Gaithersburg

At Tuesday night’s Mayor and City Council meeting, the City of Gaithersburg proclaimed that September 15th-October 15h will be Hispanic Heritage Month. Per the City of Gaithersburg, “the National Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan changed the designation to a 30-day time covering the dates of September 15 to October 15. The date of September 15 is historically significant as it marks the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The designation period also includes Mexico and Chile, which celebrate their independence on September 16 and 18, respectively. According to the U.S. Census, Hispanic Americans are identified by the parts of the world that they or their ancestors came from, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and the countries of Central and South America.”

City programming in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month:

The Gaithersburg Mayor and City Council will hold its record open until 5 p.m. on Friday, September 15, 2023 (10 days) for a proposed ordinance to amend Chapter 15A of the City Code to apply restrictions to the use of marijuana, including but not limited to the same restrictions that now apply to smoking. Policy Discussion, and possible adoption, will take place on October 2, 2023.  Per the proposed ordinance, “this has become necessary since Maryland State voters in the 2022 elections approved the use of cannabis, including marijuana, in small amounts for more than medical purposes.” More from the proposed ordinance below:

In 2022, The General Assembly approved proposing to the voters of Maryland a constitutional amendment authorizing the public and recreational use of marijuana without a medical need, and the voters approved this amendment in the November 2022 elections. The amendment required the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing distribution, and in Senate Bill 516, the General Assembly passed the Cannabis Reform Act, which enabled and authorized the use and sale of cannabis, including marijuana, in small amounts for general and recreational use. The legislation also imposed a 9% tax to be shared with municipalities and counties. While the legislation did not impose restrictions on the use of cannabis, it established local authority to restrict public use and establish some distribution zoning requirements. If the City does not impose restrictions on the use of cannabis, such as for the use of tobacco, no such restrictions will be in place at least for uses of small amounts now authorized by state law.

Gaithersburg City staff is supportive of the annexation petition that would annex the Walnut Hill Shopping Center into the City of Gaithersburg. Granite Partners submitted Annexation Petition X-9510-2023, proposing to annex three parcels that currently abut the City boundary, along with a portion of the North Westland Drive right of way.  The Annexation Plan proposes several changes to the existing Walnut Hill Shopping Center, including constructing a new freestanding convenience store with accessory gasoline pumps, demolishing an existing small freestanding building on the south side of the property, renovating the exterior of the main shopping center building, and making improvements to the parking lot and landscaping.

Gaithersburg Staff recommends that the Mayor and City Council hold their record open until 5:00 p.m., September 29, 2023, with anticipated Policy Discussion and Final Action on October 16th. This action was confirmed at last night’s meeting. Below you’ll see a few photos of what Granite Partners has planned for the shopping center, including a new Aldi grocery store and Sheetz gas station/convenience store.