Silver Spring, MD – On Thursday, July 19, the Montgomery County Planning Board
will discuss the results of a recent survey of the county’s faith-based organizations,
including who they are, the services they provide, and their experience with
the planning and development process.
Planning staff conducted the survey at the request of the
Montgomery County Council, which last year asked for a snapshot of the county’s
faith-based organizations as well as their needs in a growing and urbanizing
county.
The report found:
* The number of
faith-based organizations in Montgomery County grew 37 percent. In 1997,
when the last survey was conducted, the county contained about 500 faith-based
organizations. A decade later, it contains nearly 700 – most of them in
communities along the I-270 corridor and near the Beltway.
* Only about 5 percent
of faith-based institutions are located in the Agricultural Reserve.
* The greatest increase has been in small, relatively new
faith-based organizations. Survey
responses indicated that these are most likely to have plans to expand in the
near future.
* The county’s faith-based organizations provide a variety of social services to congregants and
county residents, from worship to counseling to day care. Demand for these services is likely to
increase given expected population growth.
* Faith-based
institutions would benefit from more clarity in land use processes and
regulations among county agencies.
The survey comes as
Montgomery County looks to accommodate a growing population of increasing
ethnic diversity that will include larger concentrations of both elderly
residents and children.
According to the report, faith-based organizations are
“once-in-a-lifetime developers” who face unique challenges when they seek to
build or expand. The Planning Board and its staff might help faith-based and
other nonprofit organizations if they:
* Encourage greater representation by faith-based
organizations in long-range planning efforts, such as creating master plans
* Improve coordination and communication among county agencies
involved in planning and permitting to better clarify land use process and
regulatory interpretation
* Create user-friendly flow charts and timelines to illustrate
the steps and timeframes in the planning and development process
* Provide the “Directory of Faith-Based Organizations” to
other county agencies and social service providers to better coordinate
services
* Use new mapping technology to identify and reach out to
faith-based organizations in the county during land use decision-making
* Create staff, either in the Planning Department or within a
nonprofit organization, to support the County Executive’s new ombudsman in
helping faith-based and nonprofit representatives better navigate the planning
and development review process
* Use upcoming zoning revisions to evaluate requirements for
faith-based organizations given land constraints, population growth, and their
increasing social service activities
Following their discussion Thursday, the Planning Board will
transmit the findings in the report to the County Council.
WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Board
WHAT:
Discussion
of “Updated Survey of Faith-Based Organizations in Montgomery County”
WHEN:
Thursday,
July 19, 2007 – approximately 9 a.m.
WHERE:
Park
and Planning Headquarters
8787
Georgia Avenue
Silver
Spring, MD
For more information, contact Valerie Berton, (301) 495-4602.