SILVER SPRING – To help form recommendations on the 2009-2011 Growth Policy, Montgomery County planners will host two public meetings designed to gain feedback from county residents. Residents and others interested in how Montgomery County should grow are invited to public meetings scheduled for 7-9 p.m. Monday, May 11 in Silver Spring and 7-9 p.m. Monday, May 18 in Rockville.
The growth policy is a biennial county mandate to manage growth. It requires the Planning Board to match new growth to the availability of public services, such as adequate road and school capacity. The Planning Board is working with staff on a draft of the next growth policy that it will send to the County Council for consideration in August.
Planners drafting the 2009-2011 Growth Policy are considering ways to better measure quality of life. They have discussed strategies to improve connections – to schools, stores, public transit and parks – as well as boost environmental quality through better designed buildings that pollute less and lessen dependence on cars. Planners also want the growth policy to encompass diversity in homes, jobs and public places to suit people of all ages, incomes and cultures.
Planners have organized listening sessions – the public will talk, the planners will mostly listen – in an open-house format built around three stations featuring information about:
• Planning for growth. Where are we growing and where will demand for growth continue? What mechanisms guide growth in the county?
• Adequacy of public facilities. How do we measure the adequacy of transportation and schools? What options are being considered to encourage traveling by other means than in single-occupancy vehicles?
• Growing Smarter. How we can be more environmentally sound in building and renovation? How can we provide diverse housing options for people of all incomes? How might we provide incentives for building near transit or other basic services? How might we encourage building with increased energy efficiency or on-site energy production, and that is compact in design, maximizing the use of existing infrastructure?
Who:
Montgomery County planners
What:
Growth policy listening sessions
When:
7 p.m. Monday, May 11
7 p.m. Monday, May 18
Where:
May 11: Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium, 8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, 20910
May 18: Shady Grove Training Center, 16641 Crabbs Branch Way, Rockville, 20855
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