For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Also on Jan. 28: Review of the Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan, and introduction of zoning measure on the combined footprint of accessory buildings or structures
The Council will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 9:30 a.m. Individuals interested in attending a Council meeting should confirm the information on the day of the meeting by visiting the Council’s web page or by calling the Council’s Legislative Information Office at 240-777-7832. All meetings are held in the Council Office Building (100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md) in the third floor hearing room, unless otherwise noted. Council staff reports for all items on the Council’s agenda can be found here.
Vision Zero Plan on Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
The Council will hold a briefing on the County’s Vision Zero Plan on Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, which is a long-term plan that aims to eliminate fatalities and severe injuries on Montgomery County roads by 2030. The Council meeting will include representatives from the Maryland State Highway Administration, Montgomery County’s Department of Transportation, the Montgomery County Police Department, Montgomery County Park and Planning, and Montgomery County Public Schools. The Council also is planning a Vision Zero town hall meeting on Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. at Wheaton High School to hear directly from residents about the safety issues they are encountering on roadways, sidewalks and in crosswalks located in Montgomery County. In addition, Councilmembers continue to advocate for specific pedestrian and bicycle safety improvement projects throughout Montgomery County and have secured speed limit reductions on some state roads.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Community Grants
The Council will discuss the community grants process for fiscal year 2021. The Community Grants application process is now open and the deadline to submit applications is on January 29, 2020 at 12 p.m.
Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan
The Council will review the Forest Glen/Montgomery Hills Sector Plan. This updated plan reevaluates land use and transportation strategies as part of the 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. Specific topics to be discussed include the following:
Those expected to attend this session include the following: Casey Anderson, chair, Montgomery County Planning Board; Gwen Wright, director, Montgomery Planning Department; Mike Riley, director, Montgomery Parks; Leslye Howerton, master plan supervisor, Planning Department; Melissa Williams, senior planner, Planning Department; Katie Mencarini, senior transportation Planner, Planning Department; Lisa Govoni, housing planner, Planning Department; Stephen Aldrich, Functional Planning & Policy, Planning Department; Christopher Conklin, director, Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT); and Andrew Bossi, Director’s Office, MCDOT.
The Council staff reports can be viewed here:
Part 1
Part 2
Corrective Map Amendment: H-130 for Takoma Park Master Plan
The Council is scheduled to vote on Corrective Map Amendment H-130 for the Takoma Park Master Plan. This amendment would correct technical errors that occurred inadvertently and resulted in three split-zoned parcels along Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 20-02, Accessory Structures – Standards
The Council will introduce ZTA 20-02, which would clarify that the Council’s intended limitation on the footprint of accessory buildings or structures applies to all buildings or structures on the site combined. Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Will Jawando are the lead sponsors. In a District Court case, the current limitation on accessory structures (50 percent of the footprint of the principal structure) was mistakenly allowed for each accessory structure on the site. The Department of Permitting Services has been interpreting the code such that the 50 percent limitation applied to the footprints of all accessory structures on the site. This ZTA would clarify the Council's intent and would not interfere with the size limitation of an accessory dwelling unit.
The Council staff report can be viewed here.
The Council will hold the following public hearing at 1:30 p.m.:
Spending Affordability Guidelines for the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Operating Budget
The Council will hold a public hearing on the spending affordability guidelines for the County’s FY21 Operating Budget. These guidelines set the parameters for the overall operating budget by setting the ceiling on property tax revenues and the aggregate operating budget and the allocation of the aggregate operating budget. The Council must adopt guidelines for the next operating budget by the second Tuesday in February. A Government Operations and Fiscal Policy (GO) Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 6. The Council staff report can be viewed here.
The Council meeting 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 Council meeting also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/ondemand/index.html and on Facebook Live.
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Release ID: 20-028