For Immediate Release: Friday, October 3, 2025
Committees will receive updates on emergency communications and the police department’s gang unit; review legislation to procure electricity through a Community Choice Aggregation pilot program and prohibit parking in bikeways; zoning amendments to require 50 percent native plant species in certain landscaping projects and create a temporary telecommunications facility as a limited use
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. to receive an update on the 911 Emergency Communications Center and the Montgomery County Police Department’s gang unit.
The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 WSSC Water spending control limits, Expedited Bill 27-25, Environmental Sustainability – Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) – Established, and Bill 28-25, Motor Vehicles and Traffic – Parking in Bikeways – Prohibited.
The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Council President Kate Stewart.
The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-10, Landscaping Requirements – Native Plants, and ZTA 25-11, Temporary Telecommunications Towers.
The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson, Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmember Natali Fani-González.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
911 Emergency Communications Center
Update: The PS Committee will receive an update on the 911 Emergency Communications Center, which answers all 911 and police nonemergency service calls that are dialed in Montgomery County. The update is expected to include information about accreditation and national industry standards, vacancy rates and hiring, call volume, budgets and expenditures, and future planning needs for a new operational facility. The Emergency Communications Center has two physical locations to provide additional security and redundancy. Until 2017, call center staff were originally split between Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) and the Montgomery Police Department (MCPD). Now, all civilian staff are consolidated under MCPD and MCFRS maintains supervisory oversight of fire dispatch.
Update: The PS Committee will receive an update on MCPD’s gang unit. The update is expected to include an overview of the unit’s structure and responsibilities, as well as data on gang-related incidents in the County. MCPD’s gang unit is organized into two specialized teams that combine proactive enforcement with long-term investigative strategies. The Gang Investigations Team conducts proactive enforcement, develops actionable intelligence, and ensures coordination across departmental units. In addition, the Major Offender Gang Team handles complex investigations and strategic intelligence, while working closely with local and federal partners. In Montgomery County, many other departments and nonprofits play key roles in gang prevention, intervention and suppression. These include the Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County Public Schools, the Department of Recreation, and local nonprofits.
WSSC Water Spending Control Limits
Review: The TE Committee will review spending control limits for WSSC Water’s FY27 Budget. WSSC Water’s spending control limits process was established in April 1994 by both the Montgomery County Council and Prince George’s County Council. The goal of the spending control limits process is to reconcile both Council’s actions by Nov. 1 of each year, so that WSSC Water can build the approved limits into its upcoming operating budget public hearing draft document, which will be released for public comment by Jan. 15, 2026. The FY27 WSSC Water operating budget is expected to be transmitted to both counites by March 1, 2026.
Review: The TE Committee will review Expedited Bill 27-25, Environmental Sustainability – Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) – Established, which would amend the law regarding environmental sustainability in electricity supply to establish a CCA plan and set forth certain requirements of the CCA’s operations. In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly authorized Montgomery County to establish a CCA pilot program, which allows the County to procure electricity on behalf of residents and businesses from an alternative supplier while still receiving service from an existing utility provider.
Bill 27-25 would establish a CCA within the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and designate the director of DEP as the responsible entity for its operations and functions. The bill would require the CCA to have the capacity to serve as the electricity supplier for all residential and small commercial electric customers in the County and provide its customers a percentage of renewable content that exceeds the amount required by the state’s renewable energy portfolio standards. The bill would also require the CCA to prioritize sustainability, cost efficiency, stability and predictability in the provision of electricity. The bill would exempt the purchase of electric supply from the County’s procurement laws and require the CCA to transmit to the Council a copy of its aggregation plan or any aggregation plan changes prior to filing them with the Public Service Commission.
The lead sponsor of Expedited Bill 27-25 is Council President Stewart. Councilmembers Glass, Friedson, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Council Vice President Jawando, and Councilmembers Balcombe, Luedtke, Mink, Katz, and Fani-González are cosponsors of Expedited Bill 27-25.
Bill 28-25, Motor Vehicles and Traffic – Parking in Bikeways – Prohibited
Review: The TE Committee will review Bill 28-25, Motor Vehicles and Traffic – Parking in Bikeways – Prohibited, which would prohibit the standing, stopping or parking of vehicles in bikeways. The purpose of Bill 28-25 would be to enhance safety for cyclists. Current County law includes a list of 10 areas in which a person must not stop, stand, or park a vehicle, whether occupied or not. Bill 28-25 would add bikeways to this list of areas. The draft legislation includes definitions for bikeway, bike lane, off-street trail, separate bike lane, shared use roadway and side path.
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The lead sponsor of Bill 28-25 is Councilmember Glass. Councilmembers Luedtke, Friedson and Fani-González are cosponsors of Bill 28-25.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-10, Landscaping Requirements – Native Plants
Review: The PHP Committee will review ZTA 25-10, Landscaping Requirements – Native Plants, which would require 50 percent native plant species in an open space landscaping and 50 percent native plant species in general landscaping plant material. The ZTA is part of the native Plant Protection Act, which includes Bill 26-25.
The lead sponsor of ZTA 25-10 is Councilmember Glass. Council President Stewart and Councilmember Luedtke are cosponsors of ZTA 25-10.
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-11, Temporary Telecommunications Towers
Review: The PHP Committee will review Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-11, Temporary Commercial Uses – Temporary Telecommunications Facility. ZTA 25-11 would create a temporary telecommunications facility as a limited use in all zones, defined as a monopole or portable wireless communications facility that does not have a permanent location on the ground. The ZTA also would create an approval process for the temporary facility. The new use under the proposed ZTA would be permitted for 180 days, or up to two years with extensions. In addition, review by the Transmission Facility Coordinating Group would be required for certain facilities. Applicants would be required to demonstrate that the facility is needed for a qualifying reason, including natural disasters, an emergency declared by the government, a large conference or special event or a substantial maintenance project.
Councilmember Luedtke is the lead sponsor of ZTA 25-11.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.
Release ID: 25-330
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
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