Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan

The Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan will establish a clear vision for an equitable, just and prosperous future for the Fairland community, mirroring the county’s long-term priorities, which include a vibrant economy, equity for all residents, and a healthy environment. The final plan will include policies, recommendations, best practices and implementation programs that provide clear direction for the public and county officials on how we will achieve this vision.

This master plan update takes cues from Thrive Montgomery 2050, in-process General Plan update for Montgomery County – particularly its equity framework – which describes how great places with equitable access to opportunity produce strong communities and people. Thrive Montgomery 2050 will examine and provide policies and recommendations on existing and future land uses and zoning, housing inventory and needs, transportation systems, historic preservation opportunities, area park facilities, and the environment. This project will amend portions of the 1997 Fairland Master Plan which is the current master plan for the Fairland and Briggs Chaney communities.

This webpage will be updated regularly throughout the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan process. Stay in contact with us and sign-up for our e-letter to receive the latest news, meetings, and opportunities to participate.

Why update the plan now?

There are five primary drivers of the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan: Thrive Montgomery 2050, racial equity and social justice, the new FLASH bus rapid transit line, economic development and jobs, and the need for additional housing.

Thrive Montgomery 2050 – the in-process county-wide General Plan update – embraces new realities, addresses historic inequities, and shifts the way we think about how the county should grow. For example, we need to reconsider sites previously considered unsuitable for development such as parking lots or the air rights over existing buildings and find ways to use land more efficiently. Thrive Montgomery outlines such strategies to accommodate growth in ways that not only make room for new residents but also improve the quality-of-life for the people who are already here. The ideas and recommendations contained in Thrive Montgomery provide an opportunity to achieve economic health, equitable communities, and environmental resilience in all areas of the county. The Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan effort presents us with the opportunity to implement many of Thrive Montgomery’s forward-looking policies. We will examine ways to implement many of the county’s land use and transportation policies including Vision Zero, Complete Streets, and Complete Communities.
Racial equity and social justice and the need to make Montgomery County more equitable and more inclusive. Revisiting our land use policies and zoning are integral to implementing the County’s 2019 Racial Equity and Social Justice Law and the resulting Montgomery Planning Equity Agenda for Planning. Diversity and inclusion are essential to our economic success, so equitable access to quality housing, education, jobs, transportation, and recreation are critical for everyone to thrive.
The FLASH, Montgomery County’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) line began operations in October 2020. The FLASH provides frequent and reliable transit service along the US 29 corridor from Burtonsville to downtown Silver Spring. This new BRT line presents exciting opportunities to improve resident quality-of-life with more vibrant, livable, and walkable neighborhoods. Three new BRT stations (Tech Road, Briggs Chaney Road, and Castle Road) create opportunities for redevelopment, housing, and community amenities.
Economic Development. We want to ensure a vibrant, strong and competitive economy by attracting and maintaining employers, supporting small businesses and innovation, and attracting and retaining a high-quality, diverse workforce.
Housing. The region’s housing shortage — particularly in affordable and attainable housing — necessitates looking at new housing opportunities. The Fairland and Briggs Chaney community is nearly built-out with houses, townhouses, and apartments. However, other historic residential prototypes such as courtyards and four-plex housing allow us to think more creatively about how to meet demand, especially in areas well-served by transit.

Learn more about Montgomery County’s Master Planning Process.

Project Timeline

April 2021

Scope of Work
On April 8, 2021, the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan presented the Scope of Work to the Planning Board. Approval of the plan boundary map.
May to August 2021

Project Kickoff
Hosted Montgomery Planning’s first virtual Spring Speakers Series. The planning team will also document existing conditions and collect data for use throughout the planning process. In July and August, our partners, Everyday Canvassing, will conduct interviews across the community to better understand the people, places, and stories of Fairland and Briggs Chaney.
Fall 2021 to Spring 2022

Listening (Existing Conditions Analysis)
The listening phase includes an extensive community engagement process of public participation and involvement that aims to build relationships though listening and learning about the people and places that make up the community. The Planning team will also document community assets and the existing physical conditions of the plan area, including transportation infrastructure, parks, schools, housing, businesses, environmental conditions, and other features. At the end of this phase a summary of these conditions will be presented to the Planning Board and made available to the public. Policy recommendations are not formulated during this phase.
Spring to Summer 2022

Visioning (Preliminary Recommendations)
Plan visioning with community stakeholders, combined with the existing conditions analysis and community input, will result in staff’s preliminary recommendations. Preliminary recommendations are reviewed with the Planning Board.
Fall 2022

Refining (Working Draft)
Planning staff will prepare a working draft of the master plan.
Fall 2022 to Spring 2023

Sharing (Planning Board Draft)
Planning Board conducts a public hearing on the working draft. Work sessions are held to further refine the plan. This step results in the adoption of the planning board draft.
Summer 2023

County Council and County Executive
County Council and County Executive review of the planning board draft. County Council holds a public hearing and committee work sessions. This step results in the council-approved master plan.
Fall 2023

M-NCPPC Master Plan Adoption
The council-approved master plan is transmitted to the Planning Board and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) for final approval and adoption.
Winter 2023

Sectional Map Amendment
The Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) process is the final step in the master plan process. The SMA implements all zoning recommendations approved and adopted in the master plan. The Planning Board authorizes the SMA application submittal to the County Council. The County Council conducts a public hearing followed by work sessions, and consideration to approve zoning map changes.

