On a gorgeous early summer day, Council President Gabe Albornoz met with a number of MoCo's wonderful women and BIPOC producers. Five of the producers that joined the gathering have successfully found land through our Land Link program. Abundant Dodo Farms was the backdrop for a conversation that fostered a real sense of uplift and common purpose.  
We are  so deeply grateful to everyone for their time and energy as we collaborate to build a robust and equitable local food system. 
Thanks to Wib Middleton of Plenty Magazine for photos. Please peruse the videos below. 

In Attendance: 
Tope Fajingbesi  and Niyi Balogun- Dodo Farms, Brookville
Tanya Spandhla, Passion to Seed Farm and MCA board member, Brookville
Nia Nyamweya - Beauty Blooms Farm, Barnesville
Indu Balasubramaniam, Vijay and Suriya Kandaswamy  - Amaranth Acres, Dickerson 
Truphena Choti - Afrithrive Farm, Poolesville
Nazirahk Amen - Purple Mountain Organics
Amanda Cather - Plow & Stars Farm, Poolesville - American Farmland Trust
Lee Langstaff - Shepherd's Hey Farm, Comus - MCA board president
Jane Thery - Maryland Horse Council Stewardship Committee, boards at Wyndham Oaks
Marci Guramatunhu - Chirandu Farm, Barnesville
Anne Davies - Stone Field Farm, Boyds, MCA board
Laura Van Etten - Monocacy Mills Farm, Dickerson 
Mohammed Iqbal Khan - Neelamga, Potomac 
Jane Perini and Wib Middleton - PLENTY Magazine, Darnestown
Caroline Taylor - Poolesville, MCA

​Here's What We Discussed:
- appreciation for the Agricultural Reserve (of course)
- good news of growing diversity of producers and products notably culturally relevant foods
-the many layered contributions of agriculture, notably by BIPOC and women producers with emphasis on meeting food insecurity 
- farming, to exist and expand here, must be profitable 
- Ag Census data (handout) that underscores diversity within ag sector
-Equestrian: Over 12,000 horses, 111 licensed stables including therapeutic riding, kid’s lessons, trails and horse operations on county land like Meadowbrook, Wheaton Stables and Potomac Stables. Great environmental stewards with grasslands, woodlots and wildlife habitat. Outdoor recreation and economic drivers with employment and many related services from hay to farriers to fence builders. 

Challenges and potential solutions:

-Access to affordable land and resources such as fencing/wells/power/equipment 
-labor shortages as well as absence of critical farm labor housing proximate to farms
-equitable access to capital cited as ongoing challenge
-establish in-county processing centers for protein/produce - this has become big issue
-provide clear resources to navigate various requirements for farm start ups and better facilitate approval for farm labor housing units 
-inclusion: gaining a place at the table where decision making occurs
-educating consumers about local farms/products/challenges/opportunities (I.e. support for local media such as PLENTY magazine)
-Community land trusts/ incubators and building equity and opportunities for BIPOC/women producers to own land and long-term farm leases for small-scale producers 
-For labor: facilitate connection with immigrants and under employed with ag backgrounds/ interests 

 Thanks to the farmers and Councilmember Albornoz for their time. We here at MCA are committed to dig in on these important issues. 

It is a big election year in Maryland and Montgomery County. With a shake-up in districts for state and local representation it's more important than ever to look over your candidate choices. MCA has once again posed the tough questions to the 100+ candidates seeking to lead MoCo and Maryland in the coming years. ​As a 501c3 nonprofit - MCA can not endorse but we seek to provide information on where the candidates stand. 
Below are the unedited questionnaires received from each candidate who returned them by the deadline, we are grateful to those who took the time in the busy election season. We realize we are one of many outlets asking for the candidate's views. Scroll to the bottom to get even more info on candidate positions from state and local groups. 
Find your sample ballot  with all candidates here.
Which District is yours? Take a look at the new district maps for County Council and State level offices. ​

More on the Candidate's Views

• The County Executive Green Forum Recording ( note: This forum was held before the filing deadline and as such does not include all candidates)
• The MoCo Food Council Food Questionnaire - lots of great questions about food security and the role of the Ag Reserve.
• Don't forget the Board of Education election. Our friends at League of Women Voters held a non-partisan virtual forum you can watch here. 

