Community invited to review latest version of Sector Plan before the public hearing on Thursday, September 24 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 Westbard Sector Plan on the Department’s web site. This posting follows the Montgomery County Planning Board’s approval of the Working Draft as the Public Hearing Draft on Thursday, July 23.
The Board’s public hearing on the Westbard Sector Plan is scheduled for Thursday, September 24 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. and from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, MD) when the community is invited to comment on the Plan’s recommendations.
View the Public Hearing Draft of the Westbard Sector Plan.
Time slots to testify are limited, so the public is encouraged to call 301-495-4605 or to go online http://www.montgomeryapps.org/planning_board/testify.asp to sign up to testify. In order to hear from as many speakers as possible, each speaker will have up to three minutes to testify.
The public is also invited to submit comments on the Public Hearing Draft of the Westbard 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.
Following the public hearing on September 24, the Planning Board will hold several work sessions on the Sector Plan from October through December 2015 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 per the Planning Board’s direction and 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 Westbard Sector Plan in 2016.
Background on Westbard Sector Plan
The new Sector Plan is the first effort since 1982 to develop a unified vision for Bethesda’s Westbard area, which is located near Friendship Heights and the District of Columbia. The Plan builds on the assets of the community by offering ways to improve neighborhood retail, light industrial areas, housing options and recreational and open spaces over the next 20 years.
Recommendations in the Plan focus on:
-Encouraging more housing choices.
-Revitalizing older retail areas.
-Emphasizing low-scale development of five to seven stories.
-Preserving local light industrial uses.
-Restoring the Willett Branch stream as a public amenity.
-Creating better access to the Capital Crescent Trail.
-Establishing new gathering spaces and parks.
-Enhancing walkability with sidewalks shaded by street trees.
Since the PlanWestbard charrette, a weeklong brainstorming session held in November 2014, planners have revised the Sector Plan to address community concerns. Refinements include lower heights for new buildings, more open spaces and bike paths, and placemaking strategies, including signage and public art, which relate to Westbard’s rich history.
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