Sitting at the crossroads between Montgomery County and Washington, D.C., Friendship Heights is a unique, cross-jurisdictional and transit-oriented urban area. As one of the county’s four downtowns, Friendship Heights has transitioned over the last two decades from a regional retail destination to a mixed-use area with modest retail, limited commercial uses, and a demographic profile that tends to be older than the rest of the county. Beginning in fall 2024, Montgomery Planning will be working with residents and stakeholders on the Friendship Heights Sector Plan Update. This plan will be an update to the 1998 Friendship Heights Sector Plan. Building on the recently completed Friendship Heights Urban Design Study, the sector plan update will consider existing conditions and ultimately make recommendations on zoning, land use, housing, transportation, parks and open space, the environment, schools, economic development, and more.
Frequently asked questions
A sector plan is a type of master plan that covers an area that is: adjacent to transit; or a central business district; or another small defined area. Typical elements of sector plans include land use, zoning, urban design, transportation, parks, trails, and open space, the economy, the environment, historic resources and schools.
The last sector plan for Friendship Heights was adopted in 1998, and the neighborhood has changed a lot since then. The downtown was once a regional retail destination with significant residential and commercial development activity, but recent years have seen rising retail and office vacancies, and new development has slowed to a trickle. Building on last year’s Urban Design Study, the Friendship Heights Sector Plan Update will look closely at current trends and residents’ needs and views to consider what the future holds for Friendship Heights, and how this downtown may better serve its stakeholders.
The plan boundary has not yet been established. Initial plan engagement will be ongoing for several months before Planning staff presents a proposed scope and boundary to the Planning Board for approval in early 2025. Only properties included within the sector plan boundary can be recommended for new zoning.
As with all Montgomery Planning efforts, we welcome public input and will offer multiple opportunities for interested stakeholders to participate in the plan and to communicate with the planning team both in-person and virtually. A stakeholder is anyone who is interested in the future of Friendship Heights, even if you do not live or work in the eventual plan area. Sign up for the e-letter to receive all communications about engagement opportunities for this plan.
A study is a tool used to explore a particular planning issue, rather than propose zoning or other changes; its recommendations do not amend existing master or sector plans. A sector plan or master plan recommends changes to a plan area, which may include zoning or land use policy changes. This plan will build on our momentum and findings from the Urban Design Study to begin meaningfully considering the future of Friendship Heights.
Thrive Montgomery 2050 is a general framework that sets broad policy goals for the county, which sector plans like this use to guide specific practical work in their respective plan areas while actively responding to more concentrated local stakeholder values and concerns.
Both agencies have complementary goals and have identified similar needs and opportunities on each side of the Maryland–DC border. Staff from Montgomery Planning and Washington, DC Office of Planning (DCOP) meet on a regular basis to coordinate planning efforts in neighborhoods that cross jurisdictions, including this one. DCOP recently completed the Wisconsin Avenue Development Framework, focused on opportunities for housing (especially multifamily buildings) and other development along DC side of the Wisconsin Avenue corridor.
Staff contact
Atara Margolies
Planner III
301-495-4558
Email