Per Montgomery County:
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Two new documents were made available on the Montgomery County Council’s Thrive Montgomery 2050 resource page on Oct. 17, 2022. The first is the Draft Thrive Montgomery 2050 Resolution, which shows Council amendments to the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050. In addition, an updated Council Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050 is available, which is a reader-friendly Council Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050 based on the posted resolution.
For 17 months, Councilmembers have been working with staff and listening to suggestions from residents across Montgomery County to develop a general plan for the County’s future. The Thrive Montgomery 2050 Draft Plan contains the text and supporting maps for a comprehensive amendment to Montgomery County’s current General Plan (On Wedges and Corridors).
The document establishes a vision for Montgomery County’s future growth and encompasses broad, countywide policy recommendations for land use, zoning, housing, the economy, equity, transportation, parks and open space, the environment and historic resources.
At the Sept. 22, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 Council meetings, Councilmembers reviewed and proposed multiple changes to the Thrive Montgomery 2050 document, including changes to the new chapters about racial equity and social justice, economic competitiveness and environmental health and resilience. These changes are outlined in detail within the Draft Thrive Montgomery 2050 Resolution and incorporated into the updated Council Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050.
The chapter on racial equity and social justice was written by Nspiregreen and Public Engagement Associates, which is a consulting team secured by the Council to perform targeted outreach through focus groups, community pop-up events and surveys to solicit direct feedback from Black and Indigenous residents and people of color across Montgomery County. This chapter touches on social justice in planning, the history of land use in Montgomery County, housing and environmental justice and transportation. The goal of this additional outreach was to ensure that all residents had the opportunity to provide their views about the County’s future growth.
The chapter focused on economic competitiveness provides an overview of the economic strengths and challenges facing the County and the themes connecting land use and housing production to economic goals to serve a growing and diverse population.
The chapter about environmental health and resilience emphasizes three aspects of environmental stewardship and performance: mitigating and adapting to climate change, focusing on environmental justice and protecting and improving human health.
Residents can view the Council staff reports for the Sept. 29, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 meetings, view all the PHED Committee staff reports on Thrive Montgomery 2050 and watch each of the meetings on the Council’s website. More information is also available on the Council’s Thrive Montgomery 2050 resource page.