Press Releases

Planning, Housing, and Economic Development Committee meets on March 15 at 9:30 a.m. on the Window Safety Act and Shady Grove Master Plan and meets jointly with the Education & Culture Committee at 1:30 p.m.

For Immediate Release: Friday, March 12, 2021

The Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will hold a virtual meeting on Monday, March 15 at 9:30 a.m. to review Bill 51-20, the Window Safety Act. The committee will also review the Shady Grove Sector Plan Minor Master Plan Amendment. At 1:30 p.m. the joint PHED and the Education & Culture (E&C) Committee will discuss employment and continued education opportunities for career and technical education for students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Planning, Housing and Economic Development(PHED) Committee
Councilmembers Hans Riemer (Chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando

9:30 a.m.

Bill 51-20, Landlord-Tenant Relations - Window Guards

Spearheaded by Council President Hucker, Bill 51-20, also known as the Window Safety Act, comes in response to several incidents of young children enduring serious injuries from window falls in Montgomery County. The bill was introduced in December, two months after a two-year-old boy died after falling from an apartment window in Takoma Park. Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz and Councilmembers Nancy Navarro, Craig Rice, Hans Riemer, Sidney Katz and Will Jawando are cosponsors.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Shady Grove Minor Master Plan Amendment

The PHED Committee will also review the Shady Grove Sector Plan Minor Master Plan Amendment, which makes recommendations for land use and zoning within the Shady Grove Minor Master Plan area, as well as recommendations intended to improve overall circulation, pedestrian connections and the network of bikeways for approximately 2,000 acres.

The plan focuses on land use and zoning recommendations primarily surrounding the Shady Grove Metro Station, as well as mobility options, urban design and public facilities. The plan area is adjacent to the municipalities of Rockville, Gaithersburg and the Town of Washington Grove. Since the Plan’s approval twelve years ago, there have been several changes to the County’s land use planning policies and practices, including the adoption of a new Zoning Ordinance in 2014, an update to the County’s Subdivision Staging Policy in 2016 and new data-driven approaches to transportation planning.

The vision of this Sector Plan Amendment is to create a future Shady Grove Metro Station area that is home to a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented environment with attractive streetscapes, distinctive architecture and a sense of place that is complemented with public art, facilities and amenities and new mobility options.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Joint PHED and Education and Culture (E&C) Committees
PHED: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (Chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando
E&C: Councilmembers Craig Rice (Chair), Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Nancy Navarro

1:30 p.m.

Employment and Continued Education Opportunities for Career Pathway Students During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

The joint PHED and E&C Committee will receive a briefing on the continued education and employment opportunities for career pathway students during and after the COVID-19 health pandemic. The participating agencies have been asked to discuss the points below under a racial equity lens. Specifically, the goals of the discussion are to:

• Review the roles of each agency in supporting career pathway students;
• Receive an update of the impacts of the COVID-19 health pandemic on agency efforts to educate and secure employment for these students and graduates;
• Discuss the collaboration between agencies including successful efforts and identified gaps in the system; and
• Discuss future considerations and support to strengthen the career pathways pipeline, especially post COVID-19.

Those expected to provide information at the meeting include representatives from Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College, The Universities at Shady Grove, WorkSource Montgomery and the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation.

This Council staff report, which can be viewed here, provides a short summary of career pathway programs offered at the educational agencies and the role of the employment/economic development agencies.

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.

On the guidance of Health Officer and Chief of Public Health Services Dr. Travis Gayles, there is currently no public access to the Council Office Building. The virtual Council meeting 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.

Release ID: 21-097
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Juan Jovel 240-777-7931