Scrutiny Coming on Draft of Zoning Code Rewrite

Close scrutiny of the draft of Montgomery County's revised zoning code starts on Monday with the county Planning Board, but so far, there's no indication of how it will affect Montgomery Village's unique "Town Sector" zone.

The work sessions and public hearings from September through the end of the year. The last time that the county's zoning code was comprehensively rewritten was in 1977.

"The revised code is expected to reduce the number of zones, clarify what uses are permitted in each zone, and rethink 1950s-era commercial strips and office parks," according to a statement from the Planning Board.

Montgomery Village community leaders have been mulling changes to the Town Sector zone, which county planners created solely for Montgomery Village in 1965 under a 50-year sunset date.

, the Montgomery Village Foundation arrived at its “Vision2030” plan that re-imagines land use in the 40,000-resident planned community, mainly by opening the Montgomery Village Center to extensive residential and commercial expansion. County planners are not bound by Vision2030, but have said it will weigh heavily in their decision on the fate of the Town Sector zone.

Bob Hydorn, board president of the Montgomery Village Foundation, will be among those testifying at the first of the planning department's four public sessions.

“It really doesn’t look as if they’re saying we keep it or we change it,” he told Patch. “It’s still in the air. It puts us in a difficult spot, because we can’t argue it either way.”

The draft of the zoning rewrite can be downloaded from the planning department's website, at www.zoningmontgomery.org. To give feedback, click here.

The public sessions will consist of a staff presentation followed by public testimony before the Planning Board. Public sessions will be held on:

• Sept. 20, on the Commericial-Residential zone and other employment zones
• Oct. 4, on agricultural, rural, residential and industrial zones
• Nov. 1, on floating and overlay zones
• Nov. 15, on general development regulations, as well as on administration and procedure

The Planning Board also will hold a series of work sessions—open to the public (but with no public testimony)—throughout the fall.

The planning board expects to finalize the draft rewrite at the Dec. 20 work session. From there, it will head for County Council review and approval next year.