Montgomery County Council Meets on Jan. 23 to Receive a Briefing on the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment

For Immediate Release: Monday, January 22, 2024

Also on Jan. 23: Proclamations recognizing Human Trafficking Awareness Month and National Mentoring Month; review of design alternatives for Little Falls Parkway

The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. The meeting will begin with two proclamations. The first, led by Councilmembers Evan Glass and Dawn Luedtke with County Executive Marc Elrich, will recognize Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The second, led by Councilmember Will Jawando and County Executive Elrich, will recognize National Mentoring Month. An additional proclamation presentation will take place at 2:30 p.m. , presented by Council President Andrew Friedson, to celebrate Dr. Glenn Orlin’s retirement and recognize his 39 years of service to the Council.

At 9 a.m., prior to the scheduled Council session, the Council will participate in a bus tour of the area included in the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment . The Council will hold a public hearing on the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at Takoma Park Middle School.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Public Hearings

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Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment

Briefing: The Council will receive a briefing on the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment . The plan makes recommendations to improve quality of life, guide future development and encourage improvements to the natural and built environments within the plan area. A minor master plan amendment, like the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment, revisits a specific portion of the approved and adopted master plan and reexamines certain elements, often to address a change that was not anticipated at the time the adopted master plan was approved. This plan amendment would update portions of the 2000 Takoma Park Master Plan with the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment.

This amendment reenvisions the areas within the plan boundary that include the Washington Adventist Hospital and University campuses, the Erie Center (located at the intersection of Flower Avenue and Erie Avenue), and multi-family properties, parks and the Takoma Park Community Center located along Maple Avenue. The plan boundary was determined by the Montgomery County Planning Board in coordination with the City of Takoma Park. The plan boundary was approved by the Planning Board on Sept. 30, 2021.

In recent years, the Council and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) have approved and adopted two sector plans for communities in Takoma Park and adjacent areas. These include the 2012 Takoma-Langley Crossroads Sector Plan and the 2013 Long Branch Sector Plan . These plans, in addition to the 2021 Retail in Diverse Communities Study, will inform the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment process.

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A public hearing on the Takoma Park Minor Master Plan Amendment is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 25 at Takoma Park Middle School.

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Review: The Council will review a design alternative for Little Falls Parkway between Arlington Road and Dorset Avenue. Montgomery Parks is seeking the Council’s endorsement of the design alternative in order to proceed with a more in-depth review with the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) before the final design and construction.

During a meeting held on Nov. 27, 2023, the Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee discussed developing alternatives for the realignment of Little Falls Parkway. After discussion, the committee unanimously chose to recommend the Council-requested alternative, which is a road diet consisting of one vehicle travel lane in each direction with a grass median in the middle and a protected shared-use path built on the right-of-way of one of the former southbound lanes. One of the elements of the design alternative remains unresolved, which is the outer northbound lane that is set to be deactivated as part of the road diet design. The committee did not formally decide whether to remove or retain the northbound lane, instead choosing to defer that decision to the full Council.

The Parks Department has submitted a memo, which can be found in the staff report, depicting an updated Council-requested alternative with the outer northbound pavement retained.

Consent Calendar

Each item on the Council’s Consent Calendar can be found on the Council agenda for Tuesday, Jan. 23, which is available on the Council website .

The Council 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: 24-024
Media Contact: 240-777-7926, 240-777-7884

For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=44664