Vote online daily for the Darby Store now through May 10.
SILVER SPRING, MD —The Darby Store, a Montgomery Parks historic site, is vying for a portion of $1 million in grant funding against 23 other historic sites in the Washington D.C. metro region as part of a Partners in Preservation (PiP) community-based initiative sponsored by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The campaign relies on votes from the public to determine which sites will be awarded how much of the grant money.
Vote for the Darby Store once a day through May 10 at https://www.preservedmv.com/competitors/darby-store.
The Darby Store is one of 117 historic structures in Montgomery Parks and is an important piece of Montgomery County’s history dating back to 1910. The site, located at the heart of historic Beallsville represents simpler times when general stores served as community hubs for purchasing goods, meeting friends and sharing news of the town.
The Darby Store was purchased by Montgomery Parks in 2004 and efforts have been ongoing to restore it. The building has been moved from the roadside, the roof and porch have been replaced and the exterior is now in excellent shape.
“This funding is needed to restore the interior of the Darby Store. The store’s wood floors, varnished counters, full-wall shelving for goods, and decorative metal ceiling still need to be put back so the store can become a county gathering place once more,” said Julie Mueller, Cultural Resource Project Manager for Montgomery Parks.
Vote, Share and Tweet to help the Darby Store
Now through May 10, the community is invited to visit www.PartnersinPreservation.com to help the Darby Store earn points by voting online and via mobile once a day, every day, sharing with friends via Twitter, checking in on Foursquare and taking photos on Instagram. The site that receives the highest number of points is guaranteed to receive grant funding. At the end of the program, a Partners in Preservation advisory committee comprised of Washington-area civic and preservation leaders will recommend how the remainder of the preservation grants will be awarded. Full details on voting terms and how to earn points for sites can be found at www.PartnersinPreservation.com
Join us Sunday May 5, 2013 at the Darby Store Open House
Montgomery Parks will host a special open house event at the Darby Store on Sunday, May 5 from 1 – 4 p.m. where people can learn more about the store and its role in the County’s history. The event will feature live music from the Darby Store Jug Band; attendees can join the band as well as participate in games and activities at the store. Open house attendees will also have an opportunity to vote for the Darby Store while onsite. These votes will generate points in the PiP campaign for the store to win much needed funding for its restoration.
Darby Store Open House Sunday, May 5, 1PM – 4PM 19801 Darnestown Road Beallsville, MD 20839For more information please visit www.votedarby.org.
About Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning – Montgomery Parks
Montgomery Parks manages more than 35,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 418 parks. Montgomery Parks is a department 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.
About Partners in Preservation
Launched in 2006, Partners in Preservation is a program in which American Express, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, awards preservation grants to historic places across the country. American Express has committed more than $15 million to Partners in Preservation, helping historic sites in seven cities to date, including San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Boston, Seattle, Saint Paul/Minneapolis and New York, and has engaged more than a million people.
Through this partnership, American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation seek to increase the public’s awareness of the importance of historic preservation and to preserve America’s historic and cultural places. The program also hopes to inspire long-term support from local citizens for the historic places at the heart of their communities. For more information, visit PartnersinPreservation.com or Facebook.com/PartnersinPreservation, or follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/PartnersinPres.
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SILVER SPRING – Have an opinion about a plan that would bring rapid transit to Montgomery County? If so, mark your calendar for a May 16 public hearing scheduled by the Montgomery County Planning Board.
The public hearing is to invite input on the draft Countywide Transit Corridors Plan, which recommends a system to place high-quality buses in the county’s most congested areas – inside-the-Beltway communities, suburban activity centers and highly traveled commuter corridors. The draft plan recommends 10 transit corridors spanning 79 miles.
Along with forecast population increases, Montgomery County is expected to add more than 200,000 jobs over the next 30 years without the ability to expand roadway capacity. For the last two decades, policy-makers and planners have encouraged alternative modes of travel to reduce congestion.
BRT provides a flexible, cost-effective alternative to congested roadways, planners say, by offering reliable, fast connections in areas where development and density is not high enough to warrant rail. Planners focused on creating transit connections to Metro’s Red Line, the planned Purple Line and MARC.
The plan also makes recommendations to improve accessibility for bicycles, pedestrians, and train riders, such as designating bicycle-pedestrian priority areas around major stations and adding a third track on part of the MARC train’s Brunswick Line.
The Planning Board will begin a detailed review of the plan in the weeks following the public hearing, before revising and finalizing a new version for transmittal to the County Council in the summer.
Sign up to speak at the public hearing at www.montgomeryapps.org/planning_board/testify.asp; at date prompt, scroll to May 16.
The Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan will amend the Master Plan of Highways, which will be renamed the Master Plan of Highways and Transitways.
Who:
Montgomery County Planning Board
What:
Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan public hearing
When:
6 p.m. Thursday, May 16
Where:Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
Learn more:http://tinyurl.com/3ce9rlh
SILVER SPRING – Following months of deliberation on revisions to the Montgomery County Zoning Code, the Planning Board has begun considering the implementation of the proposed changes. Their primary focus: to present the rationale for zone conversions, review how the new zones will actually be applied on the ground, and highlight the most significant changes to uses and development standards.
The Board scheduled numerous sessions in the last month and in the next few weeks to evaluate implementation strategies for the proposed Zoning Code. A public hearing on the preliminary Planning Board draft will be held from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday. In May, the Board will send the revised Zoning Code and implementation approach to the County Council for consideration.
Starting last fall, the Board held dozens of worksessions and public hearings on revisions to the text of the Zoning Code, a multi-year effort to modernize an ordinance that has not been redrafted in a comprehensive way since the 1970s.
The process to revise the code began in 2009, starting with a thorough analysis of the existing code followed by drafting a revised code, section by section. Each draft was reviewed and revised with input from a Planning Board-appointed Zoning Advisory Panel as well as residents and stakeholders who interacted with staff at more than 80 public meetings. The resulting draft contains new and existing zones, a consolidated table of uses – some of which have been modernized and/or consolidated with similar uses – updated development standards, and clearer rules for development review.
The implementation work covers the county zoning map and how it would change under the new Zoning Code. Anyone interested in the proposed changes to the code and how they will be implemented is welcome to attend upcoming Planning Board meetings and to offer comments before the draft is finalized and transmitted to the Council for consideration.
Learn more about the the Planning Board schedule.
Who: Montgomery County Planning Board
What: Zoning Revision public hearing
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 23
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
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SILVER SPRING, MD—Montgomery Parks, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission will unveil major new additions to the Woodstock Equestrian Park at a ribbon cutting event on Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 10 a.m. Details about the event and the park are outlined below.
WHO: Elected officials, community leaders and members of the regional equestrian community will join Montgomery Parks to celebrate the opening of the newly expanded Woodstock Equestrian Park.
WHAT: The event will feature a color guard presentation, brief remarks and a series of riding demonstrations showcasing the new amenities of the park.
Woodstock Equestrian Park Opening Schedule of Events
10:15 Color Guard by the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division
10:25 Speaking Program
Mary Bradford, Director of Montgomery Parks
Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County Executive
Craig Rice, Montgomery County Councilmember
Aleco Bravo-Greenberg and Bill Rickman Jr., supporters of the park
Jamie Kuhns, Senior Historian, Montgomery Parks
Riding Demonstrations Begin
11:10 Bascule Farm Jumping Demonstrations in the Outdoor Arena
11:30 Capitol Polo Club Two-on-Two Polo Match in the Outdoor Arena
Seneca Valley Pony Club Riding Demonstrations on the Cross CountryCourse
Noon Maryland Horse Industry Board “Touch of Class” Award announcement followed by a pony driving demonstration by the award recipient
The newly expanded Woodstock Equestrian Park spans 872 acres, and features
- A 230’ x 350’ outdoor riding arena with sand footing
- A six-acre beginner-novice cross country course including bank, ditch, step and water jump
- 16 miles of equestrian and hiking trails
- 4 horse-friendly bridges
- 2 parking lots with entrances marked by monumental stone walls on each side of Rt. 28
- Several restored historic buildings dating back to the late 18th century including the Seneca Stone Barn and historic buildings on the Brewer Farm
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SILVER SPRING – As planners continue to work on an amendment to the 1994 Clarksburg Master Plan to address the Ten Mile Creek area, the Planning Board has scheduled a public session on Wednesday, April 17 to hear from the public on the plan in progress.
Planners, charged with drafting an amendment to balance development goals approved in 1994 with modern-day concerns about water quality in the Ten Mile Creek watershed, on Thursday presented an analysis of environmental impacts to the Board. The analysis focuses on development scenarios and how they might affect water quality.
The 1994 plan guides Clarksburg’s evolution from a rural crossroads to a vibrant town surrounded by open space. Land use recommendations in the plan weigh the need to protect sensitive environmental resources against higher densities that would warrant transit service.
Development in Clarksburg is managed by a staging plan that balances development with infrastructure like roads and schools. The staging plan highlights the need to undertake significant environmental monitoring before allowing development in the Ten Mile Creek watershed.
