Community invited to review latest version of 2016 Subdivision Staging Policy before the public hearing on Thursday, June 2, 2016 in Silver Spring
Silver Spring, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, has posted the Public Hearing Draft of the 2016 Subdivision Staging Policy (formerly called Growth Policy) on the Department’s web site. This posting follows the Montgomery County Planning Board’s review of the Working Draft during several work sessions in the month of May. The intent of the Subdivision Staging Policy is to ensure public facilities, particularly schools and transportation facilities, are adequate to accommodate new development.
Review the Public Hearing Draft of the 2016 Subdivision Staging Policy.
View the recordings from the May 9 worksession and the May 12 worksession.
Public Invited to Testify at Public Hearing
The Board’s public hearing on the 2016 Subdivision Staging Policy is scheduled for Thursday, June 2, 2016 at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD). The public hearing will be held in two parts. In the afternoon, testimony will be taken on the transportation related content. In the evening, testimony will be heard related to schools and other public infrastructure recommendations.
Consult the Planning Board Agenda for details about the public hearing.
Time slots to testify are limited, so the public is encouraged to call 301-495-4605 or to go online to sign up to testify. 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 2016 Subdivision Staging Policy via email to mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org. These comments will become part of the public testimony and public record for the Policy.
Background on Subdivision Staging Policy
Planning staff is proposing new ideas in transportation and school capacity planning as part of the revision to the Subdivision Staging Policy, which is updated every four years. This policy (formerly known as the Growth Policy) includes criteria and guidance for the administration of the County’s Adequate Public Facility Ordinance (APFO), which seeks to match the timing of private development with the availability of public services.
In the past, the APFO was designed to ensure that road and school capacity – as well as water and sewer and other infrastructure — kept pace with new development. As new areas of the County were being developed, infrastructure to support new homes and businesses was needed.
Today, much of the County has been developed. Growth is now occurring through infill development and redevelopment, including the resale of homes in many of the County’s established neighborhoods. This type of growth creates pressure on existing transportation systems and school facilities; however, the current tools used to evaluate the impact of development may not adequately assess these changing growth patterns and are being examined for their effectiveness.
The County Council must approve a revised policy by November 15, 2016.