Frequesntly Asked Questions

What does a people-first approach mean?

A people-first or community-led approach targets engagement efforts towards the audiences that our work affects—and ideally, focuses on historically underrepresented communities within those audiences—so we can amplify often-unheard voices and build out an agenda based on residents’ lived experiences. This approach is consistent with the work of local non-profit organizations, community advocates and organizers. This strategy is used to build meaningful working partnerships with stakeholders both within the Fairland and Briggs Chaney community and beyond. Collecting a combination of analytical data and feedback, we can better interpret the hard data and better understand the stories (e.g. soft data) we collect about the neighborhood’s existing conditions. Within the context of this Master Plan, our findings and planning policy recommendations will be strongly supported by the data points and stories from the people who want to live, work and develop in the Fairland and Briggs Chaney area.

The Montgomery County Planning Department’s people-first community engagement strategy ultimately informs the professional recommendations for future generations.
What does a re-imagining of the Route 29 corridor mean?

Currently, Route 29 is a limited access highway that moves a high volume of traffic and features a new Bus Rapid Transit route. Previous studies and Master Plans have stated Route 29 acts as a barrier between communities and had poor walkability and connections. Our re-imagining of Route 29 centers on creating a “complete community”—a fundamental goal of Thrive Montgomery 2050, the county’s newly updated General Plan. Residents that live in a complete community have access to most essential services within a relatively close distance from their homes, allowing people to meet their daily needs within a 15-minute walking radius, bike ride, or transit trip. Residents that work, shop, learn, and play in close distance from their homes experience a higher quality of life. In order to achieve that vision and a higher quality of life for the existing residents, we should encourage commercial and residential improvements along existing transportation corridors like Route 29 to help establish centers of activity for a vibrant community, while reducing both environmental impacts and sprawl growth patterns.
Will the plan address food security issues?

Yes, the plan will recommend necessary improvements and identify existing conditions that do not support safe access to healthy foods. The plan will also include better methods for evaluating successful outcomes to eliminate food insecurities based on “complete community” and quality of life indicators. Exacerbated by the global pandemic, food security has frequently come up as a major concern throughout the County. In response to these concerns, we will also explore existing and historical disparities in the County as a whole, supported by the Equity Emphasis Areas mapping tool. This mapping tool prioritizes areas within Montgomery County that are characterized by both high concentrations of lower-income people of color and residents that may also speak English less than very well. This mapping tool specifically identifies these areas in the county to assess potential racial and social inequities. Effectively responding to these quality of life issues is also consistent with (and critically important to) the Planning Department’s commitment to racial equity and social justice.
Will my neighborhood get new parks through this process?

Possibly! Once we have heard the input and feedback from the community about their assessment of community green spaces, we will factor this information into the conversations about necessary improvements to local parks and the development of new community green spaces.

The current Master Plan boundary contains three parks. The plan boundary area also contains several private open space areas and green spaces. The goal of the Master Plan would be to increase the amount of accessible green spaces and public amenities. The Route 29 corridor features several properties with large surface parking lots with little to no green space available for community gatherings. In this planning process, we will use the feedback gathered during engagement activities (e.g. questionnaire, listening sessions) to assess the community’s need for recreation and rank accessibility based the quality of the user’s experience. The feedback will also help guide the need for additional trail access to the larger park and open space system.
Why should I participate in this process?

Your opinion is a vital part of the master planning process! Regardless of your experience or qualifications, everyone knows what they like or dislike about their community—and what needs the most improvement. Participating in this planning process means your seat at the table has been reserved. However, you will need to show up and participate in conversations about the neighborhood’s priorities and goals for the future. Community members will need to bring their knowledge and experiences to the planning process such that decision-makers hear from you directly. Your help and participation will ultimately ensure that the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan reflects the whole community’s values and shared vision.
Will my feedback matter? How will I know?

Yes, your feedback matters to this plan! Community feedback will be instrumental in building the future recommendations of the Fairland Briggs Chaney Master Plan. The strength of the plan will be guided on the comments of how residents, workers, students, worshippers, and other stakeholders live, work and play within their community. You will know that your feedback matters because as the planning team collects data, actual stories, recorded interviews, and community photos these elements may be viewed on the webpage and/or in the actual document. We encourage your participation and welcome any ideas, issues, and opportunities to help build this plan together. Stay informed and learn about how your feedback matters, sign up for our e-letters. We will notify you of any updates, news, upcoming events, and draft documents as those are made available.
Will this plan create more housing options?

Creating and preserving housing options is an integral part of the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan. Through the master planning process, staff will analyze existing conditions and make recommendations based on the anticipated future housing needs in the area. These recommendations will likely include a balance between the production and preservation of housing that recognizes the variety of housing needs of residents of Fairland Briggs Chaney– including by type, size, tenure, and affordability level.

