Hope you and your families had a lovely 4^th of July! In addition to this eventful week, last month, I joined multiple Juneteenth celebrations around the County, the largest of which was in Scotland. Glen Echo also had a week-long festival highlighting local African American history concluding with the Festival of Freedom that commemorated the desegregation of the former Glen Echo Amusement Park in 1960. I am glad I was able to join these events as well as the County’s Juneteenth Celebration at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown and the Kensington Juneteenth celebration. For those interested in visiting our County’s African American heritage sites, such as those whom I met participating in the Washington Informer 11th Annual African American Heritage Tour, here is our County’s list of sites.

The County also continued its efforts over the Juneteenth weekend to honor distinguished individuals who are living legends in the County and who have helped shape the cultural heritage of the African American community. This year’s awardees can be found here.

As Frederick Douglas said, “We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future...Your fathers have lived, died, and you must do your work." Whether it is through events connected to historic days like Juneteenth, visiting our local heritage sites, or in reading materials that help illuminate this serious topic, we can absorb the lessons from the past to better face our challenges today and in the future. 

Anti-Hate Task Force

We must actively combat the scourge of antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and racism and all forms of bigotry. Last year, Montgomery County Police reported a record-high 157 bias-related incidents and this increase we are seeing is deeply concerning. We are called to do more to ensure residents feel safe and welcome in our community. Last week, the County Council launched a Montgomery County Anti-Hate Task Force which I was proud to co-sponsor. Over the next few months, this group will recommend policies to the Council to target the rising tide of hate-based incidents. You can find more details here, including the task force members that have been chosen. This new panel mirrors legislation passed by state lawmakers establishing the permanent creation of the Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention. If you or someone you know has experienced a hate incident, take a look at this pamphlet and please report the incident to the police.

Expediting Affordable Housing

Sample of a Future High-Rise Building with Affordable Housing Units

We need more affordable housing, now. The current time it takes from development plans being submitted, to groundbreaking, is too long to meet our housing needs. That is not acceptable and so I worked with Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles to introduce zoning changes to expedite Montgomery County’s site plan approval times by approximately 75 percent for new affordable housing projects. These affordable mixed-income projects would be required to include 50 percent Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) or 30 percent affordable units, with a specific portion of these units being deeply affordable.

This exciting Zoning Text Amendment is modeled after ZTA 21-09, which I authored to dramatically accelerate the regulatory review process for new biohealth priority campuses. The ZTA builds off this innovative concept by allowing the same expedited timeline for qualifying affordable housing projects so we can green-tape these much-needed projects and help move us to closer to our local and regional goals.

New Pedestrian Signal at East-West Highway and Edgevale

Aerial View of the Intersection

After years of advocacy by the Town of Chevy Chase, the District 18 Delegation, and my office working with MDOT SHA and MCDOT, I’m pleased to announce that the State Highway Administration (SHA) will install a new traffic signal at the intersection of East-West Highway and Edgevale Street/Maple Avenue. MDOT SHA is currently in the process of designing the traffic signal system and will share the proposed design with the community later this fall.

In addition to a full-color traffic signal, the project will include a marked crossing on the north, south, and west side across all roadways with accessible, countdown pedestrian signals activated by push buttons. The system will significantly improve pedestrian safety at this busy location along a four-lane major arterial route used by approximately 20,000 vehicles each day. The closest existing protected pedestrian crossing is 1,500 feet away at the intersection with Connecticut Avenue yet East-West Highway has many bus stops that pedestrians must be able to access safely. The news of the forthcoming design and installation of this system is an especially important development for the community because it will provide a safe route to school for students walking to and from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School who use the recently reopened Sleaford Road underpass.

New Ride On Bus ‘Courtesy Stop’ Program

An Image with a Bus and Short Program Details

As of this week, County Ride On bus riders traveling after 9:00 PM will be able to request a drop off between stops when traveling late at night. This will help riders to get to their destination safely and easily when traveling after dark. The requested stop must be along the regular bus route, and cannot be at an intersection, along a highway or freeway. With WMATA buses also participating, riders can take advantage of these nighttime options when traveling by bus anywhere in the County.

More details about the Ride On program can be found on the MCDOT Courtesy Stop webpage.

Community Grants Applications Now Open

The Office of Grants Management is soliciting grant applications for the County’s FY 2024 Community Grants Program from qualified nonprofit organizations providing direct services to or advocacy for Montgomery County community members. $5.75 million is available for unique, innovative programs to cover special community needs that are not otherwise addressed by other County funding or efforts. The performance period of these grant awards will be from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024. More information can be found in the posted Notice of Funding Opportunity.

Key Dates:

• MS Teams Live Virtual Information Session: July 6, 2023 from 1:30 to 3:00 PM (click here to join the event or to view a recording of the event afterwards).
• Application Closes:  Sunday August 6, 2023 at 11:59 PM

Questions about the application process can be directed to Ali Hoy, Outgoing Grants Program Manager of the Office of Grants Management, by calling 240-773-3384 or emailing ali.hoy@montgomerycountymd.gov

Introducing Our Summer College Interns

Constituent Services

I encourage residents to continue to engage with my office on issues of importance to our community. We appreciate your patience and understanding as our small but mighty team works to respond to your inquiries. Please continue to engage with us by email, visiting our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages, and subscribing to our newsletter.