Montgomery County Council and Committee Meetings on Sept. 22, 2025

MARYLAND, September 20 - For Immediate Release: Friday, September 19, 2025

Council will vote to go into a proposed closed session; Committees will receive an update on street classification and master plan report implementation; briefings about the Planning Department’s reorganization, the pipeline of approved residential development, and the Purple Line and associated bicycle and pedestrian improvements

The Montgomery County Council will meet to vote to go into a closed session on Monday, Sept. 22 at 9:30 a.m. The topics of the proposed closed session are County security planning, emergency communications and legal advice concerning public safety matters.

The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 12:30 p.m. to receive an update on Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 2025-5, Street Classification the Master Planning Process. In addition, the committee will receive briefings about the Planning Department’s recent reorganization and an evaluation of the pipeline of approved residential development in the County.

The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson, Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmember Natali Fani-González.

The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to receive a briefing about the Purple Line and associated bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Council President Kate Stewart.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Proposed Closed Session

The Council intends to meet in closed session to discuss public security, including the deployment of fire and police services and staff and the development and implementation of emergency plans, under Maryland Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305(b)(10)(i) and (ii); and to consult with counsel to obtain legal advice, under Maryland Code, General Provisions Article, Section 3-305(b)(6). The topics are County security planning, emergency communications and legal advice concerning public safety matters.

Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Master Plan Report Implementation

Update: The PHP Committee will receive an update on the OLO Report 2025-5, Street Classification and the Master Planning Process. The joint TE and PHP Committee previously received a briefing about OLO Report 2025-25 at meeting held on July 7. The purpose of this meeting is to learn from Planning Department representatives about steps taken to update master plan web pages with current street classification, development and other planning policies that may have changed since approval of the master plan.

OLO Report 2025-5 studies the role of the Montgomery County Code, master plans and functional master plans in the street classification process. The purpose of the report is to support the resolution of conflicts among the policies and recommendations contained in these documents related to the classification of streets. Report 2025-5 includes an overview of County land use planning documents, a discussion of the role of each of these documents in the street classification process, and a review of the public accessibility of street classification information.

Planning Department Reorganization

Briefing: The PHP Committee will receive a briefing about the Planning Department’s recent internal reorganization, which included the creation of new planning regions for the development of community master plans and the review of development applications. The new structure retains an Upcounty region with a redrawn boundary and replaces the Mid-county and Downcounty regions with an East County region and a West County region.

In addition to the updated regional divisions, the Planning Department’s internal structure has changed. The Countywide Planning Division has been dissolved and replaced with four new divisions: an Environment and Climate Division, a Transportation Planning Division, a Historic Preservation Division, and a Design, Placemaking, and Policy Division. Four other divisions remain relatively unchanged, including the Communications and Engagement Division, the Information Technology and Innovation Division, the Management Services Division, and the Research and Strategic Projects Division.

Pipeline of Approved Development

Briefing: The PHP Committee will receive a briefing from Planning Department representatives about recent work to evaluate the pipeline of approved residential development in the County. The evaluation was undertaken by planning staff to gain insights into the impediments to housing construction for projects approved for development by the Planning Board. The evaluation was intended to better understand why approved housing development projects remain unbuilt and how the County could improve housing delivery. Planning staff sought to find a better way to present the pipeline information to the public.

During the evaluation of the development pipeline, planning staff reviewed 88 projects accounting for 99 percent of unbuilt units in the pipeline. They also received 47 responses to a developer survey, conducted 14 follow-up interviews, received input from regulatory planners and conducted a review of peer jurisdiction practices. Additional detail is available in the staff report.

Purple Line and Associated Bicycle/Pedestrian Improvements

Briefing: The TE Committee will receive a briefing about the Purple Line and associated bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The briefing will be conducted in two parts. The first part will be an update on the construction of the Purple Line from representatives of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP), Purple Line Transit Operators (PLTO) and Maryland Transit Solutions (MTS).

The second part will be an update by Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) representatives about the associated infrastructure improvements funded by the Purple Line Bicycle and Pedestrian Priority Area (BiPPA) project. Currently, the Purple Line is scheduled to open in the winter of 2027, with the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring set to open in the spring of 2026. As of June 2025, more than 105,000 feet of track have been laid. Station construction is 66.8 percent complete, and the Capital Crescent Trail is 62.2 percent complete.

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The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.

Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.

Release ID: 25-315
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884