can build on their sites. The current 1,076-page, decades-old code is viewed as antiquated and hard to use.
The project approach, drafted after public listening sessions and stakeholder interviews, creates a roadmap for the project. Piggy-backing on issues identified in last year’s Zoning Discovery report, the outline sets forth how to achieve strategic growth in a largely built-out county. Overall, the approach details how the zoning code can improve the quality of development in Montgomery County by encouraging green building, compact development and better public amenities.
The report, which also will undergo scrutiny by the County Council, will allow county officials to agree on the critical elements to be included in the new zoning code before the drafting process begins. Input from residents and others will be solicited during public forums to be scheduled this spring.
With only about 4 percent of land in Montgomery County available for development, the new zoning code can play a crucial role in guiding redevelopment of areas like surface parking lots and strip shopping centers. The rules controlling that redevelopment are built into the zoning code and play an important role in achieving the kind of growth Montgomery County policy-makers and residents want.
View the draft project approach and learn more about the zoning code rewrite.
Who:
Montgomery County Planning Department
What:
Review of Zoning Montgomery: Approach and Annotated Outline
When:
Approximately 9 a.m. Thursday, February 18
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring
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