For Immediate Release: Friday, November 29, 2019
The following committee meetings are scheduled for Monday, Dec. 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 240-777-7832.
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:
Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan - land use and zoning
The PHED Committee will review the land use and zoning components of the Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan. This updated plan reevaluates land use and transportation strategies as part of long-term visioning process for the area, including an analysis of existing traffic conditions, which will help inform the community and Planning Department staff as they make recommendations to improve transportation conditions. To support the plan’s vision, broad land use goals and recommendations are described on page 49 of the plan, which can be viewed here.
Casey Anderson, chair of the Planning Board; Gwen Wright, director of the Planning Department; and Mike Riley, director of Montgomery Parks, are among those expected to attend the meeting.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Capital Improvements Program amendment and special appropriation: WMATA property acquisition
The PHED Committee also will review a CIP amendment and special appropriation to the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission’s (M-NCPPC) Fiscal Years 2019-2024 (FY19-24) CIP and a special appropriation to Montgomery Parks’ FY20 Capital Budget. This amendment would facilitate the acquisition of a Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) property. The amendment would transfer $6.8 million in Montgomery County GO Bond appropriation from Legacy Open Space to Acquisition: Non-Local Parks. The board is also requesting an appropriation of $1.96 million in GO Bond funds to the M-NCPPC Department of Parks FY20 Capital Budget for acquisition: Non-Local Parks. Acquisition of the WMATA parcel would provide a rare opportunity to support two major public priorities with one project: expanded and improved affordable housing and the creation of a new urban recreational park. Casey Anderson, chair of the Planning Board; and Mike Riley, director of Montgomery Parks, are among those expected to attend the meeting.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Meeting: Public Safety (PS) Committee
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Third floor conference room
PS Committee: Council Vice President Sidney Katz (Chair), Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz and Tom Hucker
Topics:
Senior Safety
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will review senior safety initiatives provided by various County departments. Most such initiatives are proactive in nature and are meant to help prevent seniors from being victims of crime or fraud, or from being injured. County agencies work together to provide comprehensive safety services. Those expected to attend the meeting include the following: John McCarthy, State’s Attorney; Chief Darryl McSwain, Park Police, Montgomery County Division; Chief Marcus Jones, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD); Eric Friedman, director, Office of Consumer Protection; Chief Scott Goldstein, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS); Dr. Odile Brunetto, acting chief, Aging and Disability Services, Department of Health and Human Services; Jim Resnick, Community Outreach, MCFRS; and Beth Anne Nesselt, Community Outreach, MCFRS.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Public safety employees - mental health support services
The PS Committee also will review mental health support services for County public safety employees, including employees of MCFRS, MCPD, Park Police, the Sheriff’s Office, the Office of Correction and Rehabilitation, and communications specialists.
Those expected to brief the Committee include the following: Chief Darryl McSwain, Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division; Chief Marcus Jones, Montgomery County Police Department; Angela Talley, director, Department of Correction and Rehabilitation; Chief Scott Goldstein, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service; and Sheriff Darren Popkin.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Crime Statistics
The PS Committee will close out its meeting with a briefing on crime statistics. This update will provide crime data comparing Montgomery County with neighboring jurisdictions including Frederick, Baltimore, Prince George’s and Fairfax Counties. Total crime in Montgomery County is down 7.5 percent over the past three years. The most notable decrease has been in burglary, which has fallen 25 percent in that time span. Acting Assistant Chief Dinesh Patil of the Montgomery County Police Department and other police staff are expected to brief the Committee.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Meeting: Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Location: Third floor hearing room
PHED Committee: Councilmembers Hans Riemer (Chair), Andrew Friedson (Lead for Parks) and Will Jawando
Topics:
Purple Line Corridor Housing Action Plan
The PHED Committee will receive a briefing on the Purple Line Corridor Housing Action Plan. The Purple Line Corridor Coalition (PLCC) is a public-private community collaboration that is focused on the impacts of changes that will occur along the entire Purple Line Corridor, which runs from Bethesda to New Carrollton. General information about the PLCC and its activities can be found at: http://purplelinecorridor.org/. Regarding housing, the PLCC has stated the following goal and included strategies and action items in its draft plan: Housing opportunities should be available for people of all income levels in communities throughout the corridor, especially current low-income, middle-income and transit-dependent residents. Chris Gillis, director, Policy and Neighborhood Development, Montgomery Housing Partnership; and Stephanie Prange Proestel, deputy director, Housing Initiative Partnership, are among those expected to attend the meeting.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Bill 18-19, Landlord Tenant Relations - Relocation Expenses
The PHED Committee will review Bill 18-19, which would require a landlord to make a tenant relocation payment if the tenant’s housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation and require a landlord to provide a tenant with a right of first refusal to re-occupy rental housing. Councilmember Will Jawando is the lead sponsor. Council Vice President Sidney Katz, Councilmember Tom Hucker, Council President Nancy Navarro and Councilmember Craig Rice are cosponsors. The goal of this bill is to help improve the health and safety of tenants and to provide financial assistance when a tenant is displaced because of unfit living conditions not caused by the tenant. The relocation payment would be the greater of three months fair market value rent for a unit of comparable size, as established by the most current federal Department of Housing and Urban Development schedule of fair market rents for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, or three months of the tenant’s rent at the time of relocation. The landlord must pay the relocation payment directly to the displaced tenant within 72 hours of posting the condemnation.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Single Family Rental Licensing and Code Enforcement
The PHED Committee will review single family rental licensing and code enforcement. Since 2015, the Council and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) have worked to improve code enforcement of rental housing through legislation, increased staffing, improvements in technology and education and tenant support services. These efforts have focused on multi-family rental housing and provided a focused inspection surge that is transitioning into a system of inspections with frequency that respond to the conditions found. This can range from a property being classified as a troubled property with a requirement for a remediation plan and frequent reinspection to triennial inspections for properties that have few or minor violations that were corrected once identified. Those expected to attend the meeting include the following: Aseem Nigam, director, DHCA; Frank Demarais, deputy director, DHCA; Chris Anderson, chief, Community Development Division, DHCA; Dan McHugh, manager, Code Enforcement Services, DHCA; Elaine Kao, Department of Environmental Protection; and Grayce Wiggins, housing and community development manager, City of Takoma Park.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Troubled Properties
The PHED Committee will close out its meeting with an update on troubled properties in the County. Under County law a troubled property is one that DHCA will inspect at least once a year for housing code violations. This increased inspection frequency is required due to the higher number of and/or the severity of the housing code violations observed during DHCA’s most recent inspection of the property. In addition, a troubled property must develop a corrective action plan that describes in detail the specific actions that will be taken to correct all housing code violations by the deadline established by DHCA. A troubled property also must submit a quarterly log of its internal maintenance calls upon the request of DHCA. The Council staff report for this item will be available on Nov. 29.
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.
Release ID: 19-376