Community invited to sign up to testify at Sector Plan Public Hearing on Thursday, February 11 in Silver Spring
Silver Spring, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, invites the Greater Lyttonsville community to sign up to testify at the February 11 Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan Public Hearing at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD).
The Public Hearing Draft is available for review on the Planning Department’s website. This posting follows the Montgomery County Planning Board’s approval of the Working Draft as the Public Hearing Draft on Thursday, December 17, 2015.
The Public Hearing Draft reflects changes in response to issues that were raised by the Lyttonsville community over district boundaries and language in the Plan Draft.
View the Public Hearing Draft of the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan.
View the Staff Report for the December 17 Planning Board presentation, including an errata sheet.
Community Invited to Testify at Public Hearing
The Board’s public hearing on the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan is scheduled for Thursday, February 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) where the community is invited to comment on the Plan’s recommendations.
Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the public hearing.
Time slots to testify are limited, so in advance of the hearing date, the public is encouraged to go online to sign up to testify: http://www.montgomeryapps.org/planning_board/testify.asp.
In order to hear from as many people as possible, each speaker will only have up to three minutes to comment.
The public is also invited to submit comments on the Public Hearing Draft of the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan via email to mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org. These comments will become part of the public testimony and public record for the Plan.
Plan Work Sessions and Council Action
Following the public hearing on February 11, 2016, the Planning Board will hold work sessions on the Sector Plan starting in March. The sessions will continue as needed for the Board to discuss the community testimony as well as issues Board members want to address.
At the conclusion of the work sessions, the Plan will be revised to reflect the Planning Board’s direction before being transmitted to the County Council and County Executive as the Planning Board Draft. The County Council will hold a public hearing on the Planning Board Draft of the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan later in 2016.
The community is invited to stay involved with the progress of the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan by:
-Visiting the Greater Lyttonsville Montgomery County Planning Department webpage.
-Listening or watching the staff presentation on-demand from the December 17 meeting.
–Signing up to participate in the public hearing or providing written testimony (a sign-up window will open once the public hearing date is officially set by the Planning Board).
Background on the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan
Spurred by the future construction of two Purple Line light rail stations in Greater Lyttonsville, the new Sector Plan examines ways to leverage these significant public infrastructure investments, while preserving the integrity of area neighborhoods that have a rich history and a strong sense of community. The Plan recommends ways of connecting residential, industrial and institutional districts, attracting mixed-use development and expanding parks, trails and open spaces. Recent planning efforts build on the goal of the 2000 North and West Silver Spring Master Plan to preserve this diverse community as a desirable place to live, work and play.
After community meetings were held in January and April 2015, the Planning team revised suggestions for bike and pedestrian connections in and around the Rosemary Hills Lyttonsville Local Park.
Recommendations in the Plan focus on:
-Providing pedestrian and bicycle connections to the two proposed Purple Line light rail stations.
-Preserving, rather than rezoning, a majority of the industrial areas.
-Preserving single-family residential areas.
-Proposing zoning changes primarily in areas around the future Purple Line stations or close to the Silver Spring central business district.
Learn more about the Greater Lyttonsville Sector Plan and how to get involved with shaping the future of this community.