Growth Policy Study
Growth Policy Study
Growth Policy Study
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Summary:
A set of criteria are proposed for use in the prioritization of projects requiring capital funding.
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The identification and prioritization of new capital projects should reflect both the Growth
Policy vision and the needs identified in Master Plans. Staff will use the following criteria in
prioritizing projects for capital funding. The highest priority projects support Growth Policy
principles for connectivity, design, diversity, and the environment as outlined below.
Connectivity
o meeting transportation serviceability goals
Highway Mobility Report (HMR)
traffic forecasts
emergency preparedness
o coordinating public facilities with private development
o linking jobs to housing
o linking neighborhoods to services
Design excellence
o ensuring safety
o giving higher priority to projects that serve more than one purpose
o promoting neighborhood conservation and enhancing community identity
o restoration of, or minimal impacts to, natural resources
o promoting, directly or indirectly, the preservation of historic resources
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Diversity
o promote travel other than SOV: pedestrian accommodation, bikeways,
transit; multi-modal Quality of Service
o provide community facilities that serve all types of neighborhoods and
interests
The candidate projects have been evaluated in a matrix format that facilitates comparison
across the evaluation criteria described above. For this first round of prioritization of projects
for the CIP, the transportation projects shown generally reflect only County roads in the top ten
of the HMR, the CLRP, and the candidate projects for Facility Planning-Transportation listed in
the current CIP as beginning in FY11 or later. The only exceptions are bus priority projects that
are already listed as candidate Facility Planning projects in the current CIP. The non-
transportation projects are those the Vision team leaders see as most important to enter the
CIP in the next few years.
The proposed scoring promotes the overall Growth Policy goals of prioritizing non-SOV
transportation facilities that would enhance TOD and community connections and
cohesiveness.
Project types: Road, Pedestrian/Bicycle, Transit, Police, Fire and Rescue, School, Library, Parks and
Recreation, or Other Community Facility
Master Plan or School Cluster: The appropriate Master or Sector Plan is noted; for schools, the school
cluster name is noted with an asterisk.
Priority area:
1. Urban areas as defined in Chapter 49 (Grosvenor, Shady Grove, Twinbrook, White Flint, Silver
Spring, Wheaton, Bethesda, Friendship Heights, and Glenmont Metro Station Policy Areas; Germantown
Town Center; Clarksburg Town Center; Damascus Town Center; Olney Town Center; Flower/Arliss /Piney
Branch commercial area; Montgomery Hills Parking Lot District; North Bethesda Commercial/Mixed-Use
area, and Silver Spring Parking Lot District.) – 15 points
2. Areas within ½ mile of non-MSPA Metro Stations (Forest Glen, Medical Center, Takoma, and Shady
Grove) – 10 pts
3. Areas within ½ mile of other existing or programmed transit stations – 5-8 points
4. MD Smart Growth Priority Funding Area other than the above – 3 points
5. Non- MD Smart Growth Priority Funding Area other than the above – 0 points
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Staging Requirement or School Capacity Test:
Highway Mobility Report Corridor: corridors with congestion levels most in excess of their policy
standard
The purpose of this table is to provide a way to objectively prioritize different types of projects as to
how they best achieve the County’s objectives as outlined in the Growth Policy. This table is intended to
be used in selecting projects to be entered into the County’s CIP program. Therefore, projects already in
the program are not shown, nor are projects that are expected to be the State’s responsibility. The
exceptions are BRT projects, for which the County has already begun Facility Planning on one specific
project (University Boulevard) and is currently pursuing a larger County BRT system study.
The table reflects projects that are in already-accepted County priority lists such as the Constrained Long
Range Plan and the Staging requirements established for some areas. The most congested corridors are
identified in the County’s Highway Mobility Report. The schools shown on the list are identified in
MCPS’s capital program in the areas where they have noted deficiencies. A small number of additional
projects were identified by Vision/Community-Based Planning Team leaders as needed projects in their
areas of responsibility.
Projects that are located in areas where the County’s desire is to focus development are scored higher
than those farther away from our Metro stations and urban centers. The scoring system is also intended
to give projects that serve more than one function a higher score. Because the many factors related to
mobility and connectivity do not generally relate to schools, projects intended to address capacity
deficiencies in schools were given a higher point score in relation to other “staging” projects to reflect
the greater impacts on development activity resulting from a school cluster moratorium.
Giving greater weight to downcounty projects that are just outside designated urban
areas and/or the ½-mile radius of Metro stations
Adding potential County/State intersection projects since the Council has expressed a
willingness to at least partially fund such projects
Using this methodology to determine the County’s priorities for State projects
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The use of additional scoring factors for non-transportation projects, to reflect, for
example, school clusters with the highest student teacher ratios and planning areas with
the lowest park acreage per resident.
Making more of the criteria tied to specific measurable values, such as using over-the-
norm crime and traffic crash rates for “safety”.
