Per Montgomery County:

Council will discuss and take positions on state legislation; Committees will review zoning for accessory buildings and the Sandy Spring Ashton Rural Village Overlay Zone, legislation on early care and education programs and receive an update on migrant and asylum-seeking children and families

The Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will meet on Monday, Feb. 7 at 9:30 a.m. to discuss Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 21-10, Accessory Structures – Use Standards, ZTA 21-11, Zoning Text Amendment 21-11, Sandy Spring/Ashton Rural Village Overlay Zone, and the Ashton Village Center Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) H-144.

The members of the PHED Committee include Chair Hans Riemer and Councilmembers Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando.

The Council will meet at 12:30 p.m. to review and take positions on state legislation being considered by the Maryland General Assembly.

The joint Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education and Culture (E&C) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to discuss Bill 42-21, Child Care – Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity – Established and receive an update on newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children and families.

The members of the HHS Committee include Chair and Council President Gabe Albornoz, Council Vice President Evan Glass (Lead for Homelessness and Vulnerable Communities) and Councilmember Craig Rice.

The members of the E&C Committee include Chair Craig Rice and Councilmembers Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Nancy Navarro.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 21-10, Accessory Structures – Use Standards

Review: The PHED Committee will review Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 21-10, Accessory Structures – Use Standards, which would clarify the maximum footprint for accessory buildings on a lot in the agricultural, rural residential and residential detached zones.

The ZTA makes it clear that the cumulative footprint of all accessory structures may not exceed 50 percent of the footprint of the principal building or 600 square feet, whichever is greater. The lead sponsors of the ZTA are Councilmembers Friedson and Jawando.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Casey Anderson, chair, Montgomery County Planning Board; Jason Sartori, chief, Countywide Planning and Policy, Planning Department; Benjamin Berbert, planner coordinator, Countywide Planning and Policy, Planning Department; Victor Salazar, division chief, Zoning, Well & Septic and Code Compliance, DPS; and Patricia Wolford, zoning manager, Division of Zoning, Well & Septic and Code Compliance, DPS.

ZTA 21-11, Ashton Village Center Overlay Zone and Ashton Village Center Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) H-144

Review: The PHED Committee will review Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 21-11, Sandy Spring/Ashton Rural Village Overlay Zone – Amendments, which amends the existing Sandy Spring Ashton Rural Village Overlay Zone (SSARVO) to make it consistent with the recommendations from the Ashton Village Center Sector Plan. ZTA 21-11 will be reviewed in conjunction with Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) H-144.

The SSARVO was established in 1998 and the Zoning Ordinance was updated in 2014.  The Sandy Spring Rural Village Plan was updated in 2015 and the Ashton Rural Village Sector Plan was updated in 2021. The new Zoning Ordinance and the updated master plans rezoned the C zones to the CRN and CRT Zones, which offered many of the land use controls that the overlay zone provided. The proposed amendments to the SSARVO would reduce those redundancies. The amended overlay zone will retain site plan requirements for all non-residential developments and allow certain existing non-conforming commercial uses to remain.

The lead sponsor of ZTA 21-11 is the Council President, at the request of the Planning Board.

SMA H-144 was filed on Nov. 10, 2021 by the Montgomery County Planning Board to implement the specific zoning recommendations of the Ashton Village Center Sector Plan. The SMA application covers a plan area of approximately 127 acres in the eastern part of the County at the intersection of state routes MD 108 and MD 650 (New Hampshire Avenue). The District Council approved the Ashton Village Center Sector Plan in June 2021.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Casey Anderson, chair, Montgomery County Planning Board; Jason Sartori, chief, Countywide Planning and Policy, Planning Department; Benjamin Berbert, planner coordinator, Countywide Planning and Policy, Planning Department; Donnell Zeigler, supervisor, Upcounty Planning, Planning Department; Jamey Pratt, senior planner, Upcounty Planning, Planning Department; Roberto Duke, planner coordinator, Upcounty Planning, Planning Department.

State Legislative Program

Review: The Council will meet to review and take positions on state legislation. The state legislation under consideration at this meeting includes bills that would do the following: expand the existing Cybersecurity Public Service Scholarship Program and create a new Cybersecurity Loan Assistance Repayment Program; increase per capita state funding for public libraries and regional resource centers; define and place restrictions on untraceable firearms; create incubator and hub entities to administer the Consumer Health Access Program for Mental Health and Addiction Care; and prohibit a state occupational or professional licensing board from denying an occupational or professional license, certification, or registration to an immigrant if the individual otherwise meets all educational, training, or professional requirements for licensure, certification, or registration.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Melanie Wenger, director, Office of Intergovernmental Relations (OIR); Kathleen Boucher, special assistant to director, OIR; Leslie Frey, legislative analyst, OIR; Sara Morningstar, federal relations coordinator and legislative analyst, OIR; Jason Mathias, legislative analyst, OIR; and Ed Lattner, chief, Government Operations Division, Office of County Attorney.

