Council Calendar: Late February to Mid-March
The Montgomery County Council's Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee will discuss Wheaton redevelopment on March 12.
Correction: The PHED committee will not discuss Wheaton Redevelopment on Feb. 27. This discussion will tentatively take place March 12, at 2 p.m.
With the CIP budget under consideration by the Montgomery County Council, and everything from the Wheaton Redevelopment to the library/recreation center complex up for discussion, we know that dates can get confusing very quickly.
The county council calendar can shift unexpectedly, so none of these dates are set in stone, but we will do our best to update the list when changes occur.
Here’s a rundown of Wheaton-related council action items for the next three weeks:
- The Planning, Housing and Economic Development committee was scheduled to discuss the Wheaton Redevelopment project on Feb. 29, but this discussion has been postponed to March 12 at 2 p.m., according to an updated Montgomery County Council agenda.
- The PHED committee will discuss the other three economic development projects in the CIP budget on Feb. 27 at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will be televised live.
- At a joint meeting of the PHED committee and the Health and Human Services committee on March 5, the Wheaton Library and the Community Center complex will be discussed at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will be televised live. Get more background on this issue and join the discussion on Patch.
- Two Zoning Text Amendment proposals will be discussed at a public hearing on March 13 at 7:30 p.m.: ZTA 12-01 Commercial Zones - Large Retail Uses; and ZTA 12-02 Commercial Zones - Combination Retail Stores. The Zoning Text Amendments, proposed by Councilmember Valerie Ervin and Council President Roger Berliner earlier this month, appear to come in response to negative reactions to Ervin’s stalled community benefits agreement bill. Ervin’s amendment would trigger a special exception process for stores over 50,000 square feet, and Berliner’s amendment would focus on mixed-use in development near Metro stations.
- The PHED committee will discuss Bill 6-12 Economic Development - Small Business Assistance and Bill 5-12, Administration - Small Business Navigator on March 19 at 2:00 p.m. The meeting will be televised live. The public hearing for these bills will be at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28.
- Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will release his operating budget recommendations on March 15. You can visit the county government website to submit budget questions, comments and suggestions.
Meetings that are televised live are available streaming at http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=4
Did we miss anything? Tell us in the comments, and we’ll add it to the list.
Kathleen Michels
8:33 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012
Thank you Esther for keeping ud updated! Particularly on the council activities! Their decisions now will influence Wheaton forever. So it looks like wheaton redev discussion is going to the PHED committee first.
Kathleen Michels
8:37 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012
And from discussions it appears that some members would like to send Wheaton redev plans "back to the drawing board" regarding building over the bus bays because they want wheaton redev to be done on the cheap.
Kathleen Michels
8:42 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012
Which at this 11th hour would likely mean no real redev at all for another 10 -20 years as Valerie Ervin rightly pointed out.
Esther French
11:06 am on Monday, February 27, 2012
Thanks for your comments, Kathy. This morning, I confirmed with Councilmember Nancy Floreen's office that the PHED committee, which Floreen chairs, will be discussing Wheaton Redevelopment on March 12, NOT on Feb. 29, as erroneously stated in the committee packet. Of course, March 12 is a tentative date, but if anything changes, I'll update this article.