Editor’s note: This story, originally published at 4:51 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2025, was updated at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2025, to correct that the development soft cap of 30.4 million square feet was reached in Bethesda in September 2023, not the hard cap of 32.4 million square feet.
The Montgomery County Council is considering a proposed change to zoning rules that would remove an existing cap on new development in downtown Bethesda.
On Tuesday, council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) introduced a proposed zoning text amendment (ZTA) at the county Planning Board’s request. The proposed amendment would change the rules governing a designated section of the downtown area, known as the Bethesda Overlay Zone, by implementing recommendations included in the proposed Bethesda Downtown Plan Minor Master Plan Amendment. That proposed amendment to the master plan is also under consideration by the council.
The Planning Board’s draft of the Bethesda Minor Master Plan Amendment updates the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan. In June 2023, county planners began the process of amending the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan, a 20-year vision that includes a cap on “total development in the downtown area, including existing and approved new development,” according to the Montgomery Planning website.
“This ZTA implements several of the recommendations that are in that master plan,” Livhu Ndou, legislative analyst for the council, said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan resulted from a four-year collaboration among residents, property owners, Montgomery Planning staff, the Planning Board and the council, according to the planning department. The plan encompassed the planners’ vision for affordable housing, new parks and open spaces as well as pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements in the downtown Bethesda area.
“The minor master plan is a 20-year vision of sustainability, accessibility, equity and innovation,” Elza Hisel-McCoy, downcounty chief for the Planning Department, told the council.
The proposed minor master plan amendment provides an update of the existing downtown plan “with a more narrow focus, either in terms of geography or the topics to be covered,” according to the Planning Department website.
The council will hold a public hearing Wednesday on the county Planning Board’s draft of the Bethesda Minor Master Plan Amendment. The public hearing will be held from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Bethesda Regional Services Center at 4805 Edgemoor Lane. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.
Why get rid of the cap?
According to Montgomery Planning, the development cap was nearly reached in September 2023 – six years into the 2017 plan – when the Planning Board approved a downtown Bethesda project that increased total development above a soft cap of 30.4 million square feet. The 2017 downtown plan requires that once total development approval reaches 30.4 million square feet, the “County Council may require certain actions before additional development is permitted,” according to the planning department. This checkpoint led Montgomery Planning staffers to begin the process of amending the 2017 plan due to the uncertainty surrounding approvals of future projects in the downtown area.
County planners urged the removal of the cap because the 2017 downtown plan’s “vision of affordable housing near jobs and community amenities will not be realized” without “private development and the public investment it funds,” according to a Montgomery Planning overview of the recommendations. The Bethesda Overlay Zone rules set the development cap and other development standards including density and heights in the downtown Bethesda area.
In addition to removing the development cap, the proposed ZTA would add incentives for developers to help the county build a new recreation center in Bethesda and provide more “family sized and deeply affordable” moderately priced dwelling units (MPDUs), according to planning documents.
It would also encourage construction of a new recreation center by allowing additional building height and a reduction of required public open space.
The goal of these proposed changes would be to encourage more development in the area, planning officials say.
“As developers build, they get their money from investors, and the investors will only invest if they know that there’s certainty. Developers spend millions of dollars before they stick a shovel in the ground,” Planning Board Chair Artie Harris said during Tuesday’s council meeting. “It is important to know that when they make that investment, that at the end of the day, they will be able to move forward.”
On Tuesday, councilmembers offered general support for what the ZTA and amendment would do, while also voicing concerns about upcoming economic uncertainties.
Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), who represents Bethesda, said while the initial Bethesda Downtown Plan helped to increase development and private sector investment in the downtown area, projects tend to be slowing down.
“In terms of the slowdown, I think it is a good opportunity to take a look at how we’re doing in terms of the public amenities and infrastructure that was called for in the plan,” Friedson said. “As the 2017 plan was being developed, it became evident that as nice of a place to live as Bethesda is, and really has always been, it fell short when it came to public parks and civic gathering spaces. Recreational facilities, several new parks, park expansions and civic greens are recommended in the plan.”
Council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) noted the recent and ongoing mass layoffs of federal employees under President Donald Trump’s administration could have an outsized impact on the county that is yet to be determined.
Approximately 70,000 county residents are part of the federal workforce, according to Stewart’s office. That number does not include federal workers who reside in neighboring jurisdictions and work at agencies based in the county, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring.
Jawando said it’s important to keep in mind the possible impacts – including those affecting residents’ lifestyles — of the changing federal workforce when moving forward with zoning and development plans.
“There are many, many downstream effects of what’s happening, and we don’t know where it’s all going to go, but each day, we’re hearing about people who have been let go, and the impact that’s going to have on our community, it’s going to have on our schools,” Jawando said. “We have a very robust private school network here, tens of thousands of students, and it’s a big part of our infrastructure. Some people aren’t going to be able to afford that come September.”
Councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large) asked for the Planning Department to compile updated data for the council on the “economic reality” of downtown Bethesda.
“How much productivity is generated from downtown Bethesda in terms of economic activity, right? Because we have to have that conversation as well as we’re focused on today’s concerns about the federal workforce,” Glass said. “One of the ways we combat that is by creating new economic opportunities here at home.”
A public hearing on the proposed ZTA is scheduled for April 1.
Bethesda Today reporter Elia Griffin contributed to this report.
