The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a new zoning initiative designed to attract major employers, speed up development approvals and encourage new job creation across the county.
The Job Creation Project Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA 26-05), introduced by Council President Natali Fani-González and cosponsored by every member of the Council, establishes an expedited review process for qualifying development projects that create at least 200 net new jobs. To qualify, projects must either operate in strategic industries identified in the County’s Economic Development Strategic Plan, fall within certain sectors such as biohealth or advanced technology, or receive County or State economic development incentives.
County leaders say the measure is intended to reduce regulatory delays and provide a more predictable approval process for businesses looking to expand or relocate to Montgomery County. The streamlined process is expected to support projects with committed anchor tenants and encourage private-sector investment while building on similar expedited review programs already available for biohealth developments, mixed-income housing and office-to-residential conversions.
“We must remain laser-focused on attracting new jobs and private-sector investment to the County, and that means evaluating and improving every touch point between county government and businesses,” Fani-González said. “If you want to make significant business investments in Montgomery County to help grow economic opportunities for our residents, we are ready to partner with you to get your project to market faster, cheaper and more predictably.”
The initiative received support from local business leaders, including the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, which said the measure will strengthen the County’s competitiveness and help attract new investment. Supporters say creating a more business-friendly regulatory process will help generate jobs while supporting long-term investments in areas such as healthcare, education, transportation, housing and public safety.
