Community members are encouraged to sign up starting August 3 to testify on plan recommendations focused on downtown revitalization, incentivizing community amenities, affordable housing, better and safer access to parks and transportation, and more.
WHEATON, Md. – The Montgomery County Planning Board, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), will hold a two-part public hearing on Thursday, September 10 and Monday, September 14, 2026, for the draft Friendship Heights Sector Plan. The plan boundary encompasses downtown Friendship Heights, the commercial development along Wisconsin Avenue and over to River Road, and properties in the Village of Friendship Heights and Chevy Chase Village.
“The public hearing is a great opportunity for the community to continue contributing to the vision of Friendship Heights for the next 20 to 30 years, and we encourage residents, workers, visitors, and stakeholders to bring their perspectives to the Planning Board this September,” said plan lead Atara Margolies. “This plan builds on Friendship Heights’ existing strengths and leverages key opportunity sites to bring new uses and amenities that will attract more people, strengthen local retail, and create a more diverse, vibrant, mixed-use downtown core.”
The first part of the Planning Board’s public hearing begins on September 10 at 1:30 p.m. during the Board’s regular weekly meeting in the Planning Board Auditorium on the second floor of The M-NCPPC’s Wheaton headquarters (2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, MD 20902). The hearing will allow for testimony in-person and virtually via Microsoft Teams.
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The second part of the Planning Board’s public hearing will be held on September 14 at 4 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda, MD 20814). This public hearing will include the opportunity to testify in-person only.
Both meetings will be livestreamed and made available on demand on the Planning Board’s website.
Starting Monday, August 3, people may sign up to testify before the Planning Board at one of the public hearing dates. Planning Board members will be at both parts of the public hearing and are offering two dates and locations to provide more convenience and opportunities for the public to weigh in. All public testimony is considered by the Planning Board and included in the official record. To ensure the Planning Board can hear from as many people as possible, please only sign up for one of the public hearing dates; duplicate testimony is not permitted. Written testimony is also welcomed via email to mcp-chair@mncppc-mc.org or via mail to Chair Artie Harris, Montgomery County Planning Board, 2425 Reedie Drive, 14th Floor, Wheaton, MD 20902.
Read the Friendship Heights Sector Plan Working Draft.
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The Working Draft is the first full draft of the plan and is based on Montgomery Planning staff’s preliminary recommendations, which were presented to the Planning Board on February 12, 2026 and to the community over two meetings in June 2026. The Working Draft incorporates the Planning Board’s comments on the preliminary recommendations and feedback from the community. Today, the Planning Board approved the plan’s Working Draft as the Public Hearing Draft, which will be posted on the plan website soon. Following the public hearing, the Planning Board will hold a series of work sessions this fall to refine the plan based on community feedback and its review of the Public Hearing Draft. The plan will then be sent to the Montgomery County Council for its own public review and approval process, and to the County Executive for review and comment.
Overview of the Friendship Heights Sector Plan
The Friendship Heights Sector Plan represents a major step forward in shaping the future of one of Montgomery County’s most dynamic urban communities. Building on the foundation of the 1998 Friendship Heights CBD (Central Business District) Sector Plan and informed by the insights of the 2024 Friendship Heights Urban Design Study, this updated sector plan reflects a deep exploration and understanding of the community’s evolving needs.
Guided by this groundwork, the plan creates a forward-looking vision for the next 20 to 30 years, focused on creating a more connected, livable, and sustainable Friendship Heights through strategies that address land use, transit-oriented housing opportunities, parks and public space, transportation improvements, climate mitigation, and the protection and preservation of natural and historic resources. Together, these elements form a comprehensive roadmap for a thriving urban environment that supports residents, workers, and visitors alike.
Key Working Draft Recommendations
- Provide flexibility for redevelopment of opportunity sites within the plan boundary and incentivize much-desired neighborhood amenities.
- Set clear standards for transitioning between mixed-use development and neighboring single-family communities.
- Incentivize additional affordable housing, including larger family-size units and those with deeper affordability.
- Provide new public spaces as part of future development projects and improve visibility and access to all open spaces.
- Prioritize safety by improving pedestrian and bicycle connections between Friendship Heights and the surrounding communities, including Washington, DC.
- Improve transit access by recommending dedicated transit lanes extending down Wisconsin Avenue to the Friendship Heights Metro Station.
- Protect natural resources such as canopy trees, wooded areas, and streams, and incentivize sustainable, high-performance buildings.
Read the original article at montgomeryplanning