The sector plans for Bethesda and Westbard were the topic of the most recent Montgomery 101 program sponsored by the Education Committee. Gwen Wright, Director of the Montgomery County Planning Department, reported that by 2040, twenty-five years from now, the population of the county will grow by 200,000. The purpose of the Planning Department, which is part of the Parks and Planning Commission, is to manage growth through building in the right places with the least negative impact and integration within the existing framework. With environmental restraints (the agriculture reserve, single family neighborhoods, parklands and streams), there is not much space for the county to grow. Given that the Westbard master plan was last updated over thirty years ago and the Bethesda plan was updated in 1994, Ms. Wright suggested that it is time for a fresh look at these communities and a time to plan for an orderly future.

Ms. Leslye Howerton, Project Manager, Bethesda Sector Plan, said the 20 year vision for Bethesda as proposed in the planning concept is based on sustainability, innovation, employment, and the economic and social environment. She envisions downtown Bethesda to revitalize Wisconsin Avenue, improve transportation, and have bicycle and hiking paths and parks. Part of this plan will be to have more large trees. Wisconsin Avenue will have 120 foot buildings, which will be 10 to 12 stories. The draft for the plan is due the end of May and there will be public hearings in June.

Mr. John Marcolin, Project Manager, Westbard Sector Plan described the Westbard planning concept as one which creates a community that is pedestrian- friendly, and encourages mixed-use development while preserving residential neighborhoods and natural resources. He hopes to improve access to the Capital Crescent trail, uncover the Willow stream which is now under cement, and add biking and walking trails. River Road will become more pedestrian friendly. River Road will have 75 foot buildings (6 stories) with retail on the first floor, 5 stories above of residential. The Westbard shopping area will have 50 foot buildings with 4 stories. The Little Falls Library may move into the Westbard shopping area. On Wednesday, April 22^nd, the plan was presented to the community at Walt Whitman High School. Hearings will be held at the Planning Board.

Find out more about both plans at wwww.montgomeryplanning.org. All of the presenters emphasized that they are committed to working with all stakeholders and that the process be open and transparent.

Moderator Charles Duffy and Panel

The 98^th session of the Maryland legislature began optimistically with the Democratic legislature hoping they could find common ground with the Republican governor, but ended on a partisan note, according to the eight Senators and Delegates who participated in the "2015 Maryland Legislative Session Briefing." Each Senator and Delegate had three minutes for opening remarks and then responded to questions from the panel moderator, Charles Duffy.

Highlights of the opening remarks include:

Del. Kumar Barve, Chair, House Environment and Transportation Committee: Passed a two-year moratorium on fracking, restored the rain tax, and passed a bill to allow electric cars, such as Tesla, to be sold directly to consumers from the manufacturer at four locations.

Sen. Rich Madaleno, Vice Chair, Senate Budget and Taxation Committee: His committee restored

Sen. Rich Madaleno

funding that was cut by the governor, including a 2% pay cut for state employees, education funding, and health benefits for pregnant women.   It is now up to Governor Hogan to restore these funds.

Del. Kathleen Dumais, Vice Chair, House Judiciary Committee: Passed a measure that creates a Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council. The three branches of government will work with the Pew Research Center to re-vamp Maryland's criminal justice system from sentencing to release. In addition, she noted that her committee heard seventeen bills and passed three. Bills were passed on domestic violence, body cameras for police, and the Second Chance Act. This act will purge from a person's record a misdemeanor after all requirements have been filled.

Sen. Jamie Raskin, Chair, Senate Executive Nominations Committee: Democrats demonstrated good faith by approving most of the governor's cabinet appointments. However, in response to Governor Hogan's demands for his legislation to pass based on the fact that he won the governorship, Raskin went on to say that it was necessary to remind the governor that the Democratic legislators had also won their respective elections and it was their duty to represent their constituents.

Del. Sheila Hixson, Chair, House Ways and Means Committee: Passed a bill for property tax breaks for veterans 65 or older, killed a bill that would have provided a tax credit to private schools, and killed a bill that would have replaced some Baltimore neighborhood schools with charter schools.

