Community invited to participate in photo contest to pinpoint most valuable places in Montgomery Village
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, held a public meeting to begin a community dialogue about the Montgomery Village Master Plan on Wednesday, October 1 from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Watkins Mill High School cafeteria (10301 Apple Ridge Road, Gaithersburg, MD). Montgomery Village was included as part of the 1985 Gaithersburg Vicinity Plan and now it will have its own master plan for the first time.
Planners kicked off the event with an overview of their schedule, noting that Staff will work on developing the Montgomery Village Master Plan through March of 2015 before presenting their draft plan for review by the County Planning Board in April 2015. They explained the purpose of a master plan and provided current statistics about demographics, employment and retail and office markets within the Village planning area.
Attendees and residents are urged to enter a photo contest, aimed at documenting the most valuable places in Montgomery Village. These images will help planners understand the priorities of residents and business owners as they develop concepts for various areas of the Village. Interested shutter bugs can send their pics to MVP@montgomeryplanning.org.
Check out all of the details on the MVP Photo Contest.
The community is invited to interact with planners at the Montgomery Village Great Pumpkin Race happening Saturday, October 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Creek Community Center, 20125 Arrowhead Road, Montgomery Village. Race a pumpkin and talk with staff about what you want in your Village!
The next meeting – Monday, December 8, 2014 in the evening – will focus on areas and issues identified at the first master plan meeting, and will include a discussion about the community’s vision for the future of Montgomery Village. Stay tuned for more details on the next series of community meetings.
Master Plan Background:
Montgomery Village has not been reviewed since the 1985 Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan, nor has it been the subject of a discrete County master plan in the past. Although Montgomery Village was within the boundaries of both the 1971 Gaithersburg Vicinity Master Plan and the 1985 Master Plan, neither plan contains recommendations or guidance for this community. When the Planning Department initiated an update to the Gaithersburg Master Plan in 2007, Montgomery Village was originally included within its boundaries. However, with large swaths of land on both sides of I-270 presenting different planning issues and challenges, the Department realized the area was too big to be analyzed effectively.
In 2008, the Department divided the large Gaithersburg Master Plan area into two planning efforts – one for the west side of I-270, which became the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan (GSSC) – and one for the east side of I-270 – Gaithersburg East. In 2014, the County Council directed the Planning Department to further refine the Gaithersburg East plan to have one plan for Montgomery Village and one plan for the remainder of Gaithersburg East. The Council also directed the Planning Director to work efficiently on the Montgomery Village Plan, with the goal of having a draft plan transmitted to the Council within 12 months of the plan start date.