What can you do?
1. Encourage interested residents in your community to sign the petition on the Change website: http://chng.it/v8HF74DqPb
2. E-mail the letter below to the County Council TODAY!
County.council@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.albornoz@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Katz@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov, councilmember.Rice@montgomerycountymd.gov, Councilmember.Riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov
Montgomery County Council Members as well as Planning Board Members and Staff have reiterated time and again: “The plan (Thrive 2050) is just a vision” or "a policy document" that “changes nothing." Although these statements are true as far as they go, what are the legal implications to the adoption of Thrive and the changes to the zoning Laws?
The Thrive Plan will be implemented by new zones and/or amendments to existing zones ("ZTAs") to allow multi-family housing (duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, and apartment buildings) by right in neighborhoods now zoned for single-family detached homes.
Thus, when these new zoning provisions are subsequently applied to properties in single family neighborhoods, will developers be able to argue as a legal matter that the new multi-family housing types conform to and are consistent with the policies and recommendations presented in the Thrive Plan? Would these changes result in housing policies that would be broadly applicable to neighborhoods throughout the County without any community-specific considerations?
To prevent this "one size fits all" approach, Thrive's policies and zoning recommendations should be implemented on a community-by-community basis utilizing the traditional Master/Sector plan processes and encouraging public input from the affected communities through Neighborhood Advisory Groups.
Request the County Council To Fix These Major Problems By:
1. Ceasing to refer to the Thrive Plan as just a visionary policy document. Educate the public regarding the legal implications of Thrive with respect to the zoning changes.
2. Including provisions requiring Thrive's recommendations to be implemented using the traditional Master Plan process to properly address the character of individual communities rather than adopting "one-size-fits-all" housing policies for the County as a whole.
3. Requiring establishment of Neighborhood Advisory Groups as part of the Master Plan process to ensure public participation by residents and other stakeholders regarding planning and land use issues specific to the affected communities.
4. Scheduling full Council work sessions to review the current version of Thrive, as revised by the PHED Committee, so the Council as a whole considers and resolves all unresolved issues.
The Citizens Coordinating Committee on Friendship Heights (CCCFH) is continuing to circulate a petition on these issues and concerns. The petition now has more than 3500 signatures.