planning

montgomery county
planning department
 planning

setting
Montgomery County, once defined as a Washington, D.C., bedroom
community, is now Maryland’s economic force, with a growing, diverse
population and a unique identity.
As envisioned in the General Plan, much of the County’s growth
trended suburban between 1960 and 1990. Although Metro
extended the Red Line to Shady Grove and Glenmont, residents were
accustomed to driving to work, shopping, and recreational activities.
Starting in the 1990s, Montgomery County began an evolution.
With few remaining large tracts of undeveloped land, suburban
development slowed. Today, a lack of land for big houses, high gas
prices, and environmental concerns encourage more residents to
locate near transit and jobs.
The innovative planning of the General Plan of the ’60s served us well.
Montgomery County’s stellar reputation was built, in part, on good
planning. Now it’s time to refine that vision as we look ahead embrace
change, and build on it to stay competitive in the region and the
nation.
Montgomery County has earned an identity. Just how that identity
will reflect our values – of sustainability, vigorous economic growth,
diversity, inclusiveness, and opportunity – remains our mutual
challenge.
the big idea
With change comes the need to refine our ideas about planning,
growth, and development.
Most new growth will occur as redevelopment in as large surface
parking lots along major roadways, office parks challenged to survive
by high energy costs, and tracts positioned by transit ideal for a mix of
uses.
We want compact, well-designed, mixed-use urban communities
strategically located along transit corridors that showcase
opportunities for walking and bicycling.
Downtown Bethesda provides one of the
We want communities that are diverse, energy efficient, focused on county’s best examples of active sidewalks.
environmental conservation, and feature connections between well-
landscaped streets, transit stations, jobs, services, promenades, parks,
and trails.

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And we want livable, human places with a variety of housing types and
mixed uses that invite people to walk or bike to work, to shop, and to
participate in community life without a long commute by car.
In short: More people should have the opportunity to walk to work
in the morning and stop along the way for a cup of coffee or to read
the newspaper. More workers should venture outside during lunch to
enjoy a well-designed public space. And in the evening, more people
should be near enough to retail to run errands or stop by school or an
after-care program to pick up their children on foot.
We call our new direction in planning growing smarter: sustainable
development+design. Growing smarter means rethinking how we
manage growth, not just basing it on traffic or school capacity, but on
the amenities that enhance quality of place in our community, such as:
àà an attractive, active human environment that promotes social
interaction along our sidewalks and provides a hierarchy of
urban spaces
àà centers with lower carbon footprints and buildings that
generate power for their energy needs
àà density around transit
àà quality projects that contribute to a positive perception of our
communities
àà a range of housing opportunities for all income groups
àà development linked to our system of great parks and natural
areas
àà a network of neighborhoods linked through trails and corridors
When we provide communities with interactive downtowns or areas
of relative quiet and repose, we attract a range of residents who create
the sustainable growth we seek and generate the need for a diverse
range of services.
And as we develop, we must emphasize terrific design in buildings and
spaces, leading and inspiring with quality public projects.

Careful redevelopment of historic sites like getting started

Silver Spring’s National Park Seminary
provides a unique sense of place. The 2007-2009 Growth Policy laid the groundwork for sustainable
growth. For the first time, the policy includes transit options as
strategies for developers to overcome congestion caps. In addition, it
requires policymakers to set sustainability indicators that measure the
county’s progress toward achieving healthy and sustainable communities.

