SILVER SPRING, MD—Montgomery Parks will observe the following holiday schedule during the 2012 Memorial Day Weekend on May 26 – 28:
SPECIAL HOLIDAY WEEKEND OPERATING HOURS:
• Black Hill Boats at Black Hill Regional Park– Open all weekend including Memorial Day, May 28, 6:30 am – 6:00 pm. (Last boat is rented at 5:30 pm.)
• Black Hill Visitor Center (Nature Programs) at Black Hill Regional Park – Open all weekend, including Memorial Day, May 28, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.
•Brookside Gardens Visitors Center — Open all weekend including Memorial Day, 9:00am – 5:00pm; the “Wings of Fancy” Exhibit will be open all weekend including Memorial Day, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.
• Cabin John Train at Cabin John Regional Park– Open all weekend including Memorial Day, May 28, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.
• Lake Needwood Boats at Rock Creek Regional Park– Open all weekend including Memorial Day, May 28, 6:30 am – 6:00 pm.
•Little Bennett Camp Grounds at Little Bennett Regional Park– Open all weekend including Memorial Day, May 28. Two-night minimum stay required. Visitors can enjoy crafts and ice floats on Saturday night, May 26.
• Olney Skate Park at Olney Manor Recreational Park – Open all weekend for skaters of all ages. May 26, 12:00 pm – 9:00 pm; May 27, 12:30 pm – 6:00 pm; May 28, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.
• South Germantown Driving Range at South Germantown Recreational Park– Open all weekend including Memorial Day, May 28, 9:00 am – 10:00 pm.
• South Germantown Mini Golf at South Germantown Recreational Park – Opens for the season on Memorial Day Weekend, May 26 – 28, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
• South Germantown Splash Park at South Germantown Recreational Park– Opens for the season on Memorial Day Weekend, May 26 – 28, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
•Wheaton Train & Carousel at Wheaton Regional Park– Open all weekend. May 26 – 27, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm; May 28, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm.
•Wheaton Tennis will offer a 50% discount on court time (for $7.50 /hour) on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28. Please contact Wheaton Tennis in advance to make a reservation in order to receive the discount.
CLOSED Monday, May 28
• Montgomery Parks Nature Centers:
oLocust Grove Nature Center
oMeadowside Nature Center
o Brookside Nature Center
• Park Permits Office
• Pauline Betz Addie Tennis Center at Cabin John Regional Park
CLOSED ALL WEEKEND, May 26 – May 28
• Wheaton Ice Arena
• Cabin John Ice Rink
*All other parks and facilities are operating on standard schedules listed on www.MontgomeryParks.org.
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SILVER SPRING, MD – Rose Krasnow, chief of the Montgomery County Planning Department’s Area 1 team, was named interim director today by the Planning Board. She will begin directing the 130-member agency on Monday, following the departure of Director Rollin Stanley, who resigned last month.
Krasnow has worked at the Planning Department since 2004. For the last year and a half, she has directed the Department’s Area 1 team, which crafts master plans and reviews development applications for the inner-ring communities around the Beltway. Before that, Krasnow was chief of the former Development Review Division for six years.
In taking the director’s position, Krasnow will work closely with Deputy Director Piera Weiss and the rest of the department’s management team on managing and delivering master plans, and overseeing staff on reviewing development applications and completing the countywide Subdivision Staging Policy and the Zoning Rewrite Project, among other initiatives. She will be the Department’s main liaison with the Planning Board, County Council and other county agencies.
Stanley announced he was leaving in mid-April to head the Planning, Development and Assessment Department for Calgary, Alberta. Planning Board Chair Françoise Carrier, who announced Krasnow as interim director at a staff meeting this morning, said the Board has begun a nationwide search and intends to hire a permanent director in six to nine months.
