Residents and property owners invited to discuss proposed zoning changes and progress of plan
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, invites business owners and residents to discuss the Montgomery Village Master Plan at a meeting on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 from 7-9 p.m. at the Watkins Mill High School cafeteria (10301 Apple Ridge Road, Gaithersburg, MD).
Planning Department staff will recap the Master Plan process so far and provide additional details of the Draft Montgomery Village Overlay Zone. Staff will provide an overview of the Draft Overlay Zone’s purpose, proposed land uses and potential development standards.
Staff is scheduled to provide a status briefing to the Planning Board on the Montgomery Village Master Plan on April 16. The next steps in the Master Plan process include transportation modeling and drafting of preliminary recommendations for the Staff Draft of the Plan, which is scheduled to be presented to the Planning Board in June. Planning staff will schedule another community meeting when the results of the transportation modeling are available.
Past PowerPoint presentations and other materials from previous MV Matters meetings are posted on the MVMatters webpage.
What is MV Matters All About?
MV Matters is a series of outreach events meant to engage the community in the Montgomery Village Master Plan. Village residents are invited to learn about specific subject areas, such as urban design, land use, parks, environment and transportation at the sessions. Through the meetings, planners have received initial feedback from residents on what they view as the most valuable places in the village. For more information on the Scope of Work for the Montgomery Village Mater Plan, go to www.montgomeryplanningboard.org/meetings_archive/
Stay Connected:
Sign up: for the Montgomery Village Master Plan eNewsletter
Call: the MVPlan Hotline for updates on upcoming planning events: 301-495-4723
Learn More: www.montgomeryplanning.org/mvp
Use: #MVPlan
Master Plan Background:
Montgomery Village has not been part of a Master Plan review since the 1985 Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan, nor has it been the subject of a discrete County master plan in the past. Although Montgomery Village was within the boundaries of both the 1971 Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan and the 1985 Master Plan, neither plan contains recommendations or guidance for this community because the Village fell within the Town Sector Zone, which did not allow the rezoning of properties for a 50-year period that comes to a close in 2015. When the Planning Department initiated an update to the Gaithersburg Master Plan in 2007, Montgomery Village was originally included within its boundaries. However, with large swaths of land on both sides of I-270 presenting different planning issues and challenges, the Planning Department realized the area was too big to be analyzed effectively.
In 2008, the Planning Department divided the large Gaithersburg Master Plan area into two planning efforts – one for the west side of I-270, which became the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan (GSSC) – and one for the east side of I-270 – Gaithersburg East. In 2014, the County Council directed the Planning Department to further refine the Gaithersburg East Plan to have one plan for Montgomery Village and one plan for the remainder of Gaithersburg East. The Council also directed the Planning Director to work efficiently on the Montgomery Village Plan, with the goal of having a draft plan transmitted to the Council within 12 months of the plan start date, because it wanted the zoning to be reassessed holistically before the prohibition on piecemeal rezoning of Town Sector property expired in 2015.