Another key factor to consider, is the proximity of housing to the existing transportation systems. Route 29 can accommodate growth through infill and redevelopment; thereby, creating vibrant mixed-use nodes around transit stations and bus stops. Building off equity as a framework, the plan will explore ways to create opportunities for housing, commerce, placemaking, and jobs around the new BRT stations and underutilized surface parking lots to create equitable people-centric streets and connections to parks, open space, and other community assets.
How will this plan make the Route29 / Colesville Road corridor more transit oriented and less auto-centric?

Route 29 has great potential to become a more transit-oriented place with safe multimodal travel options. The plan will seek ways to make transit, walking, micro mobility, and bicycling the preferred travel mode for daily trips and reduce vehicle trips (e.g. single occupancy vehicular trips). The plan will also incorporate Vision Zero principles, an action plan to eliminate transportation-related deaths and severe injuries by the year 2030 to improve safety, mobility and connectivity in the Fairland and Briggs Chaney community.

Montgomery Planning is currently developing the county’s first Pedestrian Master Plan. The purpose of the Pedestrian Master Plan is to make walking and rolling safer, more comfortable, convenient, and accessible for pedestrians of all ages and abilities throughout the county. The Planning Department is also developing a new approach to designing county roads using a concept called “Complete Streets.” Complete Streets are roadways that are designed and operated to provide safe, accessible, and healthy travel for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists. The adopted Bicycle Master Plan sets forth a vision for the county as a world-class bicycling community, where everyone has access to a comfortable, safe, and fully connected bicycle network for both recreation and daily commuting. The Fair and Briggs Chaney Master Plan will examine ways to advance and implement these important transportation planning efforts.
How does the master planning process work?

Montgomery County’s master planning process creates a long-term vision to guide future growth and development of a community through public policy and regional planning. To build a master plan, we collect public input, host surveys, and consider existing policies, developments, physical characteristics, and social and economic conditions. Based on our analysis of these factors, the Planning Department then formulates recommendations for a community’s growth, economy, housing, transportation, community facilities, and land use.

The last master plan effort (1997 Fairland Master Plan) resulted in a number of neighborhood improvements based on community feedback, including a recreation center, local parks, and athletic fields—so it’s important for your voice to be heard! By participating in the process, you can advocate for the improvements you want to see in your neighborhood, from public spaces and parks to housing options, safety, and more.
What role will business owners play in the planning process?

Fairland-Briggs Chaney has a variety of businesses, from small local-serving retail outlets to a regional headquarters of a global telecommunications firm. Thus, it serves as a business center, a local marketplace, a commuting stopover, and a destination for some commercial activities—most notably the purchase of a new car. Planning staff hopes to engage with business owners to help contribute to the people-first approach to this master plan through redevelopment and possibly placemaking activities by temporarily and/or permanently converting parking lots to places. Creating the conditions for these businesses to thrive is a key goal of the plan. The plan also seeks to help cultivate new businesses that will provide needed services, jobs, and opportunities for wealth creation for residents. Finally, the plan will help guide new and existing businesses to grow in ways that support and enhance the quality of life in nearby communities and complement new infrastructure investments such as the Bus Rapid Transit line on Route 29.
How will this plan focus on equitable engagement?

Equitable engagement is one of three major themes of the Thrive Montgomery Plan 2050. Expanding on the progress made by the equity working group for the Thrive Montgomery Plan, we will continue to use the 3-pronged approach as the guiding framework for organizing our target audiences into three separate categories. The first category is based on our traditional (hierarchical) method, which allows us the opportunity to meet one-on-one with neighborhood leaders. The second category is based on a shared-power method that allows us to build working partnerships with civic groups and connect them to community advocates. The third category is based on a grassroots method which allows us the opportunity to help resolve localized problems from the ground up with the community’s support.

As we move forward, the planning team will continue to identify ways to reach all community members and make it easier for stakeholders to participate, and we encourage you to contribute at every stage of the process. The best way to stay in touch is to sign up for our e-letters so you can receive the latest news, events, and updates. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more.
How will this plan make equitable land use recommendations?

In accordance with Bill 27-19, incorporating a racial equity and social justice lens is requirement for all Master Plans. However, prior to the effective date of this Bill (March 2, 2020), the Thrive Montgomery Plan 2050 was well underway and emphasized “community equity” as one of three major themes. On the heels of the Thrive Montgomery Plan 2050, the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan is gaining momentum as the first corridor focused plan to fully infuse racial equity and social justice throughout the planning process. As we continue to listen to the community’s feedback, this information will be used to justify final land use recommendations.

A racial equity and social justice timeline will be prepared highlighting the impacts of previous land use practices such as redlining in an effort to learn from the past and identify ongoing legacies of historical discrimination in the community that need to be addressed. The Fairland Briggs Chaney Master Plan is also located in an Equity Focus Area. Equity Focus Areas are parts of the County that are characterized by high concentrations of certain household incomes, people of color and those who may also speak English less than very well. These communities may experience the highest inequities in access to transportation, job opportunities, environmental and recreational amenities and other resources supporting a high quality of life. The analysis of Equity Focus areas will seek to ensure that all future programs, policies, resource allocations and capital projects are done so equitably.