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Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment

The image shows a man standing behind a sign at Takoma Park's National Night Out event that says "What makes your neighborhood special?" written in multiple languages and has sticky notes on it. The City of Takoma Park seal is located at the bottom right corner of the sign. To the man's left, another man is talking to event attendees from behind a booth.

Montgomery Planning (M-NCPPC), in partnership with the City of Takoma Park, has the unique opportunity to update portions of the 2000 Takoma Park Master Plan with the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment.

The Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment will re-envision the areas near and along Maple and Lee Avenues, the Erie Center and the Washington Adventist Hospital and University campuses. The planning team will work with community members and other stakeholders, throughout the planning process to reimagine the area’s future.

The Public Hearing for the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment provided an opportunity for stakeholders to provide oral and written testimony. That testimony can be reviewed here: Oral testimonyWritten testimony

Download appendices:

Appendix A – Community Engagement and Outreach
Appendix B – Demographics
Appendix C – Development Profile
Appendix D – Environment
Appendix E – Historic Preservation
Appendix F – Housing
Appendix G – Parks
Appendix H – Schools and Community Facilities
Appendix I – Transportation

Download a flyer that explains the plan: EnglishአማርኛEspañolFrançais

Download a brochure with a self-guided tour of the Plan Area.

On April 20, 2023, Montgomery Planning staff provided the Planning Board with an overview of the preliminary recommendations for the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment, including land use, zoning, transportation, environment, parks and open spaces, housing and community facilities. Watch the presentation: EnglishአማርኛEspañolFrançais

Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment Plan Boundary

The map shows the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment Boundary area. This will encompass an area running along Maple Avenue between Washington Adventist University campus on the east and the Philadelphia Avenue on the west. Specifically, it will include the campus of the Washington Adventist University, the site of the now vacant Washington Adventist hospital, adjacent to the University, and mixed-use properties at the intersection of Flower Avenue and Erie Avenue. It will include the multifamily properties along Maple Avenue as well as the Takoma Park Community Center, Piney Branch Elementary School, Piney Branch Park, Heffner Park and Opal Daniels Park. The Takoma Park Public works buildings located off of Ritchie Avenue will also be included in the plan boundary.

View map full-screen | Download map PDF with text description

The Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment will address properties located within the approved plan boundary that includes the Washington Adventist Hospital and University campuses, the Erie Center (located at the intersection of Flower Avenue and Erie Avenue), and multi-family properties, parks and the Takoma Park Community Center located along Maple Avenue.

This plan boundary was determined by the Montgomery County Planning Board in coordination with the City of Takoma Park. It was approved by the Planning Board on September 30, 2021. The planning team will also assess and study any potential impacts to properties outside the plan boundary that are within the larger study area of the plan.

Process and Timeline

A minor master plan amendment, like the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment, revisits a specific portion of the approved and adopted master plan and reexamines certain elements, often to address a change that was not anticipated at the time the adopted master plan was approved.

Montgomery Planning and the City of Takoma Park will work with the community to achieve a plan that incorporates the needs of stakeholders, anticipates changes to come, and retains the unique character and diversity of the area.

As part of the plan’s initial kick-off, Montgomery Planning staff presented the minor master plan amendment process and its anticipated time frame to the Takoma Park City Council on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. The plan’s Scope of Work and the Plan Area Boundary Report were completed in September 2021 during the pre-planning phase.

Before the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment can be approved and adopted, the City of Takoma Park’s Mayor and Council will first review and approve the plan. From there, the Montgomery County Planning Board will conduct its review.  The Montgomery County Council will conduct the final review and approve the final Plan.

In recent years, the Montgomery County Council and the M-NCPPC have approved and adopted two Sector Plans for communities in Takoma Park and adjacent areas, the 2012 Takoma-Langley Crossroads Sector Plan and the 2013 Long Branch Sector PlanThese plans, in addition to the 2021 Retail in Diverse Communities Study, will inform the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment process.

Plan Timeline

  • Pre-Planning
    March 2021: The City of Takoma Park and Montgomery Planning signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment.

    March 24, 2021: Montgomery Planning staff made a presentation to the Takoma Park City Council regarding the process and schedule for the Plan. Council agenda item | Meeting video (beginning at 18:54)

    June 14, 2021: Montgomery Planning staff made a presentation to the Takoma Park City Council regarding draft scope of work and project boundaries. Council agenda item | Meeting video

    July 7, 2021: City of Takoma Park planning staff made a presentation to Takoma Park City Council, and Council unanimously approved Resolution 2021-22 on the proposed boundary of the Minor Master Plan Amendment. Council agenda item | Meeting video (beginning at 01:27:57)
  • Phase One: Listening, Fall 2021 – Spring 2022
    Scope of Work
    September 30, 2021: The Montgomery County Planning Board approved the Minor Master Plan project boundary and Scope of Work. This formally kicked off the two-year Minor Master Plan process. View the Scope of Work presentation.

