The Montgomery County Council unanimously voted Tuesday to amend the Bethesda Downtown Minor Master plan, including the removal of an existing cap on development.
The new development allowed under the amended plan is expected to generate approximately $39 million in annual tax revenue for the county, according to a council staff report.
The changes had been recommended by the county Planning Board, whose draft of the Bethesda Minor Master Plan Amendment updates the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan. The plan is 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.
The minor master plan amendments provide 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 county Planning Department’s website.
In addition to removing the development cap, the amendments 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.
Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1), who represents Bethesda, said Tuesday prior to the council’s vote that he believes the changes will benefit the entire county economically and by providing new amenities.
“This update contains many things that will improve the quality of life for residents and implement the vision of the 2017 plan,” Friedson said. “I’m very pleased that these changes will help us fulfill the public sector promises that were made to the community in the 2017 plan.”
According to Friedson, more than 2,500 new residents have moved to the downtown Bethesda area and more than 4,200 jobs have come to the area since the adoption of the 2017 plan.
The Planning Board and Planning Department also praised the passage of the amended plan in a press release Tuesday.
“Removing the development cap gives downtown Bethesda the opportunity to strengthen its status as an economic engine in Maryland and the D.C. region,” Montgomery Planning Director Jason Sartori said in the release. “This update to the 2017 Plan makes necessary adjustments that will improve predictability in the real estate development market and accelerate progress toward delivering the community more public benefits and amenities like new downtown parks, a recreation center, and more affordable housing options.”
Why remove the cap?
In June 2023, county planners began the process of amending the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan.
That 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.
According to Montgomery Planning, the plan’s 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 downtown Bethesda.
“This plan amendment creates the conditions for downtown Bethesda to remain Montgomery County’s crown jewel of economic vitality in the decades ahead and to meet growing demands for housing, jobs, and parks,” Planning Board Chair Artie Harris said in the department press release.
