Community Meeting on April 22 Will Address Newest Concepts for Westbard Sector Plan
Residents and business owners invited to provide feedback on planning framework.
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, will hold a community meeting to discuss concepts for the Westbard Sector Plan on Wednesday, April 22, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Walt Whitman High School cafeteria (7100 Whittier Blvd., Bethesda, MD). Anyone who lives and works in the area or has an interest in the future of the Westbard community is invited to attend this event.
RSVP for the Westbard Plan Concepts Community Meeting.
The updated Sector Plan seeks to transform part of Westbard from an area focused on older commercial centers and light industrial uses into a more pedestrian-friendly town center that preserves the local services on which the community depends. At the April 22 session, planners will present the newest plan concepts and provide an opportunity for attendees to comment and ask questions. This meeting will serve as a valuable “feedback loop” for planners before they present the Westbard Concept Framework Plan to the Planning Board on April 30, 2015.
The meeting will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to review the evolving development of the plan concepts since the November 2014 charrette, when planners met with state and local agencies, citizen associations, business owners and residents from the Westbard area. Feedback from the weeklong workshops helped to shape preliminary ideas for building density and heights, public facilities, transportation improvements, parks and open space as well as environmental recommendations.
History of Westbard Planning:
The 1982 Westbard Sector Plan is now being updated at the direction of the Montgomery County Council to keep pace with the times and changes in the area. Some of that plan’s recommendations were never realized, including design concepts aimed at improving the public realm, such as:
-Implementing streetscape improvements on River Road and side streets.
-Providing gateway features into Westbard.
-Improving the existing Willett Branch stream valley that runs through the Sector Plan area.
-Creating an urban park at the corner of Westbard Avenue and Ridgefield Road.
-Creating a major commercial/retail development on Westbard Avenue.
-Improving environmental features of the Westwood Shopping Center.
Some of these ideas are being addressed in the updated Westbard Sector Plan and will be discussed at the April 22 meeting.