    Existing Conditions
    March 2022: The planning team presented the Existing Conditions of the plan area to the Takoma Park City Council (March 9), the community (March 29) and the Montgomery County Planning Board (March 31). Download the Existing Conditions presentation: English | አማርኛ | Español | Français.

    April 21, 2022: Montgomery Planning staff briefed the Planning Board on the historical and cultural resources of the plan area. View the April 21 presentation.
  • Phase Two: Visioning, Fall 2022 – Winter 2023
    The planning team presented the Community Engagement Update to the Takoma Park City Council (September 14) and the Montgomery County Planning Board (September 15). Download the full report, presentation, and one-page explainer: English | አማርኛEspañolFrançais.
    On January 25, 2023, the planning team presented to the Takoma Park City Council on the Plan process to date, including background on the project, a summary of the findings, and the timeline moving forward. Download the January 25 presentation slides.
  • Phase Three: Refining, Winter 2023 – Spring 2023
    The planning team presented the Working Draft to the Takoma Park City Council (May 24) and received a resolution to approve the Working Draft as the Public Hearing Draft and to set a Public Hearing for September 14 (June 7).

    On June 8, the planning team presented the Working Draft to the Planning Board and requested the Board to approve the Working Draft as the Public Hearing Draft and to set a Public Hearing for September 14. Download the staff report and the Public Hearing Draft.
  • Phase Four: Sharing, Spring 2023 – Winter 2024
    The Planning Board approved the Public Hearing Draft as the Planning Board Draft and ordered its transmittal to the County Council and County Executive on December 14, 2023. The Takoma Park City Council provided a resolution to approve the Public Hearing Draft as the Planning Board Draft and supported transmittal of the plan.

    On January 25, 2024, the Montgomery County Council held a Public Hearing on the Planning Board Draft. Council (PHP Committee) worksessions began on January 29, 2024.

    Approval and Adoption
    Sectional Map Amendment

Equity in the Planning Process 

Equity in planning is a core tenet of Montgomery Planning’s master planning process as part of our Equity Agenda for Planning and it is one of the key outcomes of the plan’s recommendations. Takoma Park is racially and ethnically diverse and it was important our plan process captured the perspectives and experiences of all who are represented in an equitable manner. Our planners conducted comprehensive equitable engagement of the community during the master plan process. Planners understood that providing equitable recommendations meant ensuring there was equitable engagement.  

View the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment Community Engagement and Outreach Appendix 

From the outset of this plan, the approach to engagement included a variety of methods to reach the key audiences, which include residents, property owners, local government and institutions, small businesses, users of community facilities within the Plan Area and those who have a stake in the future of the area but may live outside the plan’s boundary. The equitable engagement activities included: 

  • Multilingual canvassing at multifamily properties along Maple and Lee avenues (239 in-person interviews) and Washington Adventist University (85 interviews). 
  • Translation of engagement materials in Spanish, French and Amharic  
  • Outreach at farmers’ markets and “pop-up” efforts at neighborhood retail centers.  
  • Meetings with civic and homeowners’ associations, community, and neighborhood organizations.  
  • Regular communication with City of Takoma Park staff and City Council  
  • An online questionnaire.  
  • Posting signage throughout the plan area.  
  • Participating in community events, including National Night Out and Bike to Work Day. 
  • Hosting a community Open House in October 2022 (100+ attendees). 

In accordance with the county’s 2019 Racial Equity and Social Justice Act, the Montgomery County Planning Board’s review and approval of the plan included a review of the plan’s racial equity and social justice impacts. 

How this plan Advances Racial Equity and Social Justice

The Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment is designed to achieve a reimagined community with new and improved uses for existing spaces and places, a reconnected community with improved, safe, and inviting ways to get to parks, shopping, and home, and a resilient community prepared to thrive in the face of climate change.  

Advancing racial equity and social justice is woven into each of those three main themes with specific recommendations to:  

  • Preserve and expand affordable housing by: 
    • Prioritizing existing residents. 
    • Diversifying unit type. 
    • Preserving the number of existing affordable units.  
    • Upgrading existing affordable units.  
  • Propose the development of new housing with inclusive affordability 
  • Increase mixed-use zoning to create opportunities for commercial development to provide economic and employment opportunities for all residents. 
  • Increase access to parks, open space, community gardens, and local healthy food production. 
  • Study Takoma Park’s historic African American neighborhoods for potential future listing on the Master Plan for Historic Preservation and/or the National Register of Historic Places. 
  • Promote cultural heritage and further exploration of the community’s past. 
  • Connect the community through increased mobility options. 
  • Support the creation of diverse and welcoming public spaces. 
  • Provide ways to combat environmental inequities. 
  • Improve access to Silver Spring & Takoma Park Red Line Metrorail stations, future Purple Line Stations Takoma Langley Crossroads and Arliss Street, MARC’s Brunswick Line, and multiple bus and shuttle routes. 
Community members visit Montgomery Planning table at an outdoor engagement event
Map of Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Area on easel at engagement event

Frequently Asked Questions

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