A public hearing has been set for Jan. 12 for the working draft for the White Flint 2 Sector Plan, which was approved Thursday by the Montgomery County Planning Board at its meeting.
The plan area comprises 460 acres in a bowtie shape on both sides of Rockville Pike, on both sides of Montrose Road and a region largely south of Randolph Road.
The Working Draft is an amendment to the 1992 North Bethesda/Garrett Park Master Plan and the 2010 White Flint Sector Plan. Between June 2015 and July 2016, staff held 10 public meetings, including two meetings dedicated to school issues in the Walter Johnson School cluster.
The plan recommends 5,700 new dwelling units, primarily focused along Rockville Pike, bringing the total to 7,604. The plan would add to the region’s existing 6.44 million square feet of nonresidential development by 2.77 million square feet, bringing the total to 9.21 million square feet. The number of jobs in the area is expected to increase from 19,638 to 27,831.
The planning board approved a public hearing for Jan. 12. Work sessions on the plan would take place in January and February. If approved by the board in March, the plan would be sent to the Montgomery County Council, which likely would hold a public hearing in May. The council would convene its own work sessions starting in June and ending in October.
The council’s adoption of the plan could occur between November and March 2018.
Some of the key recommendations include:
— Transforming single-use commercial shopping centers into mixed-use developments along Rockville Pike (MD 355).
— Integrating new residential and nonresidential uses in the Executive Boulevard office park and promoting mixed-use neighborhood centers to be developed at the Loehmann’s Plaza and Randolph Hills Shopping Centers.
— Retaining existing multifamily residential development as an important resource of market-rate affordable housing.
— Retaining light industrial properties to provide important services to down-county residents, and offer opportunities for small-scale businesses, entrepreneurs, and vocational and entry-level employment.
— Extending the Rockville Pike Boulevard concept to the city limits of Rockville with Bus Rapid Transit.
— Supporting the 2010 White Flint Sector Plan recommendation for a MARC station.
— Promoting a diverse mix of housing options.
— Developing at least 10 acres of public open space in the plan area.
— Creating a new 3.5-acre urban linear park along Montrose Parkway.