Conservation plan will be considered at future Planning Board meeting, along with conditional use approval of catering facility next to Old Angler’s Inn
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, has postponed its review of the Preliminary Forest Conservation Plan associated with a request for the conditional use approval of a country inn and catering facility at 10801 MacArthur Boulevard, proposed by Maryland Catering Company, Inc.
The Preliminary Forest Conservation Plan, initially scheduled for review on Thursday, February 23, 2017, will be scheduled on a Planning Board agenda in late March or early April 2017. During the same session, the Board will further consider the conditional use application for the proposed MacArthur Boulevard facility that was first discussed at the Board meeting held February 16.
At that hearing, the Board agreed with staff that key information had been provided too late for staff to review, so they deferred from making a recommendation even though the Hearing Examiner was going to take up the case on February 24. The Hearing Examiner’s Office then delayed the hearing until April. As a result, the Board will be able to comprehensively review both the Forest Conservation Plan and the conditional use request on the same day and make a recommendation based on a more comprehensive view of the project and its associated issues.
A conditional use, formerly known as a special exception, is a use that is allowed if it found to meet certain operational or other conditions.
A forest conservation plan is a document that outlines the specific strategies for retaining, protecting and reforesting or afforesting areas on a site, pursuant to the 1991 Maryland Forest Conservation Act. Forest Conservation Plans are approved by the Planning Board with conditions that are binding on applicable private and public development, and on certain land- disturbing activity.
To learn about the rescheduled date, consult the Planning Board agenda.