Krasnow, a former three-term mayor of Rockville, has worked in both the public and private sectors. She began her career as a bond trader with Oppenheimer and Co., Inc. in New York City, before moving to the Washington, D.C., area. Her stint as the administrator for a Rockville homeowners association led to her decision to run for the Rockville City Council, where she served two terms before being elected Mayor. She also worked as a senior policy analyst in the Smart Growth area for the National Governors Association in 2002 and 2003.
Three times named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women, Krasnow also was honored by the Montgomery County Business and Professional Women’s Association in 2000 and was named Citizen of the Year in 2002 by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.
Krasnow received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
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SILVER SPRING – To inform residents about proposed regulations governing accessory apartments in Montgomery County, planners will host meetings on Monday, May 21 at Park and Planning Headquarters. The meetings provide an opportunity for residents to learn more and provide feedback on the draft regulations before the Planning Board considers them for a second time in June.
As Montgomery County housing costs continue to increase, the rental market is becoming increasingly attractive to people who cannot afford to buy a home or do not want to maintain one. Young professionals, seniors and others seeking to live in the suburbs may find accessory apartments built within homes or on single-family properties an attractive option.
Accessory apartments have been permitted throughout Montgomery County for decades. In the 1980s, county policymakers established accessory apartment provisions to provide more affordable housing for county residents. The units provide a source of income and/or allow family members, such as seniors, to stay in their homes with caregivers.
Now, accessory apartments are granted by special exceptions by the county Board of Appeals. In virtually all cases, applications for accessory apartment special exceptions are granted.
The proposed regulations, a Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) to be considered by the County Council after the Planning Board makes a recommendation, would better define accessory apartments and firm up the decision-making criteria now used in special exception cases. For example, the regulations would quantify the application process, limiting accessory apartments based on the location of existing units in the neighborhood. The proposed regulations also would allow small, attached accessory apartments to be licensed and approved by right, without the time or expense required by the special exception process. Small apartments would be up to 800 square feet; large units would range from 801 to 1,200 square feet.
Learn more about the proposed regulations and let planners know what you think at our community meetings. Each meeting will include a brief presentation by staff, a question-and-answer session, and additional time to interact directly with staff.
View the schedule on the accessory apartments webpage. Can’t attend? Let us know what you think by using our online comment board.
WHO: Montgomery County Planning Department
WHAT: Proposed regulations for accessory apartments
WHEN/WHERE:
Session 1: 3-4:30 p.m. Monday, May 21
Session 2: 7-9 p.m. Monday, May 21
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
Festival celebrates success of the Eastern Bluebird
BOYDS, MD – Black Hill Visitor Center at Black Hill Regional Park is hosting the annual, free Bluebirds Forever Festival on Sunday, May 20 from 1-4pm, to celebrate the success of the Eastern Bluebird. The festival will feature a play created by children for children titled “Quest for a Nest,” as well as opportunities to hike a bluebird trail, create bluebird-themed crafts, play games and listen to music. Visitors will learn about the birds’ habitats and nest box monitoring, and how to support local bluebird populations in private yards and gardens.
In recent years, M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks has experienced an increase in the nesting success of bluebirds thanks to the work of many dedicated volunteers who have helped build and monitor some 540 bluebird nest boxes scattered throughout the 34,000-acre park system.
“2011 was our best year so far,” said Rob Gibbs, parks’ natural resources manager, “over 1,300 baby bluebirds were fledged from park nest boxes. Our numbers have been going up steadily since the program began keeping records in 1992, thanks to the dedication of our volunteers.”
Many of the parks’ bluebird boxes are built by Scout troops and other volunteers. Parks staff installs the boxes in appropriate nesting habitats, and adult volunteers and some families monitor them weekly during the nesting season from March through mid-September. Monitors remove nests of non-native house sparrows which often out-compete bluebirds for nest cavities. They also remove bees and other unwanted visitors, keep boxes in good repair, clean out used boxes after young have fledged so the bluebirds can re-nest (some will nest three times in one year) and document how many bluebirds, chickadees, tree swallows and house wrens are fledged from the boxes. 
