Long Range Planning Committee to Discuss Bethesda Overlay Zone on October 4

 Planning Board to Discuss and Take Comment on October 12

The Town’s Long Range Planning Committee will hold a special meeting at on October 4 at 7 p.m. via Zoom to discuss issues related to the Bethesda Overlay Zone (BOZ). Specifically, the committee will discuss the prospect that the County Planning Board may recommend lifting the hard cap on density in the BOZ, which was established as part of the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan.

Now that the soft cap development threshold of 30.4 million square feet has been met in Bethesda, the County Council can choose to review and/or reconsider the 32.4 million square-foot development limit for Bethesda in the Bethesda Downtown Plan. On October 12, planning staff is scheduled to present recommendations to the Planning Board concerning the 32.4 million square-foot development cap. The presentation will be followed by a public hearing on those recommendations and then a possible vote by the Planning Board on which to submit to the County Council.

Residents are encouraged to attend and provide comments at both the Town’s LRP meeting and at the October 12 Planning Board BOZ briefing and public hearing.