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The fall listening series will focus on parks and recreation, sustainable growth and economic development, transportation and mobility, and equitable food systems
WHEATON, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) invites the community to attend a four-part virtual listening series on the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan. The listening series will focus on parks and recreation, sustainable growth and economic development, transportation and mobility and equitable food systems. Each of the sessions is free and will be hosted virtually online through the Microsoft Teams platform and recorded and made available on-demand. RSVPs are required with translation services available upon request with at least 10 business days’ notice on the RSVP form (sign up links below). The goal of the listening series is to provide an opportunity for community members and stakeholders to provide ideas and ask questions of Montgomery Planning staff while the master planning process is in the beginning of its community engagement phase.
Each session will be facilitated by Montgomery Planning staff and will include a short presentation about the background of the master plan followed by the listening portion where participants can share their priorities and goals for the future. To spark our conversations and increase understanding the events will feature Story Tapestries, known for their ability to inspire, motivate, and break down barriers to participation.
Event details:
Parks, Recreation, and Places to Play
Monday, November 1, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
An Equitable Community, a Vibrant Economy and a Healthy Environment
Thursday, November 4, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Mobility and Equitable Infrastructure
Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Food to Thrive
Friday, November 19, 2021, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The listening series will discuss the concept of Complete Communities, a foundational recommendation in the Planning Board Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050, the update to the county’s General Plan. Complete Communities is a planning principle that includes a range of land uses, services, and amenities, including a variety of household types, income levels, and preferences to support racial and socioeconomic integration.
“I invite anyone who is interested about the future of Fairland and Briggs Chaney to attend the virtual listening sessions this fall,” said Planning Director Gwen Wright. “You can provide comments, listen, and ask questions about what the future could look like in your community. The feedback we receive during this phase of the master plan process will help to inform recommendations that could provide opportunities for this important part of our Montgomery County community over the next 20 years.”
About the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Listening Series
Parks, Recreation, and Places to Play
Monday, November 1, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Accessible and equitably distributed parks and recreation are central to complete communities. Parks, trails, and open space are where we enjoy leisure activities that encourage a healthy lifestyle, make social connections, and sharpen the mind and renew the spirit. Parks and other public gathering spaces can play a critical role in building social cohesiveness and economic development strategies. In this session, Montgomery Planning staff will listen to residents and stakeholders and learn more about their experiences with parks and recreation. Staff will seek input on ways to better integrate parks, recreation, and public spaces to attract employers and workers, build social connections, and encourage healthy lifestyles as part of a complete community.
An Equitable Community, a Vibrant Economy and a Healthy Environment
Thursday, November 4, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Complete Communities is a planning principle that includes a range of land uses, services, and amenities, including a variety of household types, income levels, and preferences to support racial and socioeconomic integration. The related concept of “15-minute living” is a way to imagine having jobs, services, infrastructure, affordable housing, and amenities that serve people’s daily needs within walking distance of their neighborhood. These concepts not only advance our local economy; they are essential to ensure economic health, equitable communities, and environmental resilience. In this session, Montgomery Planning staff continue listening and will learn more about how participants and stakeholders live, work, connect, and play in Fairland and Briggs Chaney – and what is needed to thrive.
Mobility and Equitable Infrastructure
Wednesday, November 10, 2021, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
No community is complete without an equitable transportation system that connects people and places to jobs, amenities, and services. A higher priority for investments in transit, walking, rolling, and bicycling infrastructure is critical to building a complete and equitable community. In this session, Montgomery Planning staff will listen to residents and stakeholders and learn more about their experiences with mobility and getting around. We will seek input on how we can build a network that supports greater mobility, access, and economic strength while promoting equity, good health, and quality of life.
Food to Thrive
Friday, November 19, 2021, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
A thriving community can grow, sell, and eat healthy food. Healthy food is fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate, and grown locally. It can foster a more self-reliant, healthier, and equitable community. In this session, Montgomery Planning staff will explore existing food systems, land use barriers, learn about participant’s challenges and ideas, and discuss ways to achieve food equity for Fairland and Briggs Chaney.