“Some of our very dedicated volunteers have been working with our bluebird program for more than 15 years,” said park naturalist Denise Gibbs, who initiated the countywide data collection effort to help promote and share information among the county’s four nature centers, which coordinate the program.
Ed Escalante, who started as a bluebird monitor in 1997, said. “Before taking on the trail, I had never seen a bluebird, and here I was meeting them regularly, from a close distance!” Ed’s enthusiasm led him to become a founding member of the Maryland Bluebird Society.
“I take a special delight in those bluebird pairs who recognize me each time I show up,” said Jim Cook who monitors 25 boxes at Little Bennett Golf Course. “Others will swoop down and try to chase me off, but the ones that know I’m not doing any harm will just perch in a tree nearby and watch me.”
Homeowners and bird lovers can help to increase the number of bluebirds in Montgomery County by installing bluebird nest boxes in large open grassy areas and providing berry producing plants, other food sources and water. It is extremely important that all nest boxes be monitored regularly; otherwise they can provide nesting for house sparrows which compete with bluebirds for nesting space often killing adult and young bluebirds in the process.
The Bluebirds Forever Festival is co-sponsored by Friends of Black Hill Nature Programs and the Maryland Bluebird Society and will be held rain or shine. It is a free event and will be held in and around the Black Hill Visitor Center, 20926 Lake Ridge Dr., Boyds, MD 20841. Some of the festival programs require advanced registration at www.ParkPASS.org. For a detailed schedule of events, please visit www.BlackHillNature.org.
Public Hearing to take place May 24, at *9:00 a.m. at Montgomery Regional Office, 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
*Time subject to change: Visit www.MontgomeryPlanningBoard.org/agenda/ for updates
SILVER SPRING, MD –The M-NCPPC Montgomery Planning Board invites the public to provide testimony (limited to three minutes) at a public hearing on the draft 2012 Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan Update. The hearing will take place:
Thursday, May 24 at 9:00 AM
M-NCPPC Montgomery Regional Office
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20912
The time of the meeting is subject to change. Updates will be posted at www.MontgomeryPlanningBoard.org/agenda/ where members of the public can also download the staff report, sign up to testify and listen to the live public hearing. Sign up to testify at www.montgomeryapps.org/planning_board/testify.asp. (select May 24 from the date pull down menu) or call 301-495-4600. Online sign-up closes 4 p.m. the day prior to the meeting.
Written testimony may be emailed to mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org or mailed to Planning Board Chairman, 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910 and must be received 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
The 2012 PROS Plan is developed to analyze and prepare for future needs for park and recreation facilities and natural and history resource preservation, and develop specific service delivery strategies to meet these needs. The 2012 plan will include chapters on: Recreation and Parks, Natural Resource Conservation, Historic and Cultural Resources Preservation and Agricultural Land Preservation.
The 2012 PROS Plan Update is required under State law, and will build on earlier public comments and findings from the Vision 2030 Strategic Plan, finalized by M-NCPPC- Montgomery Parks and the Montgomery County Recreation Department in 2011.
Questions and written comments regarding the 2012 PROS Plan Update should be sent to MCP-PROSPlan2012@MontgomeryParks.org
M-NCPPC-Montgomery Parks, manages more than 35,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 416 parks. Montgomery Parks is part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), a bi-county agency established in 1927 to steward public land. The M-NCPPC has been nationally recognized for its high quality parks and recreation services and is regarded as a national model by other parks systems. www.montgomeryparks.org
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Join team members to learn about their work at a special open session, Sunday May 13 at 2:00PM at the Rachel Carson Greenway Trail in Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park.
May 9, 2012 – The Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team, a national non-profit dedicated to maintaining and preserving open climbing environments, will provide much needed enhancements to the Rachel Carson Greenway Trail at Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park in Silver Spring, Maryland this weekend. The group will work with the Mid-Atlantic Climbers to improve the public access points.
