Great Seneca Plan Visioning Session to be Held on October 26 by Montgomery Planning

The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, will hold an in-person community visioning session for the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science on October 26 from 7 to 8 p.m. at Rosemont Elementary School (16400 Alden Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877). During this visioning session, community members can provide ideas for the future of the Great Seneca area of the county, an area that borders the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville, and includes the Universities at Shady Grove, Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove, and surrounding areas.

Planning staff will begin with a presentation about the planning process to date and share information about the plan area as it exists today. Afterwards, the community will engage in small group conversations about what they like about the area as it exists today and what they might hope to improve in a vision for the area’s future. Through the visioning session, the community can learn more about the plan and its goals and provide feedback on the strengths, opportunities, and challenges for the Great Seneca Plan area. RSVPs are encouraged. RSVP for the October 26 Community Visioning Session. All persons attending the community visioning session must be vaccinated and may be required to show proof of vaccination. To request translation assistance or accessibility accommodations, please contact Maren Hill at [email protected] or 301-650-5613 by October 20, 2022.

About the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science: The Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science is an effort to examine the Great Seneca community, to identify strengths and needs, and to create vision for the future. Working with community members and other stakeholders, Montgomery Planning will evaluate how the area has grown over the past decade, consider current trends, and create recommendations for sustainability, housing, economic resiliency, and transportation and community connections to equitably guide future growth. The Great Seneca Plan is a comprehensive update to the 2010 Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan and a follow up to the 2021 Great Seneca Science Corridor Minor Master Plan Amendment.

Great Seneca Plan Boundary: The planning area is in the heart of the I-270 Corridor and is completely or nearly surrounded by the City of Gaithersburg, the City of Rockville and the Town of Washington Grove. It includes Adventist Healthcare at Shady Grove, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Universities at Shady Grove, and the Life Sciences Center. In addition to the life sciences industry hub, the plan area is home to residential communities and neighborhoods such as Quince Orchard and Rosemont, as well as the Camden Shady Grove, Axis at Shady Grove, Mallory Square, Londonderry, Decoverly, and Traville Apartments.

How to get involved: To receive the latest news and information on the plan, please sign up for its eletter. Planners are also asking the community to complete a short questionnaire to help guide planning efforts, or use the MCReactMap to help identify what they like about the area, what is missing, and what needs to be improved. For questions or comments, contact lead planner Maren Hill via email or at 301-650-5613.