​Important resources:

• Voter registration information - Voter registration will close on June 28, 2022 for the 2022 Primary Election and on October 18, 2022 for the 2022 General Election.
• Early Voting Centers
• League of Women Voter Information

Key
Red - response submitted by the deadline
Black- No response received by the deadline
​* - incumbent

At-Large (Voters Will Choose up to 4 - represents entire county) 

• Gabe Albornoz*(D)
• Brandy Brooks (D)
• Dana Gassaway (D)
• Evan Glass* (D)
• Scott Goldberg (D)
• Tom Hucker* (D)
• Will Jawando* (D)
• Laurie-Anne Sayles (D)
• Chris Fiotes (R)
• Len Lieber (R)
• Dwight Patel (R)

 District 1 (Bethesda, most of Chevy Chase, Potomac, Travilah​) 

• Andrew Friedson* (D)

State Senate, District 9 (much of Howard County, part of northeastern Montgomery County)

• Katie Fry Hester* (D)
• Reid Novotny* (R)

State Senate, District 14 (Laytonsville, Brookeville, Ashton, Fairland, Burtonsville)

• Collins Odongo (D)
• Craig Zucker* (D)
• Alex Bieber (R)

State Senate, District 15 (Barnesville, Darnestown, North Potomac, Travilah, parts of Clarksburg and Germantown)

• Brian Feldman* (D)
• David Wilson (R)

State Senate, District 16 (Bethesda, Cabin John, Potomac, North Bethesda)

• Susan Lee* (D)

State Senate, District 17 (Rockville, Gaithersburg)

• Cheryl Kagan* (D)
• Scott Gershman (R)

State Senate, District 18 (Chevy Chase, Kensington, parts of Wheaton) 

• Max Socol (D)
• Jeff Waldstreicher* (D)
• Missy Carr (R)

State Senate, District 19 (Derwood, Leisure World, Aspen Hill, Glenmont, parts of Wheaton)

• Ben Kramer* (D)
• David George Jeang (Green Party, general election only)
• Raul R. Ayala (R)
• Anita Mpambara Cox (R)

State Senate, District 20 (Silver Spring, Takoma Park, White Oak)

• Enoch Bevel (D)
• Will Smith* (D)

State Senate, District 39 (Montgomery Village, parts of Germantown)

• Adam Alphaeus Cunningham (D)
• Nancy King* (D)

State delegate, District 9A 

• Steven Bolen (D)
• Chao Wu (D)
• Natalie Zeigler (D)
• Trent Kittleman* (R)
• Saif Rehman (R)
• Jianning Jenny Zeng (R)

State delegate, District 14 

• Joshua Dowling (D)
• Anne Kaiser* (D)
• Eric Luedtke* (D)
• Pamela Queen* (D)
• Tom Smith (D)
• Kathy Gugulis (R)
• Kate Walshe (R)

State delegate, District 15

• Saqib Ali (D)
• Linda Foley* (D)
• David Fraser-Hidalgo* (D)
• Lily Qi* (D)
• Jodi Colella Noah (R)
• Stacey Sauter (R)
• Matt Wade (R)

State delegate, District 16

• Ariana Kelly* (D)​
• Marc Korman*(D)
• Sara Love* (D)

State delegate, District 17

• Kumar Barve* (D)
• Julie Palakovich Carr* (D)
• Joe De Maria (D)
• Joe Vogel (D)
• Donald “DP” Patti (R)

State delegate, District 18

• Emily Shetty* (D)
• Jared Solomon* (D)
• Aaron Kaufman (D)
• George M. Cecala (R)

State delegate, District 19

• Charlotte Crutchfield* (D)
• Bonnie Cullison* (D)
• Augustin Esquivar Saah (D)
• Vaughn Stewart* (D)
• Frank Nice (R)

State delegate, District 20

• Lorig Charkoudian* (D)
• David Moon* (D)
• John Walsh (D)
• Jheanelle Wilkins* (D)

State delegate, District 39

• Gabriel Acevero* (D)
• Lesley Lopez* (D)
• Kirill Reznik* (D)
• Clint Sobratti (D)

Protect & Preserve THE SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN AREA

The Frederick County Planning Commission is debating this master plan.
Show up and Speak up at the Public Hearing 

On the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan 
Wednesday, May 18 
Winchester Hall, 6 pm

Over the last 2 years the master plan, that will determine the future of our beautiful mountain, the small communities and the surrounding farmland, has been redesigned and under heated debate. The 176-page management and zoning plan for the almost 18,000 acres includes Sugarloaf mountain and surrounding communities, adjacent to Montgomery County’s 93,000 acre Agricultural Reserve.  