Bill 42-21, Child Care – Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity – Established

Review: The joint HHS and E&C Committee will review Bill 42-21, Child Care – Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity – Established, which would designate a nonprofit corporation focused on access, equity and inclusion in early care and education programs while helping the sector recover from challenges caused by the pandemic.

The County’s Early Care and Education Coordinating Entity will also improve the availability of affordable quality early care and education in the County. High-quality and affordable early child care and education is an essential service for the well-being and future of children and families, as well as employers. The group would serve as a neutral convenor of all major stakeholders to develop a community consensus for the County’s early childhood education sector and must adopt and implement a racial equity and social justice policy consistent with the County’s policy.

Bill 42-21 builds upon the Montgomery County Early Care and Education Initiative (ECEI), which was spearheaded in 2019 by Councilmember Nancy Navarro, then serving as Council President, and County Executive Elrich, in partnership with Montgomery County Public Schools and Montgomery College. This four-year action plan earmarked $7 million in funding to expand quality early care and educational opportunities for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

The lead sponsors of Bill 42-21 are Council President Albornoz and Councilmembers Navarro and Rice. All other Councilmembers are cosponsors.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Dr. Raymond Crowel, director, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); JoAnn Barnes, DHHS; Dr. Barbara Andrews, administrator, Early Childhood Services, DHHS; Sharon Friedman, director, Montgomery Moving Forward; Susan Madden, chief government relations officer, Montgomery Moving Forward (MMF); and Dana Edwards, chief, Districtwide Services and Supports, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS); and Kevin Beverly, Children’s Opportunity Fund.

Newly Arriving Migrant and Asylum-Seeking Children and Families

Briefing:  The joint HHS and E&C Committee will receive an update on national, regional and local issues regarding the arrival of migrant children who have come to live with approved sponsors through the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children and families who are now residents of Montgomery County. The joint Committee received an initial update on this topic on July 22, 2021 and a second update on Nov. 29, 2021. At this session, panelists will discuss follow-up issues and questions raised by the joint Committee at the the Nov. 29 meeting.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) convened a steering committee with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to plan and coordinate a response so that the county is well prepared to address the needs of newly arriving migrant and asylum-seeking children and families. The response model will strengthen interagency coordination and partnerships with community-based organizations. The implementation plan includes the following action areas: communication and outreach, navigation and case management (including access to health and mental health), legal services, positive youth development and recreation, anti-discrimination, public safety and trafficking prevention, and education and school-based services.

According to the ORR, 1,231 unaccompanied children have been placed with sponsors in Montgomery County in the calendar year of 2021. The District of Columbia Metropolitan Region has been the destination for 4,576 children with 1,678 living with sponsors in Prince George’s County, 1,360 in Fairfax County and 307 in the District of Columbia. Children and families may also arrive through other avenues without going through the ORR process.

Those expected to attend and provide information include Tania Alfaro, Newcomers Coordinator, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS);  JoAnn Barnes, consultant, DHHS; Dira Treadvance, chief, Children, Youth, and Family Services, DHHS; Sonia Mora, assistant chief administrative officer; Monica Martin, administrator, Child and Adolescent School and Community-Based Services, DHHS; Luis Cardona, administrator, Positive Youth Development, DHHS; and Diane Vu, director, Office of Community Partnerships; Oscar Alvarenga, newcomer transition coordinator; Damon Monteleone, assistant chief, Office of Teaching, Learning, and Schools (OTLS); Everett Davis, acting associate superintendent, Student, Family, Support, and Engagement, MCPS; Margarita I. Bohorquez, acting director, Student, Family, and School Services – International Admissions & Enrollment, MCPS; Dr. Jennifer Norton, director, Department of English Learners and Multilingual Education, Curriculum and Instructional Programs; and Diego Uriburu, executive director, Identity, Inc.

The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. The current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review can be viewed at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

The Council and committees are meeting via Zoom because of ongoing construction and technology upgrades in the Council’s Hearing Room and the inability to conduct meetings in a socially distant way in other areas of the Council Office Building with television broadcast capacity. Councilmembers continue to hold meetings in their offices by appointment.

The virtual Council and committee meetings will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.