ALERT: Important Information about the Zoning Code Rewrite

[Meredith Wellington]

Dear Neighbors,

 

What’s Happening

 

It’s going to be a very busy fall, because the Planning Board is going to spend September, October, November and December reviewing a staff draft of the new zoning code rewrite, and finalizing the draft for transmission to the County Council in early 2013.  To that end, there will be 14 work sessions on the new code starting on Monday, September 10^th and ending on Thursday, December 20^th.  There will also be four public hearings for public testimony between September 20^th and November 15^th.  It’s time to get ready to send representatives from your civic associations to attend the work sessions and to testify when there is an issue of concern.  When the code gets to the County Council it will, in all likelihood, be too late for substantive changes that will enhance and protect our neighborhoods.  So now’s the time!

 

 As noted, on Monday, September 10^th and Thursday, September 13^th the Planning Board will hold its first work sessions on the draft code. The public hearings will be on September 20^th, October 4^th, November 1^st, and November 15^th.  All of these dates are Thursdays.  We do not know yet whether the work sessions and hearings will be during the day or in the evenings when more people are able to attend. (At each public session, you may only testify about the materials that were covered in the work sessions that immediately precede the public hearing.)

 

On September 20^th, the public can testify about the introduction, format and organization of the document, and also about the CR zones.  On October 4^th, the public will have its only opportunity to testify about the proposed residential zones.  Here is the link to the schedule:

http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/development/zoning/interact.shtm#Planning

 

As the schedule moves forward, I will update you on what is coming next.

 

Materials About the New Code

 

There are several helpful documents that you can read in order to understand the enormous impacts of the new code.

 

First, there is a draft of the code itself, and with it a companion document that attempts to highlight how the draft code differs from the existing code in terms of uses in the zones and standards for the zones.  Below is the link to these documents on the Planning Board website: http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/development/zoning/documents.shtm

 

The link begins with the comparison document, and then below that, one can either down load the entire new code, or down load only the sections that are of interest.

 

In addition to these two documents, there is a series of draft zoning conversion maps that shows where the new zones will be placed, along with a discussion of the relevant master plan.  Here is the link to the maps:

 

http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/development/zonig/index.shtm

 

To find the maps, go to this link, then scroll down to QuickLinks, and then to “Draft Zone Conversion Maps.”

 

Please go to the maps, and see the proposed zoning for your property and for properties near you—including the commercial centers.  Read the discussion about the master plan. Then go to the new code and read about the residential zones, the uses, and about what kinds of buildings can be built in the various residential zones.

 

Of course, I will be attending many of the work sessions and the public hearings, and I will be sending you more analyses of the various issues that are raised by this mammoth undertaking.

 

See you in September,

 

 Meredith

--

Neighborhood Montgomery
A Neighborhood Network for Sensible Growth
http://groups.google.com/group/neighborhood-montgomery