The Planning Commission will listen to testimony, debate and make a decision before sending it to the state for a 60 day review period.  It is important for all of us that care about this treasured landscape, to attend the hearing in person at Winchester Hall, 12 East Church Street in downtown Frederick. The Public Hearing will also live streamed as well, at FrederickCountyMD.gov/FCGTV.  You can call comments in at 1-855-925-2801 (Meeting Code 9006).   

We know that the developers who don’t want the natural resource protections contained in the “Rural Heritage Overlay Zone” will show up. The plan’s overall aim is to preserve and protect the rural and agriculture-focused landscape in question—without exemptions for developers or Stronghold, Inc. the Board that owns and operates Sugarloaf Mountain.     

Questions in the community:
What are the benefits of the Sugarloaf Plan and Overlay Zoning District?  
The Plan’s intent is to protect the area’s beautiful woodlands and waterways, farms and historic sites, preserving the rural nature of southern Frederick County on the west side of I-270.
What about my property rights? Will the Plan and Overlay limit what I am able to do with my property?

The Plan largely maintains the rural environment as we enjoy it today and ensures that any changes to the area’s land uses reflect a higher standard of environmental protection through the Overlay Zoning District. 

• The Overlay does not change most current zoning for residential, agricultural or conservation property within the Plan area.
• The Plan includes an updated list of restricted or prohibited uses, including - for example - “shooting range” and “industrial waste landfill.”
• The Plan’s timber harvest section mirrors the State’s requirements.
• The Overlay adds environmental protection requirements for subdivision and site development plans, including proposals and building sizes for large, non-agricultural developments. 

You can testify for 3 minutes, to explain why this treasured landscape should be preserved.  Written comments are being received at: planningcommission@frederickcountymd.gov

See more details at SCA’s website or download the attached PDF.   Frederick County’s website for the plan is here.   
https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/8046/Sugarloaf-Area-Plan
​

Background on this plan:

• FredCo Sugarloaf Region Plan Moves to the County Council - Still Needs Support (maps of protection area)
• FredCo Planning Commission Holds the Line on Carve Outs allowing development in Sugarloaf Protection Area

MCA has been so proud to be invited to work with the FRSAN -NE (Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network) chapter as part of the new farmer/land access cohort - a project run by the National Young Farmers Coalition bringing farmers and farm service providers together to tackle some of the root causes of farmer stress.
Finding and maintaining land to farm is a constant stressor in a farming career. Toward the end of last year MCA staff partnered with farmers and farm service providers in the cohort to create a decision tool to help new farmers consider different ways of accessing land besides just the typical rent/buy dichotomy. The cohort was particularly interested in sharing newer solutions for group farm tenure that are becoming more common like farm incubators or land trusts. Pooling your resources with like minded farmers can help you get farming faster. 
Land for Good is the clearing house for the new toolkit, just one in a treasure trove of resources they offer to farmers and landowners seeking to access and secure land. 
We'd love to hear your experiences with this tool - kristina@mocoalliance.org 

Check out the tool here

You can speak for the trees of MoCo - the Council will be working on the Forest Conservation Law in the coming weeks. We need no-net-loss and also a net gain of forests. To make this provision as strong as oak the Council needs to hear from you. 

You can contact the council with this online form. 

The Montgomery County council changed the voting districts last year and this July's primary  (July 19th in fact) will be the first test of the new lines. If you'd like to dig into the interactive map of both new and old council districts, and enter your address to find your district click here. 

Who currently represents each (old) district?

This year, voters will be picking up to 4 at-large councilmembers and one councilmember from their district plus casting a vote for County Executive.

Here at MCA we are committed to getting voters the information they need to be engaged residents. We've just sent out a candidate's questionnaire to all the 100+ candidates running to represent MoCo both locally and in Annapolis. Those un-edited responses will be posted in mid-May. We were proud to be part of the Green Forum for County Exec candidates - catch up on that recording here. 

 Look up your sample ballot for all local and state races here.

Below: The old districts are in red overlaying the new district map in color with white numbers. Note the Western Reserve is now one district (2 - in blue) The eastern district is now all in a newly created district 7 (orange). 

There has been a district shakeup at the state level as well. You can interact with the final state level map here to find your district. Note the big change is district 9a now reaching over the Howard county line to cover the northern tip of