October 16, 2015
 
Planning Board Agenda
Attend or watch the Montgomery County Planning Board Thursday, October 22. View the full agenda for that meeting here.
Planning Department Announces Calendar of October Events

The Montgomery County Planning Board is pleased to announce its calendar for October 2015. These events offer opportunities for the Board and Planning Department staff to engage with communities within Montgomery County. Review the full list of events below and go online to www.montgomeryplanning.org for more details on projects and plans. View the full list here.

The agenda of upcoming Planning Board meetings being held this fall is posted on the Agendas & Staff Reports page.
Help Us Scare the Heck out of People (and earn Student Service Learning hours)

We are looking for volunteers to be zombies, ghosts, monsters and witches Wheaton Regional Park's Haunted Train! Learn more.
Nocturnal Neighbors Festival, October 17, 5 p.m. $6

Celebrate the nocturnal community that keeps our neighborhood parks and forests in balance. Meet live animals, take a night hike, visit with experts, and enjoy games, crafts and a campfire- all to celebrate our under-appreciated nocturnal friends. We strongly encourage advance registration due to limited space. Please register and pay for all participants.
Come to the Party Saturday, October 17 in Germantown Town Center Urban Park! 

Come celebrate the opening of Germantown Town Center Urban Park on Saturday, October 17 from 5-7 p.m. Live jazz and pop music, two story walks through the park, a too-much-fun bubble activity for kids, a story time and chess demo with the Germantown Regional Library. Food samples from community businesses and more!  Come out and have fun for all ages! Click here for more info. 
NOTICE: Road Closure at Meadowbrook Local Park at Beach Drive 

A portion of Beach Drive and Meadowbrook Lane will be closed Sunday, October 18 from 7 - 11  a.m. for a community race at Meadowbrook Local Park. As a safety measure, cyclists will need to dismount and walk their bikes on this portion of the roadway, or use a detour on Grubb Road to re-enter Beach Drive. For additional information, please click here.
Update to Subdivision Staging Policy To Be Discussed at Open House
Community invited to discuss growth and infrastructure issues at meeting on October 19, 2015 from 7 - 9 pm in Silver Spring

The Montgomery County Planning Department is updating the Subdivision Staging Policy (formerly called Growth Policy) for review and approval by the County Council by November 15, 2016. The intent of the Subdivision Staging Policy is to ensure public facilities, particularly schools and roads, are adequate to meet the needs of new development and growth. Learn more.
Montgomery County Planning Department and Potomac Valley AIA Will Hold Design Excellence Award Ceremony on October 22
 
The Montgomery County Planning Department is inviting everyone with an interest in excellent architecture, landscape architecture and urban design to attend "Celebrate Design" on Thursday, October 22 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Building (1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring, MD). Tickets to the event are $35 and can be purchased online.

The winner of the Planning Department's first annual Design Excellence Award competition will be announced during the celebration, which will also include the annual awards ceremony of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Potomac Valley Chapter. A highlight of the evening will be a presentation on the business case for design excellence by land use strategist Christopher Leinberger, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Learn more here.

Watch this interview with Planning Director Gwen Wright about the Design Excellence Initiative.
Planning Board Holds Final Work Session for the Montgomery Village Master Plan on October 22
 
The Montgomery County Planning Board is holding its final work session on Thursday, October 22, 2015 at the Planning Department headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD) to discuss the Planning Board changes to the Public Hearing Draft of the Montgomery Village Master Plan and vote to transmit the Planning Board Draft Montgomery Village Master Plan and associated zoning text amendment to the Montgomery County Council.

Topics to be discussed during the work session include changes to language regarding the implementation program for Wightman Road, future right-of-way for Stewartown Road extension, zoning options for the Montgomery Village Foundation site and changes to the proposed Montgomery Village Overlay Zone. This is the second and final work session. It follows the detailed discussion about the Master Plan and specific refinements to the Public Hearing Draft Master Plan.
Celebrate Them Apples at Cider Days
 
Come out to Locust Grove Nature Center and learn about cider, apple varieties, and apple history. Sample lesser-known apple types, and try your hand at pressing cider. For more info, click here.
Montgomery County Planning Department Invites Community to Attend Rock Spring Community Meeting on October 28
 
The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is inviting residents, business owners and anyone with an interest in the Rock Spring area to attend a community meeting hosted by the Rock Spring Master Plan team on Wednesday, October 28 at  Walter Johnson High School (6400 Rock Spring Drive, Bethesda, MD) from 7 to 9 p.m. RSVPs are encouraged, but not required. Learn more here.


View the Rock Spring Master Plan Scope of Work presented to the Planning Board on October 8.

View the Rock Spring Master Plan Scope of Work presentation from October 8.
Attend the Montgomery Modern Book Launch Party Oct. 30, 7-9 p.m.
 
The Montgomery County Planning Department is hosting a book launch party for the new book entitled Montgomery Modern: Modern Architecture in Montgomery County, Maryland, 1930-1979 on Friday, October 30 from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Writer's Center (4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, MD).

The event, sponsored by the Planning Department's Historic Preservation Office, is free. Ms. Kelly will give a presentation and attendees will have an opportunity to purchase a signed book. RSVP's are encouraged but not required. Learn more here.

Register to attend the Montgomery Modern Book Launch Party.
Kingsley School House Free Tours! Sunday, November 1, 1 - 4 p.m.

Come take a free interpretive tour of this late 19th-century one room schoolhouse - one of the only ones still in existence in Montgomery County. The site is furnished to reflect its historic appearance in the late 1920s based on oral histories taken from former students throughout the years. No registration required. Watch this video for a sneak peek!
Montgomery Planning Announces MARC Rail Communities Plan will Launch on November 4 at Open House Event
Community invited to meet with planners, learn about goals for the area and provide feedback about initial ideas for areas surrounding the Germantown and Boyds MARC rail stations.

The Montgomery County Planning Department is launching the MARC Rail Communities Plan, with a focus on the Germantown and Boyds stations, on Tuesday, November 4, 2015 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Upcounty Regional Services Center (12900 Middlebrook Road #1000, Germantown, MD). RSVPs are encouraged but not required. RSVP for the November 4 MARC Rail Communities Open House. Learn more.
Park Projects:
 

  • UPDATE: Indian Spring Terrace Local Park: Renovations to the parking lot to improve access will continue through October. Park facilities will remain open but parking is very limited.  Park users should use caution around construction sites.
  • Sligo Creek Parkway: WSSC Project will require the parking lot on Sligo Creek Parkway south of Wayne Avenue to be closed for 6-9 months. For more info on WSSC projects in the park, please click here.
  • NEW: Ellsworth Urban Park:  Park improvements are underway to construct a new Dog Park. Parts of the park will be inaccessible to the public as work includes improved storm water management and better access to park. Tennis Courts and playground will not be affected. Click here for more info.
  • Waters Landing Local Park: Playground renovations are underway requiring playground to be closed this fall. Work will include storm water management and improved access to park facilities. Public should use caution getting to tennis courts and picnic shelter as paths will be repaved. Click here for more info.
  • Layhill Village Local Park: Improvements are scheduled for better access through October. Portion of the work will require the tennis courts to be temporarily closed. A part of the parking lot and access to the trail will also be closed. Access to the Mid-County Recreation Center and playground will not be affected.
  • Accessibility Improvements at Potomac Community Neighborhood Park, Pleasant View Local Park, Damascus Regional Park, and Ayrlawn Local Park. For more information on these and other accessibility projects please visit: Accessibility Information for Montgomery Parks webpage.
UPDATE: Work Repainting Lines on Capital Crescent Trail
 
Work on the Capital Crescent Trail is scheduled this week to repaint lines on trail. Park staff will cone off work areas for the next several days as improvements to the trail continue. Trail users should watch for signs, cones and narrowing trail-ways around work areas.
Trail Work in Parks
 
Bikers and Runners should use caution as improvements are taking place on several trails in Montgomery Parks:
  • Rock Creek Trail work continues on the trail in the Rock Creek Regional Park area around Baltimore Road and Norbeck Road begins this October. Project will require partial closure of trail for bridge work, stream work and the repaving of the trail leading to bridge. A detour will be posted when trail repaving begins. Watch for detour signs and use caution around work areas.
  • Capital Crescent Trail tree work continues south of Dorset Avenue to the DC Line with trail access intermittently interrupted. Please watch for flaggers and use caution around work areas.
  • Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail Storm water management work is scheduled to continue this fall, between Franklin Street and Knowles Avenue. Trail will be intermittingly closed. Please follow detours.
  • Western Piedmont Trail is closed below Hyattstown Mill where the trail crosses Little Bennett Creek for installation of a new bridge. Work is expected to continue for a year.
  • Paint Branch Trail will have restricted use between Randolph Road and Fairland Road due to WSSC work.  
For more information on Montgomery Parks Trails please visit www.MontgomeryTrails.org.
Trail Sign Installation Project on Rock Creek Trail
 
Signage Installation for better wayfinding on the trail and adjacent neighborhood trail connectors leading to main trail continues south on the 14 mile Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail. Please use caution around work areas scheduled to go from Rock Creek Regional Park- Lake Needwood to the DC Line. For more information, click here.
American Institute of Architects Honors M-NCPPC's Clare Lise Kelly with Kea Medal for her Advocacy of Montgomery County's Modern Heritage
 
SILVER SPRING, MD - The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is pleased to announce that staff senior architectural historian Clare Lise Kelly is this year's recipient of the Paul H. Kea Medal from the Potomac Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She is being recognized for making a significant and exemplary contribution to the profession through her architectural advocacy.

Learn more here.
Brookside Gardens Parking Update
 
Parking at Brookside Gardens for the Wings of Fancy Exhibit and general garden access may be limited, due to ongoing construction. Visit parking alternatives and the Garden Gateway project for more information.
Watch: The Bicycle Master Plan Public Meeting - Focus on White Flint Separated Bike Lane Network Proposal
 
The Bicycle Master Plan Team hosted their fifth and final public kickoff meeting at Walter Johnson High School on October 6. This meeting focused on the Planning Department's White Flint Separated Bike Lanes Network Proposal. Watch the recap here.
Watch: Subdivision Staging Policy Update
 
The Subdivision Staging Policy is being update in Montgomery County. Watch this short video to find out why it is so important.
Watch: Interview With Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson
 
Find out what Planning Board Chair Casey Anderson had to say about some of the plans and projects in Montgomery County in this extend interview. Watch here.

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