Work Session on Proposed Zoning Changes

The Montgomery County Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee  will meet at 1 p.m. on Dec. 9, to continue its extensive review of the first proposed major changes in the County Zoning Ordinance since 1978.

At Monday’s worksession, among the items to be discussed are provisions for the “average height” of a building in commercial/residential zones. 

The PHED Committee, which is chaired by Nancy Floreen and includes Councilmembers Marc Elrich and George Leventhal, has been meeting regularly since June to review the changes in the zoning ordinance that have been suggested by the County’s Planning Board. The committee will use the worksessions to make recommendations to the full Council, which will eventually decide what changes will be implemented.

The PHED Committee will meet in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville. The worksession 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 through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov.

The committee is close to completing its review of the Planning Board’s recommendations for proposed zoning changes. Scheduled to be addressed on Monday is language defining the “average height” of a building. The staff of the Planning Board has recommended allowing the Planning Board to approve a higher height on one portion of a building, as long as the average height of the building does not exceed the maximum height of the mapped zone. The definition would apply in Commercial/Residential zones and in certain Employment zones.

The committee also will discuss whether to remove “general buildings” as allowable buildings in residential zones.

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