For Immediate Release: Monday, July 21, 2025
The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, July 22 at 9:15 a.m. and the meeting will begin with a proclamation presentation, presented by Councilmember Kristin Mink, recognizing Project SAFE.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Interview: The Council will interview Jenny Snapp, who is the County Executive’s nominee for deputy director of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DCHA). The mission of DHCA is to preserve and increase the supply of affordable housing, maintain existing housing in a safe and sanitary condition, preserve the safety and quality of residential and commercial areas, ensure fair and equitable relations between landlords and tenants, and support the success of common ownership communities while focusing on reducing racial inequities and climate change impacts.
Department of Environmental Protection Strategy for Solid Waste Disposal
Briefing: The Council will receive a briefing from representatives of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about the County’s strategy for solid waste disposal. The County’s operating contract for the Resource Recovery Facility will expire in April 2031 and cannot be extended again. The current options for an alternative include procuring a new long-term contract to continue the operations of the facility or transitioning to the long haul of waste to out-of-county landfills. The briefing will include discussion of other long-term waste disposal alternatives, including materials recovery and biological treatment.
Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, July 22, which is available on the Council website.
Unless otherwise noted, the Council will hold the following hybrid public hearings at 1:30 p.m. Residents can visit the Council website to learn about the multiple ways to provide testimony.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-11, Temporary Commercial Uses – Temporary Telecommunications Facility
Introduction: Lead sponsor Councilmember Dawn Luedtke will introduce Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-11, Temporary Commercial Uses – Temporary Telecommunications Facility. ZTA 25-11 would create a temporary telecommunications facility as a limited use in all zones, defined as a monopole or portable wireless communications facility that does not have a permanent location on the ground. The ZTA also would create an approval process for the temporary facility. The new use under the proposed ZTA would be permitted for 180 days, or up to two years with extensions. In addition, review by the Transmission Facility Coordinating Group would be required for certain facilities. Applicants would be required to demonstrate that the facility is needed for a qualifying reason, including natural disasters, an emergency declared by the government, a large conference or special event or a substantial maintenance project.
A public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Corrective Map Amendment (CMA) H-158, 7979 Old Georgetown Road
Vote expected: The Council is expected to vote on Corrective Map Amendment (CMA) H-158, which would correct a technical error that led to an inaccurate depiction of the zoning classifications for the property located at 7979 Old Georgetown Rd. A CMA is a correction of an administrative or technical error in a Sectional Map Amendment (SMA) or District Map Amendment (DMA). The 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan recommended this entire property for Commercial/Residential (CR) mixed-use zoning, but the SMA inadvertently left a portion of the property with the previous R-60 single-family zoning. On May 22, 2025, the Planning Board recommended approval to file the above-referenced CMA application.
The lead sponsor is the Council President, at the request of the Planning Board.
Introduction: Lead sponsors Councilmember Andrew Friedson and Council President Kate Stewart will introduce Subdivision Regulation Amendment (SRA) 25-02, Technical Review - Optional Method Workforce Housing Development. The SRA would prohibit the creation of flag lots and through lots under workforce housing optional method development and limit the number of consolidated lots for workforce housing optional method development to three lots. SRA 25-02 is related to ZTA 25-02, Workforce Housing – Development Standards.
Councilmembers Marilyn Balcombe, Luedtke, and Gabe Albornoz are cosponsors of SRA 25-02. A public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-02, Workforce Housing - Development Standards
Review and vote expected: The Council will review and is expected to vote on ZTA 25-02, Workforce Housing - Development Standards. The purpose of this zoning measure is to encourage the development of workforce housing and more diverse building types in some residential zones. The ZTA would allow additional residential building types in the R-40, R-60, R-90, and R-200 zones along certain corridors such as boulevards and downtown streets with a 15 percent workforce housing requirement for most new housing types. The corridor must be at least 100 feet wide and have three existing travel lanes.
The lead sponsors of ZTA 25-02 are Councilmembers Friedson and Natali Fani-González. Councilmembers Luedtke, Council President Stewart and Councilmembers Balcombe and Laurie-Anne Sayles are cosponsors of ZTA 25-02.
The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee recommends approval with amendments.
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: 25-256