Eastern Silver Spring Communities Plan

What is a master plan?  

Every community in Montgomery County is part of a master plan for how they can flourish in the future. A master plan takes a comprehensive look at how people live, work, play, and shop in their community to create a vision for the future and makes recommendations to achieve that vision. Master plans make recommendations related to land uses (how a property or building can be used), zoning, transportation, schools, parks, and more. Master plans also address housing, historic preservation, pedestrian networks, trail systems, and environmental issues.

How long does the master plan process take?  

Planners work with communities to create new master plans every 15 to 20 years. The master plan process, shown below, is an open public process and includes lots of opportunities for the public to get involved and share their views. The Planning Board, County Council, and County Executive all review the plan. The County Council has final approval. The process takes about two to three years.

How will the master plan process address equity?  

Guided by our Equity Agenda for Planning and the Montgomery County Racial Equity and Social Justice Act, Montgomery Planning and the Planning Board must consider racial equity and social justice when developing master plans. To help staff and the public better understand socio-economic conditions in Montgomery County, Montgomery Planning developed two tools: Equity Focus Areas and the Community Equity Index.

Equity Focus Areas (EFAs) use a map-based analysis to identify parts of Montgomery County that are characterized by high concentrations of lower-income households, people of color, and individuals who may also speak English less than very well. Many of the areas included plan Study Area described below have been identified as EFAs.

The second tool, the Community Equity Index (CEI), digs deeper to categorize areas in Montgomery County on a spectrum ranging from advantaged to disadvantaged in relation to the rest of the county. The CEI measures how individual neighborhoods compare to the overall socio-economic diversity of the county, using characteristics such as income, education, housing tenure, poverty rate, and English proficiency. Race and ethnicity are not included in the CEI to focus on variables that are changeable over a person’s life course and can be influenced with policy. Much of the plan Study Area for this plan has been identified by this tool as highly or moderately disadvantaged, as compared to the rest of Montgomery County.

Plan Study Area

At the beginning of a master plan, staff will focus on a Study Area that extends from Sligo Creek east to the Prince George’s County line, inside the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). While learning about this Study Area, staff will work with the community to identify a smaller area, the Plan Area, that will be the focus of the master plan recommendations. Staff will present this Plan Area boundary to the Planning Board as part of the master plan Scope of Work later this year or early 2024.

Portions of the area being studied for the Eastern Silver Spring Communities Plan are included in a number of current approved master plans, including: 2000 East Silver Spring Plan, 2013 Long Branch Sector Plan, 2000 Takoma Park Master Plan and 2012 Takoma Langley Crossroads Sector Plan. The Eastern Silver Spring Communities Plan will supersede previous master plans for the communities included in the plan.

The Midcounty Planning team is currently working on the University Boulevard Corridor Plan for a portion of University Boulevard outside the Capital Beltway. The Study Area for the ESSCP includes the portion of University Boulevard inside the Capital Beltway.

How to get involved

Your input in the plan is important to us as we develop recommendations. You can get involved through one of the following ways:

Invite us to join you at your next meeting to share information about the plan and hear your feedback. Email us at EasternSilverSpring@montgomeryplanning.org to invite us to your next civic association, homeowners’ association or community meeting.
Look for us in your neighborhood! Throughout the fall and the plan process, members of the planning team will be at local community events, like festivals and farmers markets. Please stop by to learn more about the plan and to help us better understand your community.
Sign up for the Silver Spring e-letter! It is the one of the best ways to stay informed about the ESSCP. E-letters will share information about upcoming events and meetings as well as information about the plan.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is this the next part of the Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities plan?
What is the difference between the Study Area and Plan Area?

The Study Area is a larger geographic area than the Plan Area and is used to better understand the greater context. Data and information will be gathered about the Study Area as part of the existing conditions analysis and this, paired with community engagement will help determine the Plan Area boundary. The Study Area is identified by the planning team and typically follows Census Tract boundaries for data collection purposes. The Plan Area is approved by the Planning Board as part of the Scope of Work and is the geographic area in which the plan can make recommendations. The Eastern Silver Spring Communities planning team has begun the initial data analysis with the Study Area and will recommend a Plan Area boundary as part of the Scope of Work in Winter of 2024.
How does this plan relate to the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment?

A portion of the Plan Area of the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment (TPMMA) is within the Study Area for the Eastern Silver Spring Communities Plan to help provide information about the larger context of the area. The TPMMA is anticipated to be approved by County Council in 2024, and therefore, staff will not recommend including any area in the TPMMA in the Plan Area for the ESSCP, which is scheduled to be presented to the Planning Board as part of the Scope of Work in Winter 2024.
How will this plan be related to the Purple Line?
How will this plan follow the recommendations of Thrive Montgomery 2050?
How is the Eastern Silver Spring Communities Plan related to the Silver Spring Communities Plan?

Project Timeline

Fall 2023/Winter 2024

Community engagement during Existing Conditions Analysis
Winter 2024

Scope of Work presented to the Montgomery Planning Board and Community engagement during Visioning phase
Spring/Summer 2024

Preliminary Recommendations presented to the community and Planning Board
Summer/Fall 2024

Working Draft developed and presented to the Planning Board
Winter/Spring 2025

Planning Board public hearing and review
Spring/Fall 2025

County Council Review and Adoption

Last Updated: December 6, 2023

Montgomery County
Planning Department
2425 Reedie Drive, 14th Floor
Wheaton, MD 20902

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