Council Committee Meetings on April 1 and 2

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The following committee meeting are scheduled for Monday, April 1 and Tuesday, April 2. Individuals interested in attending a committee meeting should confirm the information on the day of the meeting by visiting the Council’s web page at tinyurl.com/CountyCouncilMeetings or by calling the Council’s Communications Office at 240-777-7931. All meetings are held in the Council Office Building (100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md.), unless otherwise noted.

Meeting: Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
PHED Committee: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando
Topics:
ZTA 19-03, Commercial/Residential Zones - Animal Board and Care
The PHED Committee will review ZTA 19-03, Commercial/Residential Zones – Animal Board and Care. Council President Nancy Navarro is the lead sponsor, at the request of the County Executive. ZTA 19-03 would allow animal boarding and care as a limited use in commercial/residential (CR) zones. Currently, animal boarding and care is a limited use in the general retail (GR), light industrial (IL), and moderate industrial (MI) zones. Those expected to attend include the following: Casey Anderson, Chair, Montgomery County Planning Board; Jason Sartori, Acting Chief, Functional Planning and Policy, M-NCPPC; Greg Russ, Planner Coordinator, M-NCPPC; and Ehsan Motazedi, Chief, Zoning and Enforcement, Department of Permitting Services.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Briefing: Overview of County Housing Code Enforcement
The PHED Committee also will receive a briefing on County housing code enforcement. Some of the issues that the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) will focus on include:

• requirements for inspections for rental housing (multi-family, single-family, and accessory apartments) and how DHCA responds to complaint-initiated requests for inspections;
• the surge inspection program and “troubled properties;”
• the most common violations for both multi-family and single-family properties; and
• what violations regarding the parking and storage of automobiles is within the purview of DHCA Code Enforcement.

Those expected to attend include the following: Tim Goetzinger, acting director, Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA), Chris Anderson, chief, DHCA Community Development, Dan McHugh, manager, DHCA Code Enforcement, Ivan Eloisa, supervisor, DHCA Code Enforcement, Kenneth (Keen) Nichols, code enforcement specialist, Cynthia Lundy, code enforcement specialist, Sharla Quintanilla, DHCA outreach and education specialist. Representatives from the Department of Permitting Services (DPS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will also be present to respond to questions.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Meeting: Education and Culture (EC) and the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committees
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
EC Committee: Councilmembers Craig Rice (chair), Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries), and Council President Nancy Navarro
PHED Committee: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando
Topic:
OLO Report 2019-3, Afterschool Bookings at MCPS Elementary Schools
The EC and PHED Committees will meet jointly to review Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 2019-3, Afterschool Bookings at MCPS Elementary Schools. This report responds to the Council’s request to compare the availability of afterschool programming among elementary schools based on the percentages of students receiving Free and Reduced-Price Meals (FARMS) and to determine factors that influence afterschool providers operating in schools. Some key OLO findings include:

• The data show a strong connection between a lack of afterschool programming and a school’s FARMS rate when excluding four outlier elementary schools that have targeted programming through Excel Beyond the Bell.
• Elementary schools with more PTA members, higher student enrollment and a childcare provider onsite tend to have more afterschool bookings.
• Elementary schools with more students eligible for FARMS, English as a Second Language (ESOL), or special education services experience greater numbers of students entering or withdrawing during the school year – referred to as student “mobility.”
• Higher FARMS schools with a greater percent of students eligible for bus service tend to have fewer afterschool bookings. Stakeholders reported that without bus transportation available following afterschool programming, many students cannot participate.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Meeting: Public Safety (PS) Committee
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Third floor conference room
PS Committee: Council Vice President Sidney Katz (chair), Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Tom Hucker
Topic:
Briefing: Police Crime Lab and Forensics
The PS Committee will receive a briefing on the Montgomery County Police Department’s (MCPD) crime lab and forensics. The MCPD crime lab is one of seven crime labs in the state and is responsible for providing forensic services to MCPD as well as other user agencies. Those expected to attend include the following: Assistant Chief Marcus Jones, Investigative Services Bureau, MCPD; Captain Michael Ward, Director of the Criminal Investigations Division; Francis Chiafari, Crime Lab Director.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

Tuesday, April 2

Meeting: Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education & Culture (EC) Committees
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Location: Seventh floor hearing room
HHS Committee: Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz (chair), Evan Glass (Lead for Homelessness & Vulnerable Communities) and Craig Rice
EC Committee: Councilmembers Craig Rice (chair), Will Jawando (Lead for Libraries) and Craig Rice
Topic:
Bill 2-19, Health - Lead in Drinking Water – Schools and Resolution to adopt Bill 2-19 as a Board of Health Regulation
The HHS and EC Committees will meet jointly to review Bill 2-19, Health – Lead in Drinking Water – Schools. Bill 2-19 would establish a County lead limit for drinking water that is stricter than the State of Maryland’s water quality requirement for lead in drinking water in public schools. Councilmember Tom Hucker is the lead sponsor. All other Councilmembers are cosponsors. The bill also requires corrective action for water fountains and other water sources in public school buildings with lead concentration greater than the County lead limit. The goal of this legislation is to help ensure that students have safe drinking water at public schools.

The Council staff report can be viewed here.

The Council committee meetings will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM). The channel can be viewed on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon.

The meetings also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html.

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Release ID: 19-114
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Juan Jovel 240-777-7931