White Oak, Wheaton Library, Capital Crescent Trail on Council’s Agenda

The Montgomery County Council at approximately 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, is scheduled to receive a briefing on the White Oak Science Gateway Master Plan. The plan would lead to the transformation of the eastern side of the County into a vibrant community with a broad range of uses, including as a hub of technology, biotechnology and research.

The overview of the White Oak plan will be part of the Council’s regular weekly session that will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The Council’s morning session, which will include four public hearings scheduled to begin at approximately 11:30 a.m., will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM—Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The broadcast also will be streamed at: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/ondemand/index.html.

The White Oak Gateway Plan recommends rezoning commercial areas to the Commercial/Residential (CR) Zones, which allow a broad range of commercial uses. Among the uses identified in the plan are general offices, technology and biotechnology, research and development, hospitals, educational institutions, some manufacturing and production. Multi-family residential and supportive retail services to create a complete community also will be part of the plan.

The White Oak plan’s land use recommendations are based on the assumption of increased transit options via the development of a new bus rapid transit system and enhanced local bus service.

During the session, the Council is expected to approve the Fiscal Years 2015-20 County fiscal plan. The six-year fiscal plan—recommended on June 12 by the Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee—is based on the FY 2015 budget approved by the Council on May 22. The budget fully funds the Board of Education’s request for Montgomery County Public Schools, provides major new support for Montgomery College, increases the number of police officers, and provides additional support for safety net and other critical services that were cut during the Great Recession, including libraries, parks and transportation.

The Council is scheduled to take action on a zoning sectional map amendment needed to implement the building of the future South Entrance to the Bethesda Metrorail Station. That entrance is needed for the planned Purple Line.

Councilmember Nancy Navarro, along with Council President Craig Rice and Councilmembers Roger Berliner, Cherri Branson, Marc Elrich, Nancy Floreen and Hans Riemer, plan to introduce a resolution at approximately 9:45 a.m. declaring the sense of the County Council is that possession of small amounts of marijuana and paraphernalia by adults should be among the County’s lowest law enforcement priorities.

Two of the public hearings regard redevelopment of downtown Wheaton. One hearing will be on Expedited Bill 33-14, which would provide funding for capital improvements in Wheaton. Expedited Bill 34-14 would provide funding for the new Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center. After the public hearings, the Council is scheduled to take action on both bills.

Another public hearing will be held on Expedited Bill 32-14 that would allow improvements to move forward on the Capital Crescent Trail in the Bethesda area. The Council also is scheduled to take action on that bill after the public hearing.

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