Citizen collaboration with planners from November 10-18 spurred ideas for housing, retail, pedestrian and bike connections to move plan forward
SILVER SPRING, MD –The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, concluded its weeklong PlanWestbard Community Charrette – a series of intensive workshops – with a final presentation at Westland Middle School on November 18. The purpose of the charrette was to gather ideas and craft a concept framework plan for the Westbard Sector Plan. The Planning Department staff thanks the numerous residents, property and business owners, and interested citizens who offered valuable ideas about the area, from affordable housing to new streets and parks.
“The community charrette was a great starting point for the plan,” says lead planner John Marcolin. “A lot of valuable ideas emerged to give us momentum in planning Westbard’s future. We encourage the community to continue to give us feedback as we work on refining the plan concepts over the next few months.”
The existing Westbard Sector Plan is one of the oldest plans still in use in Montgomery County, having last been revised in 1982. It is now being updated at the direction of the Montgomery County Council to keep pace with the times and changes in the area.
The community charrette started on Monday, November 10 with walking tours of Westbard to familiarize participants with the area. During that day’s workshop, staff received community input about the area from comment cards, sketches and notes. The plan vision was presented at an evening event at Walt Whitman High School and stakeholders shared their ideas about future open spaces, civic and land uses, and connections within the Westbard area.
On Wednesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 13, business owners and residents attended the morning “Sunrise Series” meetings. Citizen association members and residents offered more input during the day. The evening sessions at Walt Whitman High School presented feedback on three schemes and two concept plans. Noted on the plans are ideas ranging from maintaining industrial uses and building new townhouses to creating a town green and better pedestrian access to the Capital Crescent Trail.
On Friday, November 14, meetings were held with representatives from Montgomery County public schools and libraries, and collaboration continued with community groups and individuals. Based on feedback received at the previous evening presentation, staff refined the concept plans.
On Tuesday, November 18, the final evening presentation examined the ideas offered during the weeklong charrette and their incorporation into the concept plan. View the presentation from November 18.
Over the next four months, planners will prepare the final Westbard Sector Plan based on the community input. They encourage the community to provide additional feedback during this time. The staff draft of the plan will be presented to the Montgomery County Planning Board in April 2015 for approval.
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Learn more about the Westbard Sector Plan and how to get involved: www.montgomeryplanning.org/planwestbard
Westbard Background:
Westbard lies in the southwestern part of Montgomery County, approximately one mile from the DC boundary line. It is less than two miles from the commercial areas of Friendship Heights and Bethesda. The Westbard area is served by two major northwest to southeast highways: River Road and Massachusetts Avenue and is surrounded by well-established single-family neighborhoods. Over a period of years, the residential uses were built around the commercial/industrial areas, which extend along River Road and Westbard Avenue. The popular regional Capital Crescent Trail runs the length of Westbard.