Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science

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Overview

What do you want your community to look like? What do you love? What is missing?

In 2010, the County created a vision for a dynamic live/work community that would support a globally recognized biotechnology hub in the Shady Grove Life Science Center, through the 2010 Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan (2010 Plan).

A decade later, we are checking in on the vision set in the 2010 Plan and with the community on their experiences, needs, and desires in their neighborhoods.

Download the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science flyer: English | 汉语 | Español

Sign-up to receive the latest news and information about this project. For more information about other initiatives in the area, visit the Great Seneca Science Corridor page.

Get Involved

We want to hear from you about what you want to see in the Great Seneca area!

Complete our questionnaire Add comments to our ReactMap

New! Urban Land Institute Technical Assistance Panel: Montgomery Planning is working with an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Technical Assistance Panel to reimagine the Life Sciences Center and explore ways to transform it into a more connected, walkable, cohesive community for residents and employees. The Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) is comprised of people from all over the region with expertise in design, planning, architecture, engineering, and real estate.

The TAP program is a 1.5-day exercise in which the panel takes a site tour, conducts stakeholder roundtables, and develops a set of recommendations that address the issues identified by Montgomery Planning. If you are interested in joining a stakeholder roundtable as a resident or employee in the area, fill out the form below with your name, email, phone and a sentence explaining your relationship to the plan area. If you would like to apply to join a community stakeholder interview the afternoon of September 20, 2022, please fill out this form. Contact Maren Hill at maren.hill@montgomeryplanning.org or 301.650.5613.

The ULI TAP will present their findings at 4:30 on September 21 at the Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Building at the Universities at Shady Grove (9631 Gudelsky Dr, Rockville, MD 20850). The event is free and open to the public.

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Plan Boundary

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The planning area is located in the heart of the I-270 Corridor. It includes Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Universities at Shady Grove, and the Johns Hopkins Montgomery County College Campus and the Life Sciences Center.

In addition to the life science industry hub, the plan area is home to residential communities and neighborhoods such as Quince Orchard and Rosemont areas, and Camden Shady Grove, the Axis at Shady Grove, Mallory Square, Londonderry, Decoverly and Traville Apartments.

The area contains the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, Washington Grove Elementary School, Ridgeview Middle School, as well as the Noyes Children’s Center. The area is served by an additional thirteen public elementary, middle and high schools.

The Seneca Creek State Park, Quince Orchard Valley Neighborhood Park, Orchard Neighborhood Park, Traville Local Park, and Traville Neighborhood Park are all within the Plan boundaries.

The planning area is completely or nearly completely surrounded by the City of Gaithersburg, the City of Rockville and the Town of Washington Grove. The City of Gaithersburg occupies 10 square miles in the center of the Plan area. These municipalities have their own planning departments, so while Montgomery Planning staff will coordinate with their municipal counterparts, areas within the municipalities are not included in the Plan boundary area.

Scope of Work

View the scope of work and presentation to the Planning Board.

Project Timeline

Fall 2021

Pre-Planning and Engagement
Planning Staff will begin gathering background information, compiling relevant policies, and making connections with community members, including residents, business owners, workers, and students in the area.
Winter 2021 – Fall 2022

Existing Conditions Analysis
Planning staff will document the existing conditions of the area including transportation, parks, land uses, zoning, and housing. The Planning team will summarize these conditions and share them with the Planning Board and public. This phase will happen concurrent with initial phases of engagement to update and involve the community. No recommendations are made in this phase.
Winter 2022 – Winter 2023

Visioning and Community Engagement
Plan visioning work—defining what is desired in the community—with stakeholders will unfold through a series of virtual and in person conversations, events, and other strategies. Visioning work, combined with the existing conditions analysis and community input, will result in preliminary recommendations.
Spring 2023

Preliminary Recommendations
Planning Staff will present preliminary recommendations to the Planning Board and share with community members, organizations and partner agencies for their feedback.
Spring 2023

Working Draft
Drawing on research, analysis, and public input, and the preliminary recommendations, Planning staff develop a draft of the Master Plan including draft recommendations. Staff present the draft to the Planning Board who decide to hold a public hearing.
Spring – Fall 2023

Planning Board Work Sessions
After the working draft is completed, The Planning Board holds a public hearing to get feedback and input from the public before holding work sessions to refine the document. The work during this phase culminates in the Planning Board draft which will be sent to the County Council for review.
Summer 2023 – Winter 2024

County Council Work Sessions
The Planning Board draft goes to the County Executive and County Council for review, including Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee work sessions.
Winter 2024

M-NCPPC Plan Adoption
Once the County Council approves The Planning Board Draft, the Council Approved Sector Plan will go before the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Full Commission for Adoption.
Winter 2024

Sectional Map Amendment
The Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) process is the final step in the Sector Plan Process. The SMA implements all zoning recommendations approved and adopted in the plan. Staff prepares the documentation, and the Planning Board authorizes the filing of the SMA with the County Council. There will be a public hearing on the SMA, followed by work sessions, and finally a vote by the full Council before the SMA can be approved and the zoning map officially changed for public use.

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Last Updated: September 20, 2022

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

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