For Immediate Release: Monday, July 22, 2024
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, July 23 at 9:15 a.m. The meeting will begin with a proclamation, presented by Councilmember Gabe Albornoz, to recognize the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The joint Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) and Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will meet at 3:30 p.m. to review Executive Order 094-24, Disposition of County Public Parking Garage No. 2 located at 1200 Spring St. in Silver Spring.
The members of the GO Committee include Chair and Vice President Kate Stewart, Council President Andrew Friedson and Councilmember Sidney Katz.
The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Vice President Stewart.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Review: The Council will hold its second work session on the Planning Board draft of the Great Seneca Plan: Connecting Life and Science, which covers 4,330 acres located in the heart of the I-270 Corridor between the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville and the town of Washington Grove. At a meeting held on July 16, the Council reviewed the introduction and recommendations for the Life Sciences Center area of the plan. At this meeting, the Council is expected to review the remaining seven districts and the fiscal impact statement.
The plan area includes several distinct areas, including the Life Sciences Center, Quince Orchard, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Londonderry and Hoyle’s Addition, Rosemont, Oakmont, Walnut Hill, Washingtonian Light Industrial Park, Washingtonian Residential and Hi Wood. The plan makes recommendations to strengthen the economic competitiveness of the Life Sciences Center, guide future developments, and transform public spaces and amenities in the area to provide valuable links and social spaces.
The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee held four work sessions in June and July to receive an introduction to the plan and review the plan’s districts, fiscal impact statement, the Life Sciences Center and more.
Review: The Council will review legislative proposals in preparation for the 2025 Maryland General Assembly's Legislative Session.
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, July 23, which is available on the Council website.
Review and vote expected: The Council will review and is expected to vote on a resolution which would place a question on the 2024 General Election ballot about whether to amend the County Charter to change the number of Councilmember votes needed to adopt budgets and levy property taxes.
The amendment would alter, from seven to two-thirds of current Councilmembers, the number of affirmative votes needed to adopt an aggregate operating budget that exceeds the aggregate operating budget for the preceding fiscal year by a certain percentage of the Consumer Price Index. In addition, the amendment would alter, from eight to two-thirds of current Councilmembers, the number of affirmative votes needed to adopt an aggregate capital budget or aggregate operating budget that exceeds the spending affordability guidelines then in effect.
The amendment would also decrease, from all current Councilmembers to two-thirds of current Councilmembers, the number of affirmative votes needed to levy an ad valorem weighted tax rate on real property that exceeds the ad valorem weighted tax rate on real property approved for the previous year. Two-thirds would be calculated by rounding up to the nearest whole number the product of: two-thirds multiplied by the number of current Councilmembers. For example, two-thirds of 11 Councilmembers would be eight Councilmembers.
The lead sponsors of the resolution are Councilmembers Katz, Albornoz and Jawando.
Resolution to Adopt a Proposed Amendment to County Charter - Executive Branch - Appointments
Review and vote expected: The Council will review and is expected to vote on a resolution which would place a question on the 2024 General Election ballot about whether to amend the County Charter to automatically confirm any appointment made by the County Executive to a non-merit position if the County Council has not voted on the appointment within 60 days after receiving it from the Executive. The Charter currently does not impose a deadline on the Council to act on an appointment.
The lead sponsors of the resolution are Councilmembers Katz and Jawando.
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on a resolution which would place a question on the 2024 General Election ballot about whether to amend the County Charter to decrease the term limit that applies to the County Executive from the current three consecutive terms to two consecutive terms. The decreased limit would apply to anyone who already has served two consecutive terms as of December 2026.
This amendment has been proposed by a voter petition. The resolution will set the language to appear on the 2024 General Election ballot, if a voter petition to amend the term limit qualifies to be on the ballot as determined by the Board of Elections.
Executive Regulation 2-24, Rent Stabilization
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on Executive Regulation 2-24, which is being promulgated by the Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) under Method 2 of Section 2A-15 of the Montgomery County Code. The Council received the executive regulations and public comments from the Office of the County Executive on June 19.
The regulation would implement the requirements under Montgomery County Code Sections 29-58 – 29-62, also known as the Rent Stabilization Law. The regulations would implement the limitation of rent increases for new leases, lease renewals and previously vacant units; outline the regulatory process for allowable exemptions for capital improvements, fair return, and substantial renovation; and provide a guideline for rental fees.
Bill 15-23, Landlord-Tenant Relations- Rent Stabilization, was enacted by the Council on July 18, 2023. The proposed regulations must be reviewed and approved by the Council before the law is enforced. Once the regulations are approved, the allowable rent increase will be CPI-U (inflation) plus three percent, capped at six percent.
The Council’s Planning, Housing, and Parks (PHP) Committee recommends approval of Executive Regulation 2-24.
Review: The joint GO and TE Committee will review and make recommendations to the Council about the County Executive’s proposed disposition of Silver Spring Garage No. 2, which is located at 1200 Spring St. in Silver Spring. The disposition is a transfer to the United Therapeutics Corporation. The property is approximately 150,124 square feet and contains an active and operational County-owned, five-level public parking garage. Based on appraisal, the fair market value of the garage is approximately $44.5 million.
The proposed disposition transfers the property to United Therapeutics to support the expansion of its existing and adjacent campus facility. In exchange for the subject property, and as part of public-private partnership governed through a General Development Agreement (GDA) that was executed in Dec. 2023, United Therapeutics will construct a new 675-space public parking garage to be located on 8615 Georgia Ave. The new garage is expected to contain 3,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor. An affordable housing development will also be considered for the new site.
Additionally, United Therapeutics will also provide a parking operations facility to serve all the County’s Parking Lot Districts. The GDA also requires a commitment by United Therapeutics to invest at least $15 million in the expanded campus within 15 years of the transfer of the site.
The Council meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are 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: 24-274