- 30 volunteers participated in last year’s Northwest Branch trail renovation and clean-up
The weekend enhancements will wrap up with a special public open session on Sunday, May 13, at 2 PM where Access-Fund Jeep Conservation Team members will discuss their work at Northwest Branch Park as well as other sites around the United States. The session will be at Northwest Branch Park, located at 10701 Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20910 – immediately south of the strip mall where Trader Joe’s is located. More information can be found at http://midatlanticclimbers.org.
Mid-Atlantic Climbers at the 2011 Access Fund Adopt-a-Crag trail work and park cleanup at Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park
The Northwest Branch Stream Valley Park is part of a system of trails managed by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) Montgomery Parks, and is located alongside Northwest Branch, which is part of the Potomac River watershed. Because of its location on the fall line, the park has scenic waterfalls and enormous boulders that are reminiscent of mountainous areas. Frequent use of the park combined with its location in the middle of a heavily urbanized area, have caused erosion to park access points. The Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team will be improving the trail near the public access point and parking lot by building stone steps and addressing other park needs.
The Conservation Team is the Access Fund’s newest stewardship program, in which two trail specialists travel the country ten months out of the year to help local climbers and volunteers maintain climbing areas. The team assesses climbing area conservation needs, works with local residents and community groups to address those needs, and provides training on planning and stewardship best practices to keep those areas healthy.
The sustained growth of climbing as an outdoor pursuit has put strain on popular climbing areas around the country. There are literally thousands of climbing areas in the United States, though the brunt of the impact occurs on several hundred of the most popular areas. As the sport continues to increase in popularity, unacceptable levels of impact could ultimately lead to partial or full closures. Many areas are in desperate need of expert trail building and multi-year stewardship plans. The Conservation Team was launched to meet this need.
“We are extremely excited and appreciative of the work that the Access Fund Team will be doing on this trail,” said Jim Corcoran, Trail Volunteer Coordinator for Montgomery Parks. “Trail renovation requires special skills and experience that is sometimes difficult to find in volunteers. It is this kind of contribution that enables Montgomery Parks to protect and preserve these amazing resources that are so cherished by the community.”
The Conservation Team is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Jeep® brand, as well as REI, Outdoor Research, CLIF Bar, MSR, and Thermarest. These companies have an outstanding commitment to supporting the grassroots conservation which protects climbing resources and access.
For more information about the Access Fund-Jeep Conservation Team, visit www.accessfund.org/ct.
About Access Fund
Having just celebrated its 20th anniversary, the Access Fund is the national advocacy organization that keeps climbing areas open and conserves the climbing environment. The Access Fund supports and represents over 2.3 million climbers nationwide in all forms of climbing: rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, and bouldering. Five core programs support the mission on national and local levels: climbing management policy, stewardship and conservation, local support and mobilization, land acquisition and protection, and education. For more information visit www.accessfund.org.
SILVER SPRING, MD—Leaders from M-NCPPC Montgomery Parks and Montgomery County gathered with members of the Germantown community this week at the site of the future Germantown Town Center Urban Park for a groundbreaking ceremony. Montgomery Parks Director Mary Bradford was joined by Montgomery Planning Board Member and Commissioner Casey Anderson, Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Upcounty Regional Services Center Director Catherine Matthews, staff from U.S. Congresswoman Donna Edwards’ office and Montgomery County Councilmember Craig Rice’s office, as well as business leaders and residents from the area.
“This park has been a long time in the making and we are so pleased that all of the hard work and planning is now bringing it to the citizens of Germantown.” said Bradford. “We genuinely appreciate the patience and support from the community throughout this process. It shows that building a village center really takes a village.”
“This groundbreaking for the Germantown Town Center Urban Park is the culmination of years of hard work between Montgomery Parks, the County and the community,” said Councilmember Rice. “This is especially bittersweet for me because, as one of the first residents in Germantown Town Center, I was presented with a phenomenal environmentally-sensitive design that finalized the last piece of a vibrant Germantown Town Center.”
