Plans for Downtown Bethesda, future subdivision development and bicycle lanes and trails proceed through community meetings and public review
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is pleased to announce its January 2016 calendar of community meetings and work sessions. These events offer opportunities for the Planning Board and Planning Department staff to discuss policies and engage with the public. Review the full list of events below and go online to www.montgomeryplanning.org for more details on projects and plans.
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Montgomery County and Planning Department Events in January 2016
January 7 – Attend the next Planning Board work session for the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan. Zoning and building heights in the Arlington North, Arlington South, Battery Lane and South Bethesda Districts will be discussed as time permits. Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.
January 12 –Participate in a community meeting held at 7 p.m. in the Planning Department auditorium (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) to discuss current school tests and school facility funding as they relate to the staging of subdivision development. Feedback from this event will help planners revise the current Subdivision Staging Policy.
January 14 –Learn about transportation-related updates to the Subdivision Staging Policy at this Planning Board meeting. Planning staff will brief the Board on new ideas for determining transportation adequacy and will also update the Board on its work to refine the transit component of Transportation Policy Area Review (TPAR) and update trip generation rates. Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.
January 20 – Attend Putting the Transition Back in Transit, the first session of the 2016 Winter Speaker Series, held at the Planning Department headquarters from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Transportation planner Nat Bottigheimer of DC-based Fehr & Peers will address the challenges that surface transit projects – light rail, streetcars, bus rapid transit — face in being implemented. The presentation will highlight the tools and processes that are most common in transit planning.
January 21 – Attend the Planning Board work session for the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan. Zoning, building heights and environmental improvements for various districts within the Plan area will be discussed. Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.
January 26 –Testify at the Montgomery County Council’s public hearing for the Westbard Sector Plan, held in the Council Hearing Room (100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD). Citizens interested in testifying in person at the hearing must sign up in advance online or call 240-777-7803 for more information.
January 26 – The first meeting of the Bicycle Master Plan Community Advisory Group will occur at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) from 7 to 9 p.m. This diverse, 21-member group was organized to guide planners in developing the Bicycle Master Plan. The public is invited to observe and to speak at the end of the meeting.
January 28 – Learn about new metrics and modeling tools that could be used for the transportation analysis as part of the Subdivision Staging Policy at the Planning Board meeting. Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.
January 28 – Participate in the planning for Rock Spring in North Bethesda. A community meeting to discuss the Rock Spring Master Plan will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Walter Johnson High School (6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda, MD). Consult the plan webpage for details about the event.
January 28 – Weigh in on plans for pedestrian, bicycling and transit routes and facilities in the Life Sciences Center near Gaithersburg. Planning staff will present these proposals to the Planning Board for review. They include an update on the Corridor Cities Transitway (CCT), the Life Sciences Center Loop Trail Design Guidelines and the Life Sciences Center Bicycle Network Proposal, a network of separate bike lanes and long-term bicycle parking a future CCT. Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the session.