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Appendix G
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Sustainability – Master/Sector
Appendix G Master Plan area or cost and social Plan Goals and Design
Project Type School Cluster* equity Objectives Connectivity Excellence Diversity Total
Priority area Leveraged Staging Constrained Highway Traffic Emergency Coordination Linking jobs Linking Safety/Publi Multi- Neighborhood Environmental Historic Promotes Serves multiple
funds requirement Long Range Mobility Report Forecasts preparedness with private or to housing neighborhoods c Health purpose Conservation/ protection preservation Non-SOV neighborhoods
or School Plan Corridor public to services Community Travel and interests
development Identity
Capacity Test
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Column14 5
15 5 0 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0 0 5 5 0 5 5 75
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Summary:
Major changes include: creating a new Life Sciences Center policy area, adjusting the
Germantown Town Center to match master plan recommendations, adjusting White Flint to
match the sector plan boundary, and adjusting for Gaithersburg and Rockville municipal
boundaries.
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The following changes to policy area boundaries are recommended for consistency to master
plans or sector plans or changes to municipal boundaries. The maps that follow show Policy
Areas with recommended changes. Some of the traffic zone boundaries shown reflect the
proposed restructuring of the traffic zone system.
Expansion of the Germantown Town Center policy area east from Crystal Rock Drive to
I-270 north of Germantown Road (MD 118) as recommended in the new Germantown
Master Plan.
o Restructured traffic zone 249-5005 would be shifted from the Germantown West
policy area to the Germantown Town Center policy area.
o The remainder of traffic zone 249 would remain in the Germantown West policy
area.
Creation of a new Life Sciences Center policy area from part of the R & D Village policy
area.
o The Gaithersburg West Master Plan envisions the transformation of the Life
Sciences Center area into a dynamic live/work community while ensuring growth
opportunities for research, medical, and bioscience.
o The Life Sciences Center Policy Area would be created from traffic zones 218 (the
Life Sciences Center), 219 (the Public Service Training Academy area), and 220
(Johns Hopkins University Belward Campus area).
o The Gaithersburg West Master Plan recommends realignment of the Corridor
City Transitway through the Life Sciences Center policy area and recommends a
transit station in each of the traffic zones.
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This proposal would result in the remaining R & D Village policy area being a non-
contiguous grouping of traffic zones 166, 215 (less Crown Farm), and 216.
o Traffic zone 166 is south of the Life Science Center policy area. It includes the
Universities at Shady Grove, Human Genome Sciences, Traville and Rickman.
Two parcels of land were moved from the North Potomac policy area to
the R & D Village policy area and from traffic zone 165 to restructured
traffic zone 166 so that five adjacent parcels of land under common
ownership would all be in the same policy area.
A small area along the eastern boundary of traffic zone 166 was annexed
by the City of Rockville and moved to the Rockville City policy area.
o Traffic zone 215 south of the Crown Farm remains in the R & D Village. The
Crown Farm portion moves to the Gaithersburg City policy area. The
Washingtonian residential portion of traffic zone 215 remains in the R & D
Village. The part of the Washingtonian residential annexed by the City of
Gaithersburg has been moved to traffic zone 214 and the City of Gaithersburg
policy area.
o Traffic zone 216, the Shady Grove Executive Center area, remains in the R & D
Village policy area.
The White Flint policy area is expanded to conform to the White Flint Sector Plan
boundaries. As part of the traffic restructuring effort, the White Flint traffic zones 136
and 137 have been expanded to include the areas of traffic zones 125, 127, and 133
included in the White Flint Sector Plan.
Two minor changes are recommended for the Rockville Town Center policy area.
o At the northeastern boundary of the Rockville Town Center policy area, the
houses along Lincoln Street with even street number addresses were outside the
Town center policy area. The boundary has been changed to include both sides
of Lincoln Street in the Town Center policy area.
o Part of the southern boundary was moved from E. Jefferson Street to Fleet
Street so that the houses along both sides of E. Jefferson street would be in the
Rockville City policy area.
There are maps of the Gaithersburg and Rockville City policy areas showing the changes
made to better conform the City policy areas to their municipal boundaries. There are
also maps showing the affected County policy areas. Except for the Crown Farm which
was discussed earlier the changes are minor. Most of the changes are in the
Gaithersburg City policy area with the Derwood, Montgomery Village/Airpark, North
Potomac, Potomac, and Shady Grove policy areas the most affected.
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Growth Policy Study: Appendix I - Policy Area Mobility Review (PAMR)
Lead Staff: Eric Graye
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Summary:
Using the Department’s Travel/3 transportation model in support of the application of the
PAMR methodology, staff evaluated the year 2013 relationship between the set of
transportation projects fully-funded in the four-year capital program and the geographic
pattern of existing and approved but un-built (i.e., “pipeline”) jobs and housing units in the
County. A key result of this analysis was the determination of required FY 10 trip mitigation
percentages by policy area. These trip mitigation requirements (depicted below) were
reviewed and adopted by the Planning Board on May 14th.
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