County Council Approves Bethesda Downtown Plan For More Development
The Montgomery County council voted on Thursday to approve the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan, which allows builders in the unincorporated urban area to build taller buildings near transit, by an 8-1 vote.
The plan allows for an additional 4.2M SF, to a total of 32.4M SF. 23.6M SF has already been built in the downtown sector, and an additional 4.6M SF has been approved or is under construction, Bethesda Magazine reports. The plan does not, as some wanted, halt development at 30.4M SF until roadways have been improved to ease congestion, but it sets goals for commuter transit, requires traffic officials to submit plans and set expectations for progress checks.
The plan also caps maximum building height at 90 feet, away from transit, against planner recommendations, lays out plans for public spaces to be constructed (although they still need to be funded), and allows for developers to buy density for their projects by contributing to the county's fund for public spaces.
The price of density, as well as the mechanism to pay for it, has yet to be created, and a guideline for design is also on the way, as county planners anticipate submitting new rules in June.
