The Montgomery County Council will hold a public hearing on the Planning Board’s Draft of the Bethesda Downtown Minor Master Plan Amendment on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025 at 7 p.m. The public hearing will take place at the Bethesda Regional Services Center, East-West Conferences Rooms, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, Maryland 20814.  

The plan recommends technical updates to the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan to improve implementation of recommendations related to new parks, transportation infrastructure, a new recreation center and affordable housing within a plan area of roughly 450 acres.  

Residents who wish to testify at the public hearing in person or on Zoom must sign up by Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. on the Council’s website or by calling 240-777-7803. 

A minor master plan amendment, like the Bethesda Minor Master Plan Amendment, revisits a specific portion of the approved and adopted master plan and reexamines certain elements, often to address a change that was not anticipated at the time the adopted master plan was approved. This minor master plan is focused on the implementation of the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan and doesn't reopen the entire plan. Existing zoning, parks, transportation and other recommendations remain unchanged.

Minor master plans follow the same process as master and sector plans, with community outreach, review and recommendation by the Planning Board, a public hearing, and review by the County Council prior to adoption. This minor master plan amendment would update the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan and covers the same plan area as the 2017 plan. 

More information can be found in the staff report and the Planning Board resource page.