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Last summer, the Board approved new local and policy area review
guidelines recommended by our transportation planners that
emphasize those alternatives – transit, bicycling, and walkable
environments. In what planners call a true paradigm shift, the new
LATR/PAMR guidelines developed in the last six months place transit,
walking, and biking on an equal footing with car trips.
what we’ve done
reorganization
The growing smarter initiative requires us to adapt. To
support our vision to create livable communities, the
planning director, working with department leadership and
the board, reorganized the agency to be more effective and
flexible.
Organized in six divisions – including a new urban
design and preservation unit – planners better support
new and existing functions by expanding and sharing
responsibilities.
The department is more efficient, too. A hard look at ways we could
do more with less revealed ways to streamline. Now, thanks to a
retirement incentive program and the reorganization, we have two
fewer division chiefs (three, counting the Commissioners’ Office) and
one less planning supervisor. We’ve got a lean, hard-working team
that’s well-positioned to carry out our innovative new strategies.
Divisions such as community-based planning continue to carry out core
responsibilities, envisioning great communities across Montgomery
County. We organize our master plan work both geographically and
by type, with a focus on corridors (such as the series of I-270 plans),
Metro stations, and neighborhoods and centers. Our structure serves
the community well, with each new project supporting our integrated
growing smarter vision.
By softening traditional lines, the reorganization gives us new
flexibility. Now, a community planner is assigned development review
responsibilities and vice versa, with new teams tackling diverse work
programs. If development applications temporarily plateau, reviewers
can deploy to master plan work now familiar to them.
A larger pool of planners trained across divisions ensures that core
functions receive the benefit of diverse viewpoints. Cross-training also
creates advancement opportunities for staff.

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The reorganization enables our growing smarter strategy. Our

job is to envision, enable, and create well-designed, appealing
communities where people want to live. Master planners envision the
communities. Urban designers create design guidelines. Development
review planners ensure that each application follows those rules.
And throughout, support teams from transportation, environment,
research, and historic preservation provide invaluable input.
Finally, an integrated communications team – including publication
management, mapping and graphics, web, media relations, and
outreach – folded into the Management Services Division creates a
one-stop shop for spreading the word.
Historic Preservation planners have reviewed
hundreds of potential historic resources on staffing
the Locational Atlas “wish list.” Just 200 of
the original 2,000 remain to be evaluated. The retirement incentive and typical turnover have resulted in 17
Pictured: Wild Acres in Bethesda,
recommended as a historic resource in July.
vacancies, with five more occurring by January 1. Recognizing the
FY09 and FY10 challenging fiscal climate, we are carefully evaluating
which of those positions to fill. To address the demands of our heavy
work program, we are considering alternatives to career staffing such
as consultants, interns, and contractual employees. We also are
fortunate to attract several talented volunteers.
measuring performance
In response to the Council’s direction, the Department is designing
a performance measurement system that reports major outputs and
indicators at the program element level. This bottom-up approach is
resulting in revised program elements that articulate goals and provide
the basis for outcomes we can measure.
Growing smarter
depends on
effective, timely
Final
Review
Plan
Signed review of
Hearing Decision % development
DRC
9/11/08

Review
9/11/08
proposals. To
Meeting
7/8/08
Complete
8/30/08 achieve that goal,
Accepted
7/7/08
Accepted
7/18/08
% we have committed
%
to improved project
tracking and have
incorporated a series of performance indicators that rate progress
toward achieving key work program components.

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The department’s Hansen database now tracks key milestones on

virtually all department projects, from an application for a site plan to
development of a master plan.
The Hansen system will identify delays and where those delays occur –
whether with planning staff or outside agencies.
We have premiered our improved measuring and tracking system in a
few of our units and will expand in the months ahead.
rethinking zoning
Planners are developing a diagnosis of what’s wrong with the zoning
ordinance, the first step in a comprehensive revision that addresses
overlapping regulations, unnecessary districts, and outdated zones.
In the end, the revision will feature fewer, more meaningful zones,
more tables and diagrams to graphically illustrate concepts, and better
organized content. The new zoning code will highlight urban design
guidelines and sustainability.
In late summer, planners launched a public input process by inviting Planners have begun working on a master
plan amendment for Wheaton’s Central
code users to participate in a roundtable discussion and soliciting input Business District and Vicinity.
in an online survey. The diagnosis informs the revision, which we will
deliver in 2011.
Creating specifications for a zone that regulates mixed uses continues.
The Council is completing work on a new Transit Mixed Use or TMX
zone the Board proposed to regulate development in transit station
areas outside central business districts. The TMX zone supports
growing smarter, partly by allowing more density in areas designated
as receiving zones for buildable development rights agreements.
master planning
Plans in the I-270/MD
Community planners are incorporating growing smarter and 355 corridor seek to
sustainable principles into each plan. Upcoming plans seek to focus address the balance
mixed-use development in areas that are well-served by public transit.
between jobs
Plans in the I-270/MD 355 corridor seek to address the balance
and housing while
between jobs and housing while enhancing access to transit.
enhancing access
In Germantown, planners are establishing land uses and densities to to transit.
support future Corridor City Transitway (CCT) stations and to create
a thriving town center that will serve as a focal point and center of
community life for the area. In July, the Board conducted a public
hearing on the draft Germantown Master Plan that drew close to 200

