Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Business owner: ‘We really needed to get together, form a coalition, be stronger as one voice.’
(Updated) With BAE System’s exit from Aspen Hill, so went the lunch platform at the Aspen Hill Dunkin Donuts—and many regular breakfast customers. “It used to be over there,” said Boris Lander, the doughnut shop’s owner, pointing to an elongated half-wall hiding restaurant equipment where the lunch platform used to be. Business has been slow ever since BAE Systems relocated in 2010. The building has been vacant since. The Dunkin Donuts sits near the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Aspen Hill Road, right in front of the massive BAE site. Feeling the sting of lost business, nearby business owners have mobilized, forming the Aspen Hill Business Coalition. They’re advocating for bringing a new retailer to the site soon, with hopes that it …
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The county planning staff will make recommendations to the board about future bus rapid transit systems at the meeting on Thursday.
Discussion about the implementation of dedicated bus lanes or bus rapid transit systems in Montgomery County will continue at the Montgomery County Planning Board's next meeting, on Thursday, Feb. 21. The county planning staff will update the board on its recent work on the Countywide Transit Corridors Functional Master Plan. A public hearing for the plan will be held on May 2, according to a planning department briefing. The planning staff recommends that Maryland State Route 355 "is the best candidate for pursuing a high-quality BRT treatment to serve future planned growth," and that U.S. Route 29 "is the best candidate for implementing dedicated bus lanes in the near term," according to the briefing. There is a concern, however, that …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
County planners will discuss a revised zoning code draft with the county planning board on Thursday, Feb. 7.
Montgomery County's residents have spoken up about the county's ambitious Zoning Rewrite Project, and county planners have listened. After planners released a consolidated draft of the county's revised zoning code last July, residents submitted comments—online and in public hearings. Those comments have been taken into consideration in a new staff draft for the project, which will be discussed with the Montgomery County Planning Board in a work session at the board's weekly meeting on Thursday, Feb. 7. The work session is slated to start at 4:30 p.m. and end at 6 p.m., according to the agenda. Parking will be one of the issues discussed at the Feb. 7 work session. (Remaining issues will be discussed at the final work session, on Feb. 14 …
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Born in the 1950s, it's about time the county's zoning got a facelift, planners say. What will 21st century Montgomery County look like?
It's been a long wait, but county planners are out with their first zoning revision in 35 years and it envisions a modern Montgomery County that leaves 1950s-era commercial strips and office parks behind. The draft of the zoning rewrite project—almost two years in the making—is now available for public review, according to a statement Wednesday by the planning department. "Since October 2010, planners have been revising sections of the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance as drafts for consideration by county officials, residents and members of an advisory panel," according to the department. "The revisions are part of an ambitious effort to rewrite the Zoning Code to modernize antiquated, redundant zoning regulations and create new tools to…
Darlene King-Mohler
7:24 pm on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
I have lived in the Aspen Hill Community for 26 years. It's true there are plenty of places to grocery shop here, but they are the big name grocery stores and prices at these stores are high. When I was driving I would travel to Fredrick to shop at the SuperCenter Wal-Mart with a grocery store inside. I would love it if a Wal-Mart would be opened here in Aspen Hill. I had hoped that when … more ›