Councilmembers Friedson and Luedtke want to eliminate advocacy for the public in zoning and land use decisions, want advocacy of OPC to be shut out of zoning decisions. #OfficeofPeoplesCounsel

Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson has introduced a bill to shut down the Office of People's Counsel (OPC) advocacy on zoning and land use decisions in Montgomery County.  

The purpose of the Office of People's Counsel is:  

Here's the bill that Councilmember Andrew Friedson has introduced.  The bill is also being co-sponsored by Councilmember Dawn Luedtke.  

DownloadFilePage (montgomerycountymd.gov)

Here is the introduction of the bill from the March 28th County Council meeting.  

Montgomery County urges justices to deny religious burden claim

Montgomery County validly enforced a zoning requirement that two Burtonsville landowners claim prevented a Christian group from building a church on their land, the county stated Monday in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny the owners’ request that it hear their appeal.

Burtonsville Associates and Burtonsville Crossing LLC allege the county essentially blocked construction of the church in violation of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by refusing to alter its master plan and extend sewer service to the planned building, as it had done for a secular facility.

Montgomery County, in its responsive high court filing, said Congress enacted RLUIPA to prohibit government from imposing a substantial burden on religious exercise through land use restrictions.

Lawmakers, however, did not require counties to make special accommodations for religious facilities in land use decisions, as that would violate the constitutional prohibition on governmental establishment of religion, wrote the county’s lead attorney, Howard R. Feldman.

He added that the county’s decision to stick with its master plan on sewer service did not substantially burden the church’s religious exercise because a septic system would still enable the church to have an 800-seat facility rather than its preference for one that would accommodate 2,000 congregants...

Montgomery County urges Supreme Court to deny religious burden claim (thedailyrecord.com)

Floreen's Zoning Amendment Research Riddled with Errors, Cites Mark Twain, Cites Secret Agreement, Says ALL MoCo Homes are Identical

On Monday, September 12, 2016, the Montgomery County Council's PHED Committee will discuss and vote on Councilmember Nancy Floreen's proposal to eliminate the ability of the public to review and comment on the placement of cell towers in front yards throughout Montgomery County. 

The research Packet that Nancy Floreen relies on to support her position was written by Council staff and is riddled with errors.  Below is a corrected copy of the Packet so that Councilmembers can vote on this major zoning change with accurate and focused background information. 

As a reminder, the cell towers that are the subject of Floreen's zoning change will blanket neighborhoods and schools.  They will be located at school bus stops, on sidewalks and at intersections.  The public's review of the size, location and style of these cell towers is critical to the safety of County neighborhoods.

Citations to Mark Twain and secret "verbal agreements" hardly seem useful in a document meant to provide factual, relevant background information to elected officials making a decision to change County zoning laws. 

Red markings and pink highlighting are our edits to this document.  
We also substituted maps with WHITE DOTS to show exactly where these cell towers will be located in three neighborhoods.  The maps provided by Council Staff were difficult to read.

   ZTA1605 Corrected Packet by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Floreen wants Cell Towers in Front Yards

On July 14, 2016, the Montgomery County Planning Board will discuss Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen's plan to change County zoning laws to allow cell towers to be built in front yards of homes without public hearings. 

The Montgomery County Planning Board is recommending that Ms. Floreen's zoning change be approved, however, Planning Board staff note the problems with Ms. Floreen's proposed zoning change, include the issue of setbacks from homes.

Read the Planning Board staff's memo here.

"Mayor and Council are acting in good faith, are acting with the protection of students in mind"

Once again Siena Corporation attended the [City of Rockville] Mayor and Council meeting last night and threatened to pursue all legal means at their disposal in order to turn a profit for their investors.
At issue now is a proposed Zoning Text Amendment(ZTA) that would prohibit self-storage as a use in several zoning classifications in the city if it is within 250ft of a public School.

 http://keepourschoolsandneighborhoodssafe.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/siena-corporation-threatens-to-sue-the-city-again/

Dec. 19th: 6 Room Addition for Arcola Elem. School before Planning Board

EXCERPT OF PLANNING BOARD AGENDA FOR DECEMBER 19, 2013

WHEATON, Arcola Elementary School Addition, Mandatory Referral for request to build a 6 classroom, two-story addition, on 5 acres in R-90 Zone at 1820 Franwall Ave

MoCo Planning Board wants Significant Density Increases

The Montgomery County, MD Planning Department has been working on an enormous overhaul of the zoning codes in our County. Planning Department staff are promoting tremendous density increases. Citizens involved in this 'process' are becoming alarmed at the direction it is taking. Please read the article below by Meredith Wellington, who is a former member of the Planning Board. The tremendous increase in density that the Planning Board is pushing will of course put added stress on our school system.

Former Planning Board member Meredith Wellington has written the article below, out of concern for the direction of the new zoning ordinance.  She suggests if you are concerned please contact the county council, and the Planning Board.  To contact the Council, go here.  The chair of the Planning Board is Francoise Carrier.  To contact Ms. Carrier, go here.


Montgomery County MD Zoning Rewrite ZAP Article Residential Zone Proposals

Time to Speak Up on Commercial/Residential (CR) Zone

We received the following in an email and pass it along for action by Monday February 22.  Meredith Wellington is a past member of the Montgomery County, MD Planning Board.

Dear Friends,


It is time to speak up again about the CR zone. The Full Council took it up yesterday, and is supposed to have its final vote next Tuesday, February 23rd in the afternoon. In a three and a half hour work session, it became clear that the CR zone is inferior to existing zones, and that it carries with it a serious set of problems, as explained in the attached memo. We ask that you send an email to Nancy Floreen, Council President (Councilmember.Floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov)--it should arrive no later than COB on Monday, February 22-- that includes some of the following ideas:

The CR zone should be rejected because it is untimely, untested, legally deficient, overly complex, and contrary to Montgomery County’s tradition of public participation. Further, it is a “one size fits all” zone when, in fact, one size does not fit all in communities as different as White Flint, Kensington, and Takoma/Langley. The imposition of the zone throughout the entire County will result in fewer significant public benefits throughout, and, in certain parts of the County, little, if any, benefits at all. Please reject this zone, and look to existing zones, like the TMX, that do not have the problems currently found in the CR zone.

Please feel free to forward this to other civic organizations.

Thanks very much,
Meredith Wellington