For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
The approved plan includes updates to address community input related to the plan boundary, zoning, affordable housing, traffic safety, environmental sustainability and economic development along University Boulevard
Today, the Montgomery County Council voted 7-3 to approve the University Boulevard Corridor Plan. The plan makes recommendations to address traffic safety, regional connectivity, environmental sustainability, corridor-focused growth, and economic development within an approximately three-mile stretch of University Boulevard (MD 193) from the edge of East Indian Spring Drive, just south of I-495, to Amherst Avenue in Wheaton. The recommendations include a new range of residential housing options for existing detached residential properties and new infill development on larger institutional and commercial properties.
“In partnership with the community, we have crafted a plan that prioritizes safety for all users of University Boulevard and creates new housing opportunities in the corridor,” said Council President Natali Fani-González, who also represents a significant portion of the plan area as the District Councilmember. “The University Boulevard Corridor is already great place to live, and with carefully and narrowly tailored enhancements in the plan, it will be even better, more inclusive, and safer for all.”
“The University Boulevard Corridor Plan marks a major step forward in making our communities safer, more connected, greener, and more accessible for everyone who uses our streets, especially students who attend the two high schools in the plan area,” said Councilmember Andrew Friedson, chair of the Planning, Housing, and Parks (PHP) Committee. “By prioritizing pedestrian safety, improving crossings, expanding multimodal options and calming dangerous traffic patterns, we are creating a corridor that supports mobility and safety for all.”
The Council reviewed the University Boulevard Plan at meetings held on Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, and the Council’s PHP Committee reviewed the draft plan over the course of four worksessions held on Nov. 10 and Nov. 3, Oct. 20 and Sept. 29. The Council held two public hearings on the University Boulevard Corridor Plan, one on Sept. 10 at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring and another on Sept. 16 at the Council Office Building in Rockville.
The approved University Boulevard Corridor Plan incorporates a series of amendments since the introduction of the Planning Board Draft Plan. Updates in the approved plan include adjustments to the plan boundary, amendments to the plan’s approach to housing production and affordable housing.
Amendments to the proposed transportation network include adjustments to the planned street grid concept to focus on pedestrian safety and access. The plan also includes updates related to environmental sustainability, access to parks, trails and open space, community facilities, and the designation of historic resources.
The final plan includes the following changes:
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- The Kemp Mill Shopping Center, Kemp Mill Urban Park, and the Yeshiva of Greater Washington site are no longer included in the plan.
- The rezoning of detached residential properties to allow for a wider range in housing types was limited to those properties abutting University Boulevard and Colesville Road.
- Language is included in the plan to facilitate the production of workforce housing units in specified areas along University Boulevard when constructing three or more housing units. This will be further implemented through the University Boulevard Overlay Zone.
- Building heights were reduced on almost all of the properties being rezoned in response to community concerns.
- Vehicle through-connections were converted to paved trail connections to facilitate greater pedestrian access to University Boulevard without increasing vehicle traffic through communities. Pedestrian safety was also enhanced through Four Corners through enhanced sidewalks, buffers, and crossings.
The University Boulevard Corridor Plan amends the approved and adopted 1989 Master Plan for the Communities of Kensington-Wheaton, 1996 Four Corners Master Plan, 2001 Kemp Mill Master Plan, and 2012 Wheaton Central Business District and Vicinity Sector Plan.
More information can be found in the Council staff report and on the Montgomery Planning website.
Read the original article at mccouncil