Kensington

Brief History of the Town of Kensington

By MCS Staff

Kensington’s history began as Joseph’s Park through a land grant of 4,220 acres, located at the time within Charles County, to Mr. William Joseph in 1689. Permitted on September 25, 1705, and now within Prince George’s County, William Joseph’s son used the land for agriculture until he sold it in 1736 to Mr. Daniel Carroll of Upper Marlboro. Carroll, who was one of only five men to sign both the Articles of Confederation (1777) and the Constitution (1787), sold various parcels of land to local farmers. Kensington’s current day form came about from Mr. George Knowles’ property following the construction of the Metropolitan Branch line from Washington, DC to Point of Rocks in 1873.

Bisecting Mr. Knowles’ property, the train began stopping in 1891 at Knowles Station to participate in commerce with Mr. Knowles and the other local farmers. Taking this into account, Mr. Brainard Warner purchased property south of Knowles Station in 1890 from the Brown family and built a summer retreat home. Mr. Warner then began encouraging his friends to purchase parcels of land from him so that they could build summer homes as well. Mr. Warner’s property became known as a “garden suburb” in which he designed after Kensington, England.

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Gaithersburg

Approval Recommended for Car Wash That Will Turn 3 Lots into 1 Lot for 5,617 SF Car Wash in Gaithersburg

By MCS Staff

The Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council held a policy discussion on this application on May 16, 2022, regarding the application of Brett Schaecter of Crain Partners, LLC, to combine the three lots into a single lot to construct a 5,617 square foot automatic car wash building and associated parking lot.  The video of the meeting can be found here where approval was recommended by City Staff (with policy discussion going 3-2 against approval). A final action on the application will be made at the June 21 meeting.

The concept site plan is the first stage in the site plan process. If the concept site plan is approved, which is recommended, the Mayor and City Council can either require that the project come back as a Schematic Development Plan application for Mayor and City Council and Planning Commissions review or direct the Planning Commission to review a Preliminary/Final Site Plan application.

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Gaithersburg

219 Unit Residential Apartment Proposed for Spectrum at Watkins Mill

By MCS Staff
Figure 4. Building Elevation - North (Viewed S/B 355)

BPTC Eighteen, LLC has submitted this Application for Schematic Development Plan approval for development of a multi-family residential building on an approximately 1.25- acre site in the Spectrum at Watkins Mill mixed-use development (103 and 203 Spectrum Ave, located off of Watkins Mill Rd and 355). The plan proposes a 219 unit residential apartment building, and integrated parking garage which will be partially below grade.

The Application includes a sketch plan that was approved on November 3, 2021 to convert the use of the site from commercial to mixed-use commercial and residential.

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MoCoSnow

Tornado Confirmed Friday Afternoon in Olney

By MCS Staff

Earlier today we reported on damage at a few Olney homes due to the storms that included Tornado Warnings that came through Friday afternoon. It has been confirmed that an EF-0 tornado touched down in various parts of Olney. Additional information can be seen below, courtesy of the National Weather Service via Iowa State University.

“An EF-0 tornado with winds estimated at 80 MPH briefly touched down in Montgomery County, MD, in the town of Olney on the afternoon of Friday, May 27, 2022.

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Gaithersburg

‘Flags for Our Heroes’ with More Than 700 American Flags on Display as Memorial Day Tribute Through Monday, May 30, at Bohrer Park in Gaithersburg

By Patrick Herron

“Flags for Our Heroes,” featuring an impressive display of more than 700 American flags, has returned to the lawn at Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm for Memorial Day Weekend through Monday, May 30. The flags, which are lit at night, can be viewed 24 hours a day. There is no charge to enter the park.

A formal opening ceremony for the display will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 28. Bohrer Park at Summit Hall Farm is located at 506 South Frederick Ave. in Gaithersburg, adjacent to Gaithersburg High School.

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MCPS

Whitman High School Added as a Maryland Green School; MCPS Total Green Schools Now Up To 91

By MCS Staff

Walt Whitman High School has been named a 2022 Maryland Green School, bringing the MCPS total to 91. Staff and students at the certifying schools went above and beyond in this COVID-impacted year: 27 Green Schools successfully recertified this year to retain the honor.

Six schools reached the highly valued “sustainable school” status—Ashburton, Bethesda, Forest Knolls, New Hampshire Estates, Rosemary Hills and Sligo Creek elementary schools—and two schools reached Sustainable Bronze Level: John Poole Middle School and Westbrook Elementary School. Sustainable schools have maintained Green School certification for 16 years. Bronze Level schools have maintained Green School certification for 20 years.

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Gaithersburg

Detectives Ask For Assistance in Locating Missing 78-Year-Old Man From Gaithersburg

By Patrick Herron

Raul Orbegoso, age 78, was last seen on Saturday, May 28, 2022, at approximately 7 a.m., in the 980 block of Clopper Road.

Orbegoso is approximately 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs 140 pounds. He has grey hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black or red shirt and white Nike sneakers.

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MCFRS

Several Families in Olney Displaced After Friday’s Storm

By MCS Staff

Friday’s Thunderstorms, which also brought Tornado Warninga for several parts of the county, caused damages to a handful of homes on Tanterra Way in Olney when all was said and done on Friday afternoon, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services PIO Pete Piringer.

Piringer showed the damage that was incurred by several homes in the Olney neighborhood off of Queen Elizabeth Drive. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but several families were displaced due to the damage, which can be seen below.

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