For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Montgomery Council to discuss changes
to development impact taxes
Also on Tuesday, Oct. 25:
OLO report on ‘Safe Routes to School’ program;
introduction of fossil fuel divestment bill
ROCKVILLE, Md., October 24, 2016—The Montgomery County Council at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, will begin its review of proposed changes to the County’s 2016-20 Subdivision Staging Policy. The worksession will address development impact taxes per new dwelling unit paid by developers for transportation and school improvements.
The worksession will begin in the morning and continue at 1:35 p.m. after a lunch recess. It will be part of the Council’s weekly general session that will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.
The Council’s morning and afternoon sessions, a public hearing scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and a meeting of the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee on the subdivision staging policy starting at 3 p.m. will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). All activities also will be available via streaming through the Council web site at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 and will be rebroadcast on CCM at 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 28.
During the morning session, Council Vice President Roger Berliner and Councilmember Nancy Navarro, chair of the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, will introduce Bill 44-16 that would direct the County’s Board of Investment Trustees to divest from the 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies that hold reported reserves with the largest potential carbon emissions and to study adopting a Socially Responsible Investing approach.
With the legislation, Montgomery County would make one of the strongest fossil fuel divestment commitments in the country. Cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, as well as some universities, religious organizations, charities and others, have also chosen to take divestment-related actions.
The Office of Legislative Oversight, during the morning session, will release its report on the impact of Montgomery County’s “Safe Routes to School” program. The report studied whether the collaborative program between the County’s Department of Transportation, County Police and Montgomery County Public Schools improved safety for students who are encouraged to walk or ride bikes to nearby schools for exercise.
# # # # Release ID: 16-332