Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan

The Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan will examine undeveloped areas—specifically, the eastern side of I-270 within the county’s I-270 growth corridor—that have largely remained unchanged in the last 30 years. Alongside extensive local input and in-depth conversations with residents, business owners, and the tech and life sciences communities, Montgomery Planning staff will evaluate the plan area’s trends and conditions before developing recommendations for realizing a thriving Clarksburg that works for the future of both its residents and the surrounding county.

This sector plan is an amendment to the 1994 Clarksburg Master Plan and focuses on a portion of the 1994 Plan’s Transit Corridor District and small parts of a few surrounding areas. This area is part of the I-270 corridor—a significant employment resource for the county and the region. Planners will evaluate land use, zoning, transportation, and environmental and historic resources to determine if a new mix of land uses and zoning is more appropriate for this area. The sector plan will make recommendations for how best to update the 1994 Plan and its 2011 and 2014 amendments, including housing needs, road interchange design, staging of retail development, transportation corridors, and environmental recommendations.

Montgomery Planning looks forward to a collaborative effort to develop a plan for this community, based on existing needs and a shared vision for what those who live, learn, work, and play in its vicinity need to thrive.

Process and Timeline

Emerging ideas

The Clarksburg planning team shared their emerging ideas for the Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan at two meetings in January 2025 to seek community feedback on recommendations being prepared for the draft plan. An in-person meeting was held on January 14 at Rocky Hill Middle School and a virtual meeting was held on January 16 via Zoom.

Materials from these meetings are available below:

• View the in-person meeting Emerging Ideas presentation
• View the in-person meeting Emerging Ideas posters
• Watch a recording of the January 16 virtual meeting and view the chat transcript
• View the Clarksburg feedback map

The planning team briefed the Montgomery County Planning Board on emerging ideas for the sector plan on March 27, 2025. Planning Board members provided feedback to the planning team for further study and refinement of plan recommendations.

Materials from this briefing are available below:

• Watch a recording of the March 27 Planning Board briefing
• View the staff report for the March 27 Planning Board briefing
• View the presentation slides for the March 27 Planning Board briefing

Community visioning workshops

During this phase, the Clarksburg community was invited to help the planning team envision the future of the area included in the sector plan and explore solutions to community needs. The Planning team will continue to conduct analysis of potential alternatives for future land uses, transportation, environmental, school, and other impacts.

Recap of June visioning workshops

Community visioning workshops were held June 10 and June 12 at Rocky Hill Middle School to share takeaways from visioning workshops held in May and to present the sector plan’s emerging ideas for community reactions. Feedback received at the June workshops will influence the preparation of Preliminary Recommendations for the sector plan area in the summer. View the Planning team’s Take-Aways and Emerging Ideas presentation at the workshop.

Recap of May visioning workshops

Community visioning workshops were held at Rocky Hill Middle School on May 21 and at Clarksburg High School on May 23 to gather public input on a range of topics that will be addressed by the sector plan, including community development, historic preservation, transportation, the environment, and parkland access and expansion. View the Planning team’s Introductory Presentation and poster boards displayed at each topical station at these workshops.

Community outreach, engagement, and analysis

Below are summaries of community outreach and engagement activities the Clarksburg Planning team has conducted to date. The team will continue to meet with community groups, public agency staff, property owners, and others.

February 15, 2024

Staff presented a community feedback report to the Planning Board containing a summary of and examples from the community feedback received to date. View the Community Feedback Report.

November 30, 2023

Staff presented an existing conditions report of the sector plan area to the Planning Board. Research and analysis conducted by the Planning team establishes baseline information of the area’s current conditions and helps to inform the future plan recommendations. View the Existing Conditions Report.

October 2023 community listening sessions

View the October 3, 2023 presentation focused on transportation and the environment. Watch the video of the main session, including post-breakout-group summaries.

View the October 11, 2023 presentation focusing on housing, land use, employment, and economic development.

View the October 19, 2023 presentation that covered community identity, community facilities, parks, trails, and open spaces, historic preservation, and urban design.

View the October 28, 2023 presentation that covered all sector plan topics.

Summer 2023 community canvassing

Community outreach consultant firm, Everyday Canvassing, coordinated a neighborhood canvassing effort with the Planning team to speak directly with residents and businesses in and around the sector plan area. Community feedback from canvassing is included in the Community Feedback Report presented to the Planning Board on February 15, 2024.

Sector Plan kickoff meeting

The Planning team hosted a community kick-off meeting and open house to discuss the plan with members of the Clarksburg community in the park activity building in Clarksburg Neighborhood Park . Turnout was impressive, with over 75 people in attendance. View the July 26, 2023 presentation.

Plan preparation and scoping

This phase involved setting the plan boundary, project schedule, and primary topics to be considered as part of the sector plan.

July 26, 2023

The Planning team presented the Scope of Work and plan boundary to the Upcounty Citizens Advisory Board (UCAB) at its full board virtual meeting on Monday, June 26.

June 22, 2023

The Scope of Work for the Clarksburg Gateway Sector Plan was presented to the Planning Board on June 22, 2023. View the Planning Board Presentation.

Plan boundary

Schedule at-a-glance