Attend virtual events for the Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan and the Corridor Forward: the I-270 Transit Plan, participate in Walktober, and discover more ways to get involved.
WHEATON, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board and the Montgomery County Planning Department, both part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), have announced their October 2021 calendar of online meetings. As we work towards full reopening, the Planning Board invites the public to continue to participate virtually in meetings during the month of October 2021. However, please note that the Montgomery County Planning Board is now scheduled to welcome vaccinated individuals wishing to testify to participate on-line or in-person starting in November 2021. This is a change from what has been previously communicated. In-person participants who wish to testify must sign up in advance and must leave the auditorium once their scheduled item has concluded. They will also be required to wear masks and show Park Police proof of vaccination and identification before being allowed into the auditorium. A virtual participation option will also continue to be available.
Community members may sign up to testify and provide comments through Microsoft Teams or over the phone to the Board during the meeting on specific agenda items. Written testimony may be submitted in advance of the meeting.
There are many ways to participate in Planning Board meetings:
- Watch the Planning Board meeting live online, and on demand.
- Listen live over the phone to the Planning Board meeting by calling: 866-774-0898 Password: 24252020
- Provide real time testimony via Microsoft Teams or over the phone during the Planning Board meeting. To testify, fill out the Sign Up to Testify form by 12 noon on the day before the Planning Board meeting. Once the form is completed, you will receive an email with a phone number to call and a link to participate in the Microsoft Teams meeting during a designated time to provide your testimony for a specific agenda item prior to the Planning Board meeting. Please note, submitting the Sign Up to Testify form online by the deadline is the only way to testify in real time on Planning Board meeting items.
- Email your written testimony with comments on specific Planning Board agenda items to mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org by 12 noon on the day before the Planning Board meeting. Items received after this date and time will not be included in the record.
- If you have questions, send an email to mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org or leave a message at 301-495-4605 and a staff member in the Planning Board Chair’s office will contact you.
For more details, review the list of events below and visit www.montgomeryplanning.org. These events are subject to change.
October 1 – Throughout the month of October, Montgomery Planning is partnering with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) on Walktober. This special month spotlights Maryland pedestrians’ safety, health, and commuting options in current walk programs and initiatives. To learn more about Walktober events and programs, visit mcdot.maryland.gov.
October 4 – The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will hold a Thrive Montgomery 2050 Work Session (1:30 p.m.). This session will focus on Design, Arts, and Culture, and Transportation and Communication Networks. Visit the Council’s website to learn more.
October 7 – The Planning Board will hold its meeting online. During the meeting, the Board will hold its fourth Attainable Housing Strategies Work Session. It will also be briefed on the Corridor Forward: The I-270 Transit Plan’s Preliminary Recommendations. Additionally, the Board will hear a presentation on the Access Management Study’s Scope of Work and receive an update on the Bethesda Overlay Zone. Consult the Planning Board’s agenda, posted 10 days before the meeting for more information. Watch the meetings online via live stream or review previous meetings on demand.
October 11 – The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will hold a Thrive Montgomery 2050 Work Session (1:30 p.m.). This session will focus on Affordable and Attainable Housing. Visit the Council’s website to learn more.
October 13 – The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will hold a Thrive Montgomery 2050 Work Session (1:30 p.m.). This session will focus on Parks and Recreation. Visit the Council’s website to learn more.
The Historic Preservation Commission will hold its meeting online. To testify on an agenda item, sign up no later than 9 a.m. the day before the hearing. Consult the HPC meeting webpage for agenda information.
October 14 – The Planning Board will hold its meeting online. During the meeting, the Board will hear policy guidance on Fee-In-Lieu projects, it will review and possibly appoint new members to the Great Seneca Science Corridor Implementation Advisory Committee, it will be briefed on the Urban Loading and Delivery Management Study, and it will hear a presentation on the prioritization of the county’s top 100 transportation projects. Consult the Planning Board’s agenda, posted 10 days before the meeting for more information. Watch the meetings online via live stream or review previous meetings on demand.