The Germantown Town Center Urban Park is slated for completion in 2014 and will be located on 8.8 acres of land adjacent to the Germantown Library on Century Blvd. The park will create plenty of inviting open space, as well as interpretive trails and boardwalks, gathering areas and enhanced wetland areas for education.
Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen, pictured left, shares some thoughts about the park. (also pictured: Montgomery Parks Director Mary Bradford).
“This is a great day for Germantown,” said Councilmember Floreen. “The park completes the town center, making it not only a great place for dining, shopping and culture but now outdoor enjoyment as well. It makes Germantown Town Center the total package.”
The park will also feature public art components created by artist David Hess that will inspire the imagination and complement the cultural setting of the Library and Black Rock Arts Center while serving as gathering spaces.
Hess will create three large pergolas using over 14,000 feet of twisted stainless steel material formed atop six large natural boulders. The pergolas will create gathering places within a raised plaza overlooking a formal lawn and the existing wetlands. Hess will also build sculptural handrails and benches within the Park.
“I wanted to bring a natural looking form into this beautifully controlled space,” said Hess. “The twisted stainless steel can be welded together and is extremely durable. It gives the impression of something architectural in nature, like a nest or beaver dam. Simultaneously, visitors might even think it was somehow “grown” this way.”
The Germantown Town Center Urban Park will be passive in nature and ADA compliant for universal access. The park will feature a fully integrated stormwater management system and improvements to the pond and naturalized wetlands to nurture and protect the various plant and animal wildlife native to the region.
- Andy Frank Montgomery Parks project manager for Germantown Town Center Urban Parks joins Montgomery Parks Director Mary Bradford to celebrate the ground breaking.
“There are a surprising number of birds that visit the wetlands within the park throughout the year, and we wanted to make sure we were able to preserve this natural area within the developed town center,” noted Andy Frank, project manager for the park.
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SILVER SPRING – Once a quiet rural crossroads with a store, post office and not much else, Burtonsville has evolved over 150 years into the busy northern edge of the US 29 corridor. The challenging retail environment, aging streetscapes, poor street pattern, and limited sidewalks and bikeways have left Burtonsville without the attractive, connected community residents want.
Planners have drafted a vision for the Burtonsville Crossroads that emphasizes a complete community with a main street, public green and village center yet retains the area’s rural character. The plan envisions a mix of uses in the town center and connections that both move local traffic and encourage walking and cycling.
The staff draft of the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan goes to the Planning Board Thursday for a first look. The plan, reflecting input from members of the community for more than a year, recommends new mixed-use zoning, a series of street and trail connections, and parks and open space to protect the headwaters of the Patuxent River.
After reviewing the draft, the Planning Board will set a public hearing, likely in June, to invite testimony from residents, business owners and anyone interested in the future of Burtonsville. After the hearing, the Board will refine the plan in work sessions and send a draft to the County Council for consideration and eventual approval.
The plan prioritizes and coordinates future private and public projects. It establishes three areas, with the Main Street/Public Green the most visible, pedestrian-oriented place with retail, housing, services, a new street grid and a public gathering space off MD 198. The Village Center on local Route 29 would benefit from a new grid of streets and a better integrated Park and Ride lot, which, with 500 spaces, is a regional bus transit hub.
For both areas, proposed rezoning from commercial only to mixed commercial and residential uses would encourage redevelopment with homes, providing residents with easy access to jobs and services.
The Rural Edge area in the northern part of the plan area should remain at a low density to protect the tributary headwaters of the Patuxent River Watershed. The plan recommends placing stricter limits on the amount of paved surfaces for new development in the area, from 10 to 8 percent.
Planners develop master and sector plans to create a framework for each community designed to last 15 to 20 years. Those plans help policy-makers – such as the Planning Board and County Council – develop land use strategies and decide on proposed development.
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SILVER SPRING – Planners are beginning work on a community plan for an area called White Flint 2 that lies between White Flint and the Rockville city limits. Yesterday, the Planning Board approved a scope of work that establishes the plan goals.
