Montgomery Planning Archives - Page 15 of 22

Community Invited to Attend Two Public Meetings in March on University Boulevard Corridor Plan

Published February 26, 2023 at 9:16AM

Newly launched plan focuses on improvements surrounding a three-mile stretch of University Boulevard/MD 193 between Wheaton and the Capital Beltway

The Montgomery County Planning Department will host two community meetings in March to provide updates and receive additional feedback on the University Boulevard Corridor (UBC) Plan. The UBC Plan effort launched in November 2022. At the meetings, to be held in-person at Northwood High School on Wednesday, March 8, and on Zoom on Tuesday, March 14, Montgomery Planning will report back on the feedback it received during the UBC Plan’s first community meetings held last fall and provide additional information on transportation-related elements of the plan.

Planning Board Votes Not to Recommend Historic Designation for Former Weller’s Dry Cleaning Site

By MCS Staff

Published February 25, 2023 at 10:31AM

The Montgomery County Planning Board voted to not recommend historic designation for the former Weller’s Dry Cleaning site in Silver Spring at a public hearing on Thursday, February 23. The County Council makes final decisions on historic designations of properties in the county. The site was part of a proposed amendment to the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation. Read the amendment. Watch the video from the February 23 Planning Board public hearing.

About the former Weller’s Dry Cleaning site: The former Weller’s Dry Cleaning site (8237 Fenton Street, Silver Spring, MD) was originally identified for evaluation as an historic resource over twenty years ago in the 2002 Historic Sites Survey Report: Silver Spring Central Business District. The 2022 Silver Spring Downtown and Adjacent Communities Plan directed Montgomery Planning to evaluate the Weller’s Dry Cleaning site designation as a Master Plan Historic Site. This site consists of a Googie-styled commercial store and sign constructed in 1961 within the Thayer Avenue commercial area in Downtown Silver Spring. The Googie style is a popular, but relatively rare, mid-20th century roadside commercial architecture that is a subset of the Modern Movement of architecture. Architects popularized the style in California where the intention was to attract motorists traveling at 35 miles per hour or more to stop and patronize roadside businesses. The design of the former Weller’s Dry Cleaning building and sign engaged the everyday consumer with modern and popular architecture in lieu of the high-style austerity of the International, Brutalist, and Expressionist styles. Very few examples of this architectural style remain intact in the county or region. View the December 2022 Weller’s Dry Cleaning Master Plan for Historic Preservation Designation Form.

Planning Board Unanimously Recommends Historic Designation for Edward U. Taylor School in Boyds; County Council Will Make the Final Decision

By MCS Staff

Published February 25, 2023 at 10:07AM

The Montgomery County Planning Board recommended the Montgomery County Council designate the Edward U. Taylor School in Boyds as historic by adding it to the county’s Master Plan for Historic Preservation at a public hearing on Thursday, February 23. The County Council makes final decisions on historic designations of properties in the county. “We commend the Planning Board’s recommendation that the County Council designate the Edward U. Taylor Elementary School as a historic site,” said Acting Planning Director Tanya Stern. “This school is a landmark in the history of the Black community in Boyds and served as a community anchor. The Taylor School represented the efforts of individuals like Edward U. Taylor and Black organizations, parents, and teachers to obtain quality educational facilities for Black children in Montgomery County in the mid-20^thcentury.” Historic designation criteria are established in Chapter 24A in the Montgomery County Code. The Planning Board evaluated the sites against the criteria and found that the Edward U. Taylor School met the following criteria:

About the Edward U. Taylor School site: The former Edward U. Taylor School (19501 White Ground Road, Boyds, MD) was built as an elementary school for Black students at a time when Montgomery County used legally sanctioned racial segregation to prohibit Black children from attending white schools. The Modern Movement-influenced building was completed in 1952, and features several additions built between 1954 and 1969. The facility was built to modern school design standards and represents the cumulative efforts of the county’s Black community to obtain better facilities and opportunities after decades of public underinvestment in educational facilities for Black children. The building currently serves as the Taylor Science Center for the processing and storage of science kits for Montgomery County Public Schools. The recommendation to study the school was brought forward in the MARC Rail Communities Plan, which was approved by the County Council in April 2019. View a short video on the Legacy of the Edward U. Taylor School. View the September 2022 Edward U. Taylor Elementary School Master Plan for Historic Preservation Designation Form.

Montgomery Planning Releases Wheaton Downtown Study

By Patrick Herron

Published February 21, 2023 at 2:20PM

Per Montgomery Planning: The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), briefed the Montgomery County Planning Board Feb. 16 on its Wheaton Downtown Study, which examines the progress and challenges toward fulfilling the 2012 Wheaton Central Business District (CBD) and Vicinity Sector Plan and offers specific recommendations to inform decision makers on advancing the sector plan’s implementation. Montgomery Planning is now sending the completed study to the Montgomery County Council.

