Montgomery County Planning Commission
DPZ Associates

Since its inception in 1927, the zoning code has been continuously updated until the 2020 comprehensive rewrite, predicated upon the 2016 comprehensive plan. The result was a hybrid code designed to preserve the 19th and early 20th century railroad suburb with form-based standards to guide growth and redevelopment of the community. Critical to this process was extensive public engagement guided by Township Staff. The process began with translating hundreds of publically generated recommendations from the comprehensive plan. The staff then developed a dedicated webpage, shared information on social media, and implemented an interactive zoning map to inform residents.

Staff coordinated the Civic Engagement Committee, which conducted monthly stakeholder interviews, small group meetings, and large group meetings with civic organizations, institutions and business owners. Staff also facilitated 42 public meetings and five open houses. The engagement process was concurrent with code drafting and resulted in a seamless feedback loop of project improvement. A one-day charrette was held with the Montgomery County Planning Commission, developers, engineers, architects and attorneys to test the draft code, resulting in final calibrations prior to advertisement for adoption. The two-year civic engagement process created a culture of trust, resulting in unanimous adoption of the plan by all fourteen township commissioners.