• Advisory ID: 10-029
• Advisory Date: 3/2/2010
• Contact: Neil H. Greenberger  240-777-7939 or Jean Arthur240-777-7934
• From: Council Office

Montgomery Council to Act on Zoning to Create Urban, Walkable Communities

Also on Tuesday, March 2: Briefing on Visions of Impact of Life Sciences Initiative,
White Flint, Truancy in Schools Reports

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 1 2010—The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, March 2, is scheduled to act on Zoning Text Amendment 09-08 that would allow creation of a new type of urban community for the County that is strongly supported by public transportation and encourages residents to not rely on automobiles. The zoning changes, on which the Council made tentative agreements last week, would create “Commercial Residential” Zones (CR Zones).

The Council is scheduled to act on the measures at its meeting that begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The meeting will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon) and also will be available via streaming through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov. The broadcast will be repeated at 9 p.m. on Friday, March 5.

The Council’s morning session also will include an extended worksession on the White Flint Sector Plan that has been discussed for several months by the Council and its committees. The proposed plan would transform the White Flint area around Rockville Pike to one of the zones with a more urban environment whose transportation needs are supported by public transit modes—such as the nearby White Flint Metro Station.

During the morning session, the Council is scheduled to receive a report from the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) on “Truancy in Montgomery County.” The report will be available to the public immediately after its release, but discussions on the report likely will not begin until a March 18 joint meeting of the Council’s Education Committee and Public Safety Committee.

In its afternoon session, at approximately 1:45 p.m., the Council will receive a briefing from representatives of Johns Hopkins University on their visions for a future Life Sciences community in the County.

The university in 1989 purchased the 138-acre Belward Farm that is located in an area near Shady Grove Road, Darnestown Road and Muddy Branch Road. The university plans to establish a research campus on the property that would include residences and services to allow employees to live close to their jobs. The campus would be part of the proposed Gaithersburg West Master Plan that is currently being discussed by the Council.

In Tuesday’s briefing, Johns Hopkins officials will offer additional details on how they believe the research campus will attract high-level biotech research to the County.

Return to News Advisories