READ THE WHEATON DOWNTOWN STUDY DOCUMENT

Montgomery County Planning Board approves update to the Rustic Roads Functional Master Plan on February 9

By MCS Staff

Published February 11, 2023 at 3:09PM

Update adds roads to the program and updates details for roads already included in the program

The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, approved the Rustic Roads Functional Master Plan Update at its meeting on February 9, 2023. The Montgomery County Planning Department, which developed the plan, will now make the edits requested by the Planning Board and transmit the Planning Board Draft to the Montgomery County Council so that they can begin their public review of the plan prior to their final approval.

Public Hearing for Pedestrian Master Plan Set for March 23

By MCS Staff

Published February 11, 2023 at 3:07PM

Community invited to testify on Montgomery Planning’s first draft of groundbreaking plan to foster safer, more comfortable, and more accessible pedestrian conditions in Montgomery County

The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), will hold a public hearing Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 6 p.m. on the Montgomery County Planning Department’s Pedestrian Master Plan, which is the county’s first comprehensive master plan to improve the pedestrian experience countywide. The public is invited to provide testimony in-person or virtually.

Montgomery County House Delegation, Montgomery County Executive, Montgomery Planning Form Development Review Process Workgroup

By MCS Staff

Published February 7, 2023 at 8:38AM

Interagency workgroup to examine the county’s process for reviewing development projects to ensure economic competitiveness and to recommend possible improvements; findings will be delivered by October 15, 2023 to the Montgomery County Delegation

The Montgomery County House Delegation, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, and the Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), have agreed to collaborate together on a workgroup to examine the county’s development review process, with a special focus on economic competitiveness. Delegate Lesley Lopez (D- District 39) will serve as the workgroup’s Chair. The Development Review Process Workgroup will be formed by May 1, 2023 and will deliver findings to the Montgomery County Delegation by October 15, 2023.

Community Invited to Presentation on the University Boulevard Corridor Plan

By MCS Staff

Published February 1, 2023 at 6:55AM

Urban Land Institute Washington panel of local experts to present its own research, recommendations to Montgomery Planning staff on advancing improvements along a busy stretch of University Boulevard/MD 193.

The Montgomery County Planning Department invites the community to an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Washington Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) presentation about the University Boulevard Corridor (UBC) Plan, which is in the phase where Montgomery Planning conducts research and engages with the public to gather input and understand the community’s needs.

Montgomery County Planning Board members donate $2,300 to the Marye Wells-Harley Dream Camp Scholarship

By MCS Staff

Published January 29, 2023 at 9:39AM

Montgomery Parks part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, announces a donation of $2,300 by Montgomery County Planning Board members to the Marye Wells-Harley Dream Camp Scholarship fund to help send kids to Montgomery Parks’ summer camps. The Marye Wells-Harley Dream Camp Scholarship is administered by the Montgomery Parks Foundation and provides summer camp scholarships for kids and teens (ages 3 – 18 years old), based on financial need.

“We appreciate the generosity of the Montgomery County Planning Board members and their help to send kids to camp,” said Katie Rictor, executive director of the Montgomery Parks Foundation. “Camp is a special place where kids come together to learn, discover, and explore while making new friends. What a great way for the commissioners to support the community. We encourage everyone to follow their lead.”

Public Hearing Scheduled for an Amendment to the Master Plan of Historic Preservation for Two Sites on February 23

By MCS Staff

Published January 29, 2023 at 9:36AM

The Montgomery County Planning Board will consider the Edward U. Taylor School and Weller’s Dry Cleaning sites for historic designation at the Planning Board meeting on February 23, 2023. The public is invited to offer testimony during the public hearing either in person or virtually. At the meeting, the Planning Board will make a recommendation for or against designation which will be sent to the Montgomery County Council for their final decision. The last amendment to the Master Plan of Historic Preservation was the historic designation of the Potomac Overlook District in 2022. View the public hearing draft of the amendment.

“We are so pleased to bring two important Montgomery County sites to the Planning Board for their consideration for historic preservation,” said Montgomery County Planning Department Historic Preservation Office supervisor Rebeccah Ballo. “Historic preservation is an integral part of planning, economic development and what makes our community special.”

Montgomery County Planning Board and Planning Department announce February 2023 Calendar of Events

By MCS Staff

Published January 29, 2023 at 9:28AM

The Montgomery County Planning Board and the Montgomery County Planning Department have announced their February 2023 calendar of events and meetings. Residents can participate in Planning Board meetings by testifying in-person, testifying virtually, over the phone, and by watching the meetings on the Planning Board’s live stream. Community members may also testify by sending in written comments to the Planning Board. Information about submitting written testimony and testifying in front of the Planning Board can be found below. Contact us for accessibility accommodations.

For more details, review the list of events below and visit www.montgomeryplanning.org. These events are subject to change. To sign up to testify for Planning Board meetings, please go to the sign up to testify page and view individual agendas. Agendas are usually made public 10 days prior to the start of a meeting. Consult the Development Review Committee (DRC) and Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) websites for their agenda information.