News continued (page 5)

Maintaining the Residential Character

of County Neighborhoods

March 15, 2011

There are new laws that will go into effect later this Spring.  These laws are designed to help protect and maintain the residential character of our neighborhoods.

See www.montgomerycountymd.gov/goodneighbors for additional information about the new code enforcement laws.

These new laws address the following issues:

• home-based businesses
• parking for heavy commercial and recreational vehicles
• off-street parking
• paving of front yards

SSARPC thanks the Mid-County Regional Center for forwarding this information.

Development Review Process Streamlining

January 2010

Montgomery County's development review process can take months, as planners gather comments from representatives of local agencies and apply relevant, but often conflicting, regulations. Many development applications must go through the process three times.

The Planning Board has asked planners to review - and possibly shorten - the development review process. Streamlining, if approved as proposed, would

• Require each development plan to go to the Board only one time
• Encourage greater consistency by having a single set of reviewers guide a plan from start to finish
• Identify conflicts earlier in the process
• Reduce staff and Planning Board review time

Learn more at www.montgomeryplanning.org/development/drprocess