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participants. In September, the Board held worksessions to finalize its

draft of the plan. We expect to deliver the plan in the winter.
The White Flint Master Plan, scheduled for transmittal to Council in
early 2009, calls for thriving, diverse, urban-style neighborhoods with
highest density close to Metro and along Rockville Pike.
Urban designers are
Master Plan Schedule
crafting design guidelines
plan goal delivery rationale to help achieve a sense of
development of place in White Flint. Much
Germantown Spring ‘08 Fall ‘08
TMX zone of their work is focused
include financial on transforming Rockville
White Flint Spring ‘08 Spring ‘09
feasibility analysis Pike into an urban
Gaithersburg coordinate with boulevard with a center
Spring ‘08 Summer ‘09 median, street trees, and
West CCT process
crosswalks near gathering
spaces and retail uses. White Flint planners also are assessing the
fiscal impacts of the plan’s recommendations.
This winter, expect a new blueprint for the Shady Grove Life Sciences
Center as part of the Gaithersburg West Master Plan. Home to Shady
Grove Adventist Hospital, Johns Hopkins University Montgomery
County Campus, the Universities at Shady Grove, and biotechnology
companies, the area has largely achieved the original vision of County
leaders. However, Gaithersburg West retains a sprawling, single-use,
auto-oriented focus.
The new plan will envision the future of the Life Sciences Center as
a more vibrant, dynamic, and walkable community. The plan will
recommend a preferred route and station locations for the CCT to
place the transit near development.
Staff is working with the Council and its staff toward adoption of
Planners are working on a plan that will the Twinbrook Sector Plan. The effort includes a new TMX zone that
transform the Shady Grove Life Sciences
Center into a more vibrant, dynamic, and accepts additional density from the termination of buildable lots in the
walkable area. Agricultural Reserve.
limited plan amendments
Asked to move quickly, but without compromising quality, planners
drafted a limited plan amendment for the Wheaton Sector Plan that
covers three properties. Although under the 1990 plan, the properties
were designated for office use, the limited plan amendment sent to

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the Council in June recommends mixed uses that serve as a transition

between the high-density central business district and a residential
area. The plan also recommends that the properties be developed
under the optional method to increase density and require developer
contributions to public space.
The quick response to a critical planning need has encouraged the
Council and Planning Board to consider other, similar situations for
limited master plan amendments in the year ahead, including areas
such as:
àà Fenton Street
àà Bethesda Metro
àà Land uses near proposed Purple Line transit stops
Depending on the Council’s priorities for limited plan amendments, the
Department may need to re-prioritize its 2010 work program.
regulatory caseload
Development review staff analyzed, Personnel Rec’d Brought Pending
to PB
researched, and collected comments from
other planning divisions, County agencies, Preliminary 49 45 112

and the public to make recommendations Project 0 3 7

to the Board on development applications. Site 37 36 38
The number of plans submitted declined Forest Conservation 51 36 74
over the past six months compared to the
Mandatory referrals 37 12 16
previous year, but many of the projects
were more complex and required an innovative balancing of an
applicant’s intent with the public interest.
Development review staff continued to work to prepare draft resolutions
on Planning Board decisions. In the last six months, the Board approved
37 resolutions and expects 31 more in the coming weeks.
development review special revenue fund
Responding to improvements required in response to the violations
uncovered in Clarksburg, the Council at the end of 2006 established
a Development Review Special Revenue Fund to pay for an increase
in the number of staff reviewing applications. The fund was intended
to define the costs of development application reviews, including
staff review time; support from research, transportation, and
environmental staff; administrative and technical support; legal advice;
and a portion of the department’s overhead.