Del. Shane Robinson, Chair of Montgomery County House Delegation: Did not get everything in the budget they wanted, but did get a lot. Forty-six million dollars was allocated for school construction and Montgomery County got an additional 6 million due to the rate of enrollment and the number of portables.

Del. Shane Robinson and Sen. Roger Manno

Sen. Roger Manno, Vice Chair, Montgomery County Senate Delegation: There is a formula based on the geographic cost of education with 64 million dollars allotted to Montgomery County. Through budget process, Hogan is trying to deconstruct Maryland state departments to keep pledge on taxes he made during the campaign.  

Del. Anne Kaiser, House Majority Leader: The session began with bipartisan hopes and had a partisan ending. There are sixty-two new delegates and the Democrats have forty-one count majority in the House. The final budget embodied Democratic values: education, transportation, jobs.

Mr. Duffy led off the questioning by raising the recent turmoil in Baltimore.  

Raskin: We have an over-criminalized, over-punished criminal justice system. Maryland has abolished the death penalty, restored the voting rights of felons who have served their sentences and are on parole, and passed a bill to expunge any crime from a criminal's record that is no longer considered a crime. He cited marijuana as an example. He went on to say that the real issues in Baltimore are social and economic and that police brutality should not be the cost of doing business in Baltimore.

Dumais: Her committee will continue to meet this summer to address these critical issues. Of note, the committee passed legislation making it mandatory for all Maryland police departments to report police-related deaths and it is retroactive for three years.   They also want community policing in Baltimore.

Robinson: He has been in the legislature for four years. We must address these challenging problems at the root which the biggest is "no jobs." Trade agreements that restrict American manufacturing are not the solution.

Manno: Where there is abject poverty, citizens want a "way out." Thirty years of bad trade agreements and out sourcing jobs has hurt the U.S. economy.

Mr. Duffy next turned to education funding and school construction. He referred to the statement that Montgomery County only receives back nineteen cents for every dollar in taxes that we send to Annapolis.  

Kaiser: State-wide Maryland has over 290 million students. There is limited money across the state for education. Montgomery County has over 9,000 students in portables and a rapidly increasing school population. These problems didn't happen overnight and are not going to be solved overnight.

Del. Kumar Barve and WDC President Beth Tomasello.

Barve: Maryland has very good schools. This should not be overlooked. We have limited resources due to the recession.

Madaleno: Everyone wants more. We need to develop a new model for refurbishing existing schools and not continue to talk only about new construction. Madaleno and others pointed out that Maryland has a very progressive tax system, and since Montgomery County has the highest income of all the counties in the State, it is natural that we sent more funds to less affluent counties than we receive ourselves.

Hixson: The legislature passed a balanced budget and now it is up to the governor to fund our schools. We have to look at the bigger picture of how money flows.

Madaleno: In terms of money flowing to Montgomery County, funds go to support the county not to taxpayers. We get money for transportation, prisons, and education that support a quality of life. As he and Jamie Raskin both noted, one-third of all students at the University of Maryland come from Montgomery County, and the state pays the costs for the University. Similarly, we benefit from the Metro, which is also paid for by the State.

Mr. Duffy moved on to economic and social issues.

Madaleno: Four years ago, Maryland passed the Dream Act. This is an important measure that provides skills for our young people. Funding education is ultimately about jobs. Maryland is a "human resources state." We have progressive tax policies and a diverse work force. Protecting human resources is about jobs for future generations. We build jobs and build opportunities.

Manno: What we used to refer to as "blue collar" workers have no place to go. There is no manufacturing and a huge sector of our economy do not have jobs. Displaced workers have nowhere to go.

Mr. Duffy next asked about the Purple Line and the Baltimore light rail.

Barve: What would our GDP be without Metro? Transportation funds provide an avenue to job creation. It is dangerous to pit the Purple Line against the Baltimore rail.

The evening ended where it began, with questions from the audience about the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore and the pace of criminal justice reform in Maryland.

A Full House at the Legislative Briefing