Expedited Bill 25-22, Forest Conservation – Trees, in companion with the resolution to approve Montgomery County Planning Board Regulation No. 25-22 on Forest Conservation – Trees, will amend Chapter 22A, the Forest Conservation Law, and the Planning Board’s forest conservation regulations. The Council passed an amendment to expedite the legislation.

The amendments to the Forest Conservation Law and regulations are proposed to achieve greater forest planting and forest conservation in Montgomery County, with a goal of achieving an equal or greater area of forest planted than forest removed on a Countywide level by projects subject to the Montgomery County Forest Conservation Law.

Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich today announced the launch of a “Business Center,” based in the Office of the County Executive. The Business Center is a rebranded and expanded version of the County’s Business Advancement Team (BAT). It will be focused on assisting businesses looking to start, expand, or relocate in the County.  Goals for the Business Center include conducting proactive outreach to the County’s business community, reducing inefficiencies in County processes to make it easier to own and run a business, and connecting local businesses to the numerous resources available through the County. The Business Center is home to the County’s Small Business Navigator position, business liaisons, business incubator system, business grant programs, and access to resource partners.

“When COVID hit, our Business Advancement Team worked tirelessly to provide tens of millions of dollars in business grants to our hardest hit industries,” said County Executive Elrich. “As we emerged from COVID, we saw an opportunity to expand the team and shift its focus from pandemic assistance to proactive and responsive customer service for our businesses. We are one of the most diverse communities in the entire nation, with businesses that reflect this diversity. Our County is full of assets for businesses, but we recognize that we must compete in a regional and global community. The Business Center is going to give us the edge to better support our local businesses, work with our partners in and out of government to attract new businesses, and help our business community succeed, create jobs, and grow our economy.”

Per Montgomery County: The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, March 21 at 9:15 a.m. and the meeting will begin with a proclamation presentation recognizing National Agriculture Day, presented by Council Vice President Andrew Friedson and Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe and Dawn Luedtke. The afternoon session will begin at 1:15 p.m. with a proclamation recognizing Ramadan, led by Council President Evan Glass and County Executive Marc Elrich. More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on LMA Application H-147 for property located at 11105 New Hampshire Ave. in Silver Spring. The application is a request by White Oak Self Storage to rezone approximately 2.62 acres of property from the CR-2.5, C1.5, R-1.5, H-200’ (Commercial Residential) to CRTF 2.25, C-2.25, R-1.5, H-200’ (Commercial Residential Town Floating). The applicant proposes to use the property to continue self-storage, expand the existing structure by 3,600 square feet and build a new freestanding 116,000-square-foot self-storage building. The hearing examiner recommends approval of the local map amendment.