October 17 – The Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment team will have a booth at the Takoma Park Farmers Market to answer your questions about the plan and the planning process. Staff will be available to provide a general overview of the plan, including topics related to land use, zoning and design (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.), the environment and parks (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.), as well as transportation and historic preservation (12 – 2 p.m.). For more information, please visit the Takoma Park Farmers Market website, Montgomery Planning’s website, and the City of Takoma Park’s website.
October 18 – The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will hold its last Thrive Montgomery 2050 Work Session (1:30 p.m.). Visit the Council’s website to learn more.
October 19 – The Montgomery County Council will hold a public hearing on the Great Seneca Science Corridor Minor Master Plan Amendment Phase 1 (1:30 p.m.). The Plan evaluates the growth, development and infrastructure investment that has occurred in the Life Sciences Center during the last decade as well as identifies strategies to advance progress toward the dynamic live-work community envisioned in the 2010 Plan. Visit the Council’s website to learn more about the hearing and how to get involved.
October 20 – The community is invited to attend a virtual presentation for Corridor Forward: the I-270 Transit Plan (7 p.m.). During the meeting, Montgomery Planning staff will present preliminary recommendations for a transit network to serve communities and employment centers along the I-270 corridor. The meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams. RSVPs are required to attend.
October 21 – The Planning Board will hold its meeting online. During the meeting, the Board will hold its fifth Attainable Housing Strategies Work Session. It will also be briefed on the Wheaton Downtown Study’s scope and approach, and it will hear presentations on the 2021 Biennial Monitoring Report for the White Flint Sector Plan area and on the I-495 & I-270 Managed Lanes Study. Consult the Planning Board’s agenda, posted 10 days before the meeting for more information. Watch the meetings online via live stream or review previous meetings on demand.
Montgomery Planning will present its fifth biennial 2021 Design Excellence Awards at Celebrate Design 2021, co-sponsored by AIA Potomac Valley. This event, which will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Montgomery Planning’s Wheaton Headquarters (2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD), will honor projects that demonstrate the county’s highest quality of design.
Join Montgomery Planning and Friends of White Flint on October 21 (7 – 8 p.m.) for a community meeting to discuss the streetscape design guidelines for the Pike District. These guidelines will complement the Pike District’s existing high-quality streetscape and mixed-use developments that have been constructed since the adoption of the White Flint Sector Plan in 2010, and will provide direction to future developments. These guidelines are being produced as part of the Advancing the Pike District initiative, which is sparking implementation of the Sector Plan by identifying short-term opportunities for success that can be implemented within the next 2-5 years. Please register in advance, a meeting link will be shared the day of the event.
October 25 – The community is invited to attend a virtual presentation for the Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan (7 – 9 p.m.). During the virtual meeting, Montgomery Planning staff will share an overview of the draft recommendations for the plan in advance of presenting the recommendations to the Planning Board at the end of October. This event follows “Silver Spring Today,” the planning team’s presentation of the existing conditions analysis in February, and a series of interactive Visioning Workshops held in the spring. Live closed captioning will be available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, French, Farsi and Vietnamese. If interested, please register for this event.
October 27 – The Historic Preservation Commission will hold its meeting online. To testify on an agenda item, sign up no later than 9 a.m. the day before the hearing. Consult the HPC meeting webpage for agenda information.
The Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment team will have a booth at the Crossroads Farmers Market to answer your questions about the plan and the planning process. Staff will be available to provide a general overview of the plan, including topics related to land use, zoning and design (10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.), the environment and parks (10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.), as well as transportation and historic preservation (12:30 – 2:30 p.m.). For more information, please visit the Crossroads Farmers Market website, Montgomery Planning’s website, and the City of Takoma Park’s website.
October 28 – The Planning Board will hold its meeting online. Consult the Planning Board’s agenda, posted 10 days before the meeting for more information. Watch the meetings online via live stream or review previous meetings on demand.