On Thursday, staff, working with a consulting team, presented the results of computer models measuring the impact of development on water quality. The development scenarios run in the model used Environmental Site Design, or state-of-the-art stormwater collection techniques. The models simulate storm events and measure impact on stream flow and other water quality indicators.
Board members directed staff to study more development scenarios for environmental analysis as well as its effect in different locations in the watershed. The Board also scheduled a public session in response to property owners interested in building in the area and environmental groups who would like to discuss the scenarios and analysis approach.
Who: Montgomery County Planning Board
What: Clarksburg Master Plan Limited Amendment for the 10 Mile Creek Area public session
When: 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 17
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
Sign up to speak at the public session.
Montgomery Parks Historic Sites Open for the Season with a Weekend of Celebrations and Activities
SANDY SPRING, MD—Montgomery Parks, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), will feature a weekend of free family-friendly activities starting April 13 to celebrate the opening of its historic sites for the season. Weekend activities include:
Saturday, April 13, Noon – 4PM
Oakley Cabin
Josiah Henson Park Guided Tours
“A Walk in Father Henson’s Footsteps”
Josiah Henson Park
11420 Old Georgetown Road
North Bethesda, MD 20852
FREE
(Parking is available only at the Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center, 5900 Executive Blvd., North Bethesda)
Retrace the footsteps of Reverend Josiah Henson from his enslavement to escape on the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada, and walk the grounds where he toiled as a slave on the Isaac Riley plantation.
All of the above historic sites will remain open through November 2 and offer various weekend activities and tours, as well as group and school tours. The Underground Railroad Experience Trail offers free guided hikes every Saturday, from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon, throughout the season. The guided hikes are appropriate for children ages 8 and up. The two-mile, two hour hike follows unpaved paths through meadows and woods and is led by trained volunteer conductors.
Free guided tours of Oakley Cabin are offered the second and fourth Saturdays of each month, from noon – 4 p.m., throughout the season.
“We’re looking forward to a great season of bringing history to life in the parks,” said Montgomery Parks Museum Manager Shirl Spicer, “and invite all to join us!”
Montgomery County Heritage Days will be the next “History in the Parks” weekend celebration with planned activities June 29 and 30, 2013. The Montgomery Parks historic sites season closes each year on the first weekend in November with Maryland Emancipation Day Celebrations, this year commemorated November 1 – 3, 2013.
For more information on any of the historic sites and events in Montgomery Parks or to volunteer, visit www.HistoryInTheParks.org.
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SILVER SPRING – Owners of historic homes in Montgomery County who want to do their part to lessen energy usage have an opportunity to participate in a free home audit available through the Planning Department’s Historic Preservation Section.
Thanks to a $9,000 grant from the Maryland Historical Trust, historic preservation planners will run the local Energy Efficiency Initiative for selected owners of eight-10 historic homes in the county. There are more than 3,000 homes designated historic on the county Master Plan for Historic Preservation or located in a designated historic district.
The audits will reveal a household’s energy usage and recommend measures to conserve energy. Armed with conservation strategies, homeowners can see real savings on utility costs.
Planners hope to include properties from across the county representing a variety of historic home types. Properties will be selected for the audits based on location, age, size and materials used in construction of the residence as well as when applications are submitted.
Learn more and download an application. Applications must be received by 5 p.m. May 10.
The audits, valued at $500 per home, consider heating and cooling systems, water, electricity, air quality and other factors to identify ways to save energy in homes that may have unique challenges. Improving home energy efficiency is particularly important, since buildings account for about 40 percent of all U.S. energy used.
Constructed differently from modern buildings, historic homes, may require special attention when considering how to improve energy performance. Along with audit results, homeowners will receive information about incentives – tax credits, grants and rebates – available to owners improving local historic resources.
Audit findings and trends will be featured in a report and case studies at the conclusion of the Energy Efficiency Initiative.
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Non-historic additions to 1891 home are scheduled for demolition and will be replaced with walls designed to meet the historic plans of the house.
SILVER SPRING, MD—The 1891 historic Brainard Warner House located in Warner Circle Special Park in Kensington is preparing for a facelift. Two non-historic wings added to the structure in the 1960’s will be demolished this spring as part of a major rehabilitation effort to return the house to its historic beauty. The wings, which were added when the house served as a nursing home, will be replaced with walls whose design was inspired by 1914 alteration plans for the house. The demolition is part of a long-term rehabilitation project which includes architectural and engineering work and will transform the vacant building. County funds and three state bond bills will cover the costs for this phase of work which only includes the exterior of the house. Additional fundraising efforts are in progress to support the rehabilitation of the interior.