White Flint 2 is ripe for planning thanks to myriad factors: the community straddles Rockville Pike, which has been identified for change – both in a countywide study of rapid transit and the sweeping vision for a pedestrian-friendly boulevard in the 2010 White Flint plan. Moreover, recent development at the nearby Twinbrook Metro Station and a proposed new MARC train station will create spinoff effects for the area.
The plan will analyze land use, transportation and urban design in that changing context. It also will address the future of one of the county’s few light industrial areas as well as what makes up an appropriate level of new development.
In addition to recommending changes to Rockville Pike in the plan area, planners also will analyze how proposed realignment of area roads, such as Old Georgetown Road and Executive Boulevard, will impact White Flint 2. They also plan to recommend ways to improve the area bicycle network and pedestrian environment.
Since school overcrowding, particularly at the elementary school level, remains a concern in North Bethesda, the White Flint 2 plan will consider school capacity issues.
Planners will host an open house late this spring to engage area residents and solicit their ideas, and will work closely with Rockville city staff, particularly on proposed changes to two miles of Rockville Pike. Stay in the loop as the plan develops by signing up for our community contact list.
The staff draft of the plan is expected to go to the Planning Board for consideration in early 2013, then to the County Council later that year.
Planners develop master and sector plans to create a framework for each community designed to last 15 to 20 years. Those visions help planners and policy-makers – such as the Planning Board and County Council – develop land use strategies and decide on proposed development.
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FIFTH-GRADER WINS ARBOR DAY POSTER CONTEST, AS A RESULT CEDAR GROVE ELEMENTARY IS SELECTED FOR SPECIAL ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION
Woody the Tree, Montgomery Parks Director Mary Bradford, Cedar Grove fifth-grader Rachel Ma and Principal Lee Derby
SILVER SPRING—Students at Cedar Grove Elementary in Germantown were treated to a special Arbor Day celebration at their school this week thanks to one of their classmates artistic talents. Fifth-grader Rachel Ma’s winning entry into Montgomery Parks Arbor Day Poster Contest gained the school a robust day of hands-on tree-focused activities, culminating in a sky-high-bucket truck trip to the canopy of a mature tree accompanied by members of the Montgomery Parks Tree Crew. Ma’s poster showcasing the benefits of trees in Montgomery County will be displayed at park facilities around the county.
Rachel Ma's winning poster submission
Other activities students participated in with experts from Montgomery Parks Arboriculture Section included:
- A live composting demonstration using the Park’s “secret” recipe
- Planting three trees (from the Park’s Nursery, Pope Farm) on school grounds
- A tree walk to learn how to identify different types of trees
- Learning about the anatomy of a tree including studying its growth rings and how it gets food and water from any location
- Photos with the Park’s mascot Woody the Tree
The school was presented with the Arbor Day Foundation Tree City Award Flag by Maryland Department of Natural Resources In addition Montgomery Parks donated a collection of tree themed books to the school’s library. Each student received a tree seedling to take home.
“Montgomery Parks has an extensive tree care program and one of the highlights is getting out into the community to share our knowledge with students and help them fall in love with trees as we have,” said Department of Parks Senior Urban Forester, Holly Thomas.
For the 15th year, Montgomery County has been recognized with the designation of Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation in honor of its commitment to tree planting and tree care. Montgomery County met the four standards necessary to become a Tree City USA by having a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
Montgomery Parks Arboriculture section provides a comprehensive tree care program that supports the protection, management and long-term health of trees and forests on parkland and provides a safer environment for park patrons, through the removal of high risk trees and limbs. The program also provides consultation for park renovation and development projects and preserves the most significant and highest valued parkland trees. In addition the Arboriculture section utilizes all green waste produced in the management of parkland to generate compost, soil conditioners and wood products. The Arboriculture section is part of the Montgomery Parks Horticulture, Forestry and Environmental Education Division supporting the acquisition, conservation, development, maintenance and management of parks.
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