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No seed money was provided for the fund because County officials
anticipated an accumulating balance. But that has not proven to
be the case. By the end of FY08, the Development Review Special
Revenue Fund performed as follows:
àà Revenue generated from development applications dropped
more than 46% from FY07.
àà The number of applications filed dropped only 2 percent within
As of August 31 the same time frame.
projected revenues àà In FY08, the average per application fee was $4,472, down 45
for FY09 are percent below the FY07 average, which was $8,156.
$666,450, which is àà In FY08, the Planning Department requested and received a
$1,143,550 or 63% special appropriation of $749,000 to offset the revenues losses
below the needed in the fund.
budgeted revenues. àà Revenue from fees was lowered from $3.2 million in FY08 to
slightly over $1.8 million in FY08.
To accommodate this reduction, the Department transferred nearly
$1.8 million from the Administration Fund. However, it is difficult
to predict FY09 revenues. In the first two months of the fiscal year,
funds collected amounted to only $109,445, which, when projected
out, would indicate that FY09 fees would be only $656,670 or 36% of
projected fee revenue.
Yet in September, development review fees totaled $323,282, which
would become $432,727 over three months or $1.7 million for the
year – just $79,090 less than anticipated in the budget. With only
three data points on the trend line – July, August and September – it
is difficult to estimate. Given current economic conditions, we still
assume that projecting $1.8 million in fee revenue may be too high,
although we will continue to monitor the fund closely.
The Planning Board and Planning Department continues to believe
that the Development Review Special Revenue Fund should be merged
The Board approved a site plan for 112
townhouses next to Strathmore Hall Arts
with the Administration Fund.
Center after environmental planners
brokered a noise abatement agreement and
recommended planting of a 3-acre urban
forest using native species.

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legal activity Case type Planning Parks

Given the number of decisions the Board makes Cases filed with MNCPPC 6 3
named as a party
each week, the number of lawsuits filed against
the Board continues to keep the agency’s legal Administrative appeals: 5 Other: 4
staff extremely busy.
Other active cases 10 1
healthy and sustainable communities
Administrative appeals: 4 Other: 7
Following Council’s direction in the 2007 Growth
Policy, environmental planning staff delivered Other active cases 4 5
recommendations for a countywide Healthy resolved
and Sustainable Communities project that sets Administrative appeals: 4 Other: 5
environmental policy goals and indicators, or
ways to measure progress. The Board approved
the full set of recommendations in September, part of an process
that will help policymakers and community members judge how their
policies, programs, and actions contribute to achieving goals such as
clean air and water.
The report, drafted in a partnership
with the County Department of
Environmental Protection, evolved
from public input gathered at a
Healthy and Sustainable Communities
workshop in June. We also welcomed
comments contributed online at the
Planning Department’s website where
people could submit comments – and view what others said – on each
of six indicators.
The report, which was transmitted to the Council
in September, specifies six goals and recommends
a number of indicators that will help measure the
County’s collective efforts toward reaching those
goals. We see the project as a starting point and
will work with the County Executive to create more
indicators to measure our mutual goals.
icc bikeways
Interest in a proposed shared-use path for hikers and
bicyclists along the Intercounty Connector peaked in
July at a well-attended public hearing. In September,

