SILVER SPRING, MD – What is the current pace of Montgomery County growth? How should the county grow in the near and
distant future? And what can public officials do to sustain and build upon
Montgomery County’s high quality of life?
To
help answer those questions and more, the Montgomery County Planning Board
invites residents to participate in a community growth policy forum and
discussion on Saturday, May 5 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Park and Planning
Headquarters, 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. A panel of civic and business
representatives will participate.
Planners
are in the midst of crafting new recommendations to direct new development to
areas in the county where taxpayer-funded services – such as public
transportation, water/sewer, and police and fire services – are already in
place.
In
May, the Planning Board will send its recommendations to Montgomery County
Council for review, discussion and potential adoption. The Board’s recommendations to the Council
could include changing how the Board considers traffic counts and how to
structure future development impact taxes. In addition, the recommendations to the Council may also address
community design and environmental sustainability.
Preliminary
staff reports about the growth policy recommendations are available at www.mcparkandplanning.org/development/agp/agphome.shtm.
Information
and perspectives garnered from the May 5 public forum will help inform the Planning
Board during a specially scheduled public work session on Tuesday, May 8 at 7
p.m.
Beyond that, those interested in county growth issues
may listen to a diverse slate of nationally renowned planning experts during
the Planning Board’s growth
management speaker series that continues through the spring and early
summer.