Warner Circle Special Park, a 4.5 acre site was the home of Brainard Warner, the founder of Kensington. It was acquired by Montgomery Parks in 2005 to preserve the historic landscape and buildings in the park that serves as the town’s green. The site is listed in the Montgomery County Master Plan for Historic Preservation, and is also included in the National Register of Historic Places.
The park grounds will remain open to the public during the demolition and while the construction of the new walls is underway. However, an area immediately around the manor house will be fenced and off limits during this time.
The Brainard Warner House is one of 117 historic structures located in Montgomery Parks. For more information about historic structures and sites in Montgomery Parks please visit www.historyintheparks.org.
About Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning – Montgomery Parks
Montgomery Parks manages more than 35,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 418 parks. Montgomery Parks is a department 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
SILVER SPRING, MD—Montgomery Parks, part of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is pleased to join forces with the Alice Ferguson Foundation this Saturday, April 6, in support of the largest litter cleanup in the region. The 25th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup will draw thousands of volunteers to sites along the watershed to help remove litter including plastic bags, bottles, tires, paper and more.
WHO: Volunteers, community leaders, area businesses and elected officials will participate in the 25th Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup.
Speakers will include:
- Lori Arguelles, Executive Director of the Alice Ferguson Foundation
- Mary Bradford, Director of Montgomery Parks
- Beth Mullin, Executive Director of the Rock Creek Conservancy
Elected officials participating will include:
• Senator Jamie Raskin, 20th District MD
• Delegate Bonnie L. Cullison, 19th District MD
• Commissioner Candice Quinn Kelly, Charles County, MD
• Councilmember Hans Reimer, Montgomery County, MD
• Mayor Karin Tome, City of Brunswick, MD
• Councilmember Robert Catlin, College Park, MD
• Councilmember Eric Wingard, Hyattsville, MD
• Councilmember Nina Young, Brentwood, MD
• Delegate David L. Bulova, 37th District, VA
• Delegate Barbara Comstock, 34th District, VA
• Delegate Margaret Ransone, 99th District, VA
• Delegate Thomas Davis Rust, 86th District, VA
• Delegate Scott Surovell, 44th District, VA
• Supervisor, Sharon Bulova, Fairfax, VA
• Supervisor Janet Clark, Loudoun County, VA
• Supervisor Paul Milde, Stafford, VA
• Vice Chair Shawn Williams, Loudoun County, VA
WHAT: A press conference will kick-off the largest litter clean-up in the region, drawing thousands of area residents to dozens of sites along the Potomac Watershed.
WHEN: Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Meadowbrook Park Local Park 7901 Meadowbrook Lane Chevy Chase, MD 20815Directions to press conference at Meadowbrook Park: From East West Highway (410): Drive South on Meadowbrook Lane (adjacent to the East Bank of Rock Creek), past the horse barn. At the “Y” turn right, around the corral. Drive to end, park in lot. Meet on patio outside the Activity Building.
About Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning – Montgomery Parks
Montgomery Parks manages more than 35,000 acres of parkland, consisting of 418 parks. Montgomery Parks is a department 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
SILVER SPRING – Take a look around and it’s easy to see that cycling is booming. The roads of Washington, D.C. are crisscrossed with bike lanes, and the District-based Capital Bikeshare program bills itself as the largest in the nation.
To delve into how good planning equates to safe, accessible, enjoyable cycling, Virginia Tech professor Ralph Buehler will present at the Montgomery County Planning Department’s speaker series on Tuesday, April 9. His talk, Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe and North America, will link transportation and land-use policies with bike use.
Co-editor of the recently published book City Cycling (MIT Press), Buehler will report on cycling trends and policies in North American, European, and Australian cities and tie those to how planners and local government officials can promote cycling in their communities.
In his book and classes, Buehler contends that cycling should not be limited to those who are highly trained, extremely fit, and daring enough to battle traffic on busy roads. His presentation will describe ways to make cycling feasible, convenient, and safe for commutes to work and school, shopping, and other daily transportation needs.
Specifically, Buehler’s presentation will offer information on:
- cycling safety
- bikeways and bike parking
- integrating cycling with public transportation
- promoting cycling for everyone
Buehler is assistant professor of Urban Affairs & Planning and a Faculty Fellow with the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, VA. Originally from Germany, Buehler’s research focuses on comparing transportation and land-use policies in Western Europe and North America and how policies affect travel behavior. In 2008, Buehler’s dissertation comparing German travel behavior and transportation policy was selected as the best planning dissertation by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning.
Continuing education credits (1.5 hours) have been approved for planning professionals.
Who:
Ralph Buehler, Assistant Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech
What:
Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe and North America
When:
7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
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