Community residents and property owners can sign up to comment on proposed land use, zoning, open space and other plan recommendations
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is holding a public hearing on the draft of the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Area Minor Master Plan on Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 6 p.m. This hearing, which will be the Board’s last item to be heard at the meeting (being held at 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD), provides the opportunity for residents and property owners to comment on the proposed plan recommendations.
Individuals interested in testifying can sign up online or contact the Planning Board Chair’s office at MCP-Chair@mncppc-mc.org mail their written comments to Chair Casey Anderson, Montgomery County Planning Board, 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or fax them to 301-495-1320. Written testimony must be submitted at least one full business day before the scheduled hearing (by 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 before the Thursday hearing). Please direct questions about the Planning Board hearing to the Chair’s Office at 301-495-4605.
Another way of commenting on the plan is through the interactive, online feedback map for the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Area Minor Master Plan. This digital map allows viewers to voice their opinions about the proposed plan recommendations, which are categorized according to three topics: land use and urban design, open space and placemaking, and connectivity.
Planning staff are using these comments to gauge support for specific plan recommendations and identify other possible ideas or issues. The map will be posted through July 6, 2017,and comments received will be shared with the Planning Board before it reviews the plan recommendations.
About the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Minor Master Plan
The current plan is an amendment to the 1992 North Bethesda Garrett Park Master Plan. The 1992 Master Plan made significant recommendations to concentrate density around the Metro stations within the plan area, including residential development around the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station.
Since that plan was adopted, the Strathmore Music Center was built to the north of the Metro station. The center includes a 1,976-seat concert hall, which has rapidly become a regional arts destination.
In 2013, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates the Metro system, requested development proposals for its parking lot facility at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station and selected Fivesquares Development for the project.
The pending redevelopment of the WMATA property is a primary reason the Planning Department is undertaking the Grosvenor-Strathmore Minor Master Plan, and the plan boundaries were modified to narrow the scope of issues and expedite the schedule. The purpose of this plan is to enhance the vitality and longevity of Strathmore, provide additional housing near transit, improve connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists, and encourage a shared Grosvenor-Strathmore identity through public space and art.
Learn more about the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Area Minor Master Plan.