Equitable engagement
A major element of the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan is a comprehensive and equitable engagement and communications plan to gather meaningful input from all stakeholders, including residents, business owners, grassroots community organizers, experts and influencers, and county government representatives. Together, Montgomery Planning and the community will learn from the collected stories, oral histories, current experiences, mapping tools, analytical data and trends to plan for a more equitable future benefitting those who have helped create it. We will explore and imagine with the community what life in Fairland and Briggs Chaney could be like in the years to come.
The fall listening sessions follows the Montgomery County Planning Board’s approval of the master plan’s scope of work in April 2021 and the CommUNITY Conversations in Fairland virtual speakers series held in Spring 2021.
Learn more: on the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan webpage
Sign up: for the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan eletter
Participate: in the online questionnaire about Fairland and Briggs Chaney
Contact: Project managers Molline.Jackson@montgomeryplanning.org or Phillip.Estes@montgomeryplanning.org
About the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan
The Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan is an update to a portion of the 1997 Fairland Master Plan and will establish a clear vision for an equitable, just, and prosperous future for the Fairland community, mirroring the county’s long-term priorities, which include a vibrant economy, equity for all residents, and a healthy environment. The master plan boundary consists primarily of property and communities of Fairland and Briggs Chaney along the US 29 Corridor from near Paint Branch on the south to Greencastle Road on the north. The update will examine and provide policies and recommendations on existing and future land uses and zoning, housing inventory and needs, transportation systems, historic preservation opportunities, area park facilities, and the environment. This master plan will take cues from the equity framework in the update to the county’s General Plan, Thrive Montgomery 2050, which describes how places with equitable access to opportunity produce strong, successful communities. Goals of the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan include:
- Complete Community: Identify and correct past inequitable development policies to make the Fairland and Briggs Chaney communities more whole and connected by integrating centers of housing, retail, and office development with parks and open space to make 15-minute living a reality for as many people as possible
- Resilient Economy: Promote economic development and job growth within the plan area and surrounding communities
- Housing: Promote racial and economic diversity and equity in housing to help rectify past discriminatory housing policies in every neighborhood
- Arts, Culture and Environment: Support arts and cultural institutions, through parks, open space and environment, recreational programming, and development, to celebrate our diversity, strengthen pride of place, and make the county more attractive and interesting
- Corridor Growth and Connectivity: Promote and prioritize public and private investment along the Route 29 corridor and neighboring communities to leverage and attract future private investment in community facilities and redevelopment, including a safer, more comfortable network for walking, biking, and rolling that connects the corridor communities
About the Equity Agenda for Planning
Montgomery Planning recognizes and acknowledges the role that our plans and policies have played in creating and perpetuating racial inequity in Montgomery County. We are committed to transforming the way we work as we seek to address, mitigate, and eliminate inequities from the past and develop planning solutions to create equitable communities in the future. While it will take time to fully develop a new methodology for equity in the planning process, we cannot delay applying an equity lens to our work. Efforts to date include:
- Developing an Equity Agenda for Planning. The Planning Board approved Equity in Master Planning Framework, and staff is working on action items.
- Equity Focus Area Analysis. Montgomery Planning identified and analyzed the Equity Focus Areas of the county and developed a mapping tool that will guide planning efforts to foster more equitable outcomes for communities in Montgomery County.
- Prioritizing equity in Thrive Montgomery 2050. Community Equity is one of the three priority areas of our county General Plan update, Thrive Montgomery 2050.
- Focusing on equity in upcoming plans. Equity is a central focus of the Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan, the first master plan to launch since Montgomery County’s Racial Equity & Social Justice Act passed. All upcoming plans and studies will have an equity focus.
- Viewing management and operations through an equity lens. Our efforts are not limited to the master planning process. Management and operational functions like communications and human resources are developing approaches, tools, plans, and training to ensure that we look at everything through an equity lens.