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the Planning Board adopted staff recommendations for combining

new bike paths with bike routes along existing roads and delivered its
draft to Council. The proposed route reflects planners’ concerns about
building new hard-surface trails through environmentally sensitive
areas and provides a series of routes that meets the needs of all trail
user groups and ability levels.
designing green
At the center of our growing smarter initiative are vibrant public
spaces that draw people and solidify communities. With our new
Urban Design Division, we expand our ability to achieve quality public
spaces and buildings.
Planners tackled the need for public space in downtown Silver Spring
in a draft Green Space plan presented to the Planning Board in April.
The plan visualizes potential green spaces using 3D technology that
enabled aerial “fly-throughs” of surrounding streets. The approved
Green Space Plan ultimately will guide planners reviewing project
The Silver Spring Green Space plan seeks
applications in the Silver Spring Central Business District. Many of
to formalize guidelines and identify sites those applications will come with public amenity requirements that
for public spaces within the Silver Spring developers might fulfill by contributing to one of the green spaces
Central Business District.
envisioned in the plan. The Green Space Plan will help fulfill the
original vision of the 2000 Silver Spring CBD Sector Plan for a green
downtown.
protecting farms
In keeping with the recommendations of the Council-appointed Ad
Hoc Agriculture Advisory Group, planners and the legal staff worked
on proposed legislative changes to Montgomery County Code Chapter
2B to include provisions for a Building Lot Termination (BLT) program.
These amendments complement
other proposals sent to the Council in
2007.
Although more than 50,000 acres are
protected through TDR easements
in the Agricultural Reserve, those
easements limit uses and the number
of allowable homes permitted in the
RDT Zone. In most cases, property owners are allowed one house per
25 acres, meaning that a substantial number of potential building lots
remain viable in the Reserve.

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The Planning Board has recommended changes to Chapter 2B to

help implement a BLT program. To preserve land for farming and
prevent fragmentation in the Reserve, planners and County leaders
are seeking some method of compensating landowners for the value
of those buildable TDRs. The BLT program is a major tool to help
accomplish that. Much of the planners’ work focused on establishing
recommendations for densities that would be permitted for BLT
easements and how much each BLT would be worth in commercial and
residential areas.
reaching out
The success of our work depends on our ability to inform residents and
property owners of our efforts. We have built upon efforts to make
board actions transparent through online live broadcasting, posting
agendas and streamlined staff reports online, and noticing meetings in
major publications and through press releases.
Continuing our successful collaboration with County
Cable Montgomery, we produced several more episodes
of Montgomery Plans as a way to educate residents
about in-depth planning topics.
In response to our call for photos as part of our new
Great Communities photo contest, we received close to
150 entries that we will use to build our library of images.
As part of the contest, we built public support for and
knowledge of planning as the underpinning of what
makes great communities. Many of the photo contest
entries appear on the cover and throughout the report.
Planner and team leader Callum Murray on the October Montgomery
Plans.
what’s next
The Planning Department looks forward to a busy six months, as
staff delivers two master plan drafts and progresses on six more.
Planners have begun intensive analysis in preparation for the 2009
Growth Policy, drawing on our best ideas for responsible development
following grow smarter principles. All of the projects will occur in the
context of a reduced budget and leaner staffing.
The Planning Department is up to the task, however. Energized by
a reorganization that both strengthens teamwork approaches and
provides more opportunities for individuals, staff stands ready to
tackle the challenges ahead.

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 Schedule: Master Plans and Major Projects
Master Plan & Major Projects 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
J F MA MJ J A S ON D J F MA MJ J A S ON DJ F MA MJ J A S ON D J F MA MJ J A S ON D J F MA MJ J A S ON D
Growth Policy Review/Update
Forest Conservation Law Revisions
Zoning Ordinance Revision
ICC Bikeways H
Enforcement Regulations
Twinbrook F H
White Flint Core Area (Phase I) F H
Housing Policy Element
Germantown F H
Gaithersburg West F H
Green Infrastructure F H
Georgia Avenue Concept Study
Kensington/University Boulevard F H
Limited Wheaton CBD Amend. F H
Takoma/Langley Crossroads F H
Purple Line F H
Water Resources Functional Plan F H
Wheaton CBD/Metro Center F H
White Flint Phase II F H
Battery Lane F H
Westbard F H
Master Plan of Highways F H
Glenmont Metro Center F H
J F MA MJ J A S ON D J F MA MJ J A S ON DJ F MA MJ J A S ON D J F MA MJ J A S ON D J F MA MJ J A S ON D
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Staff Executive Comments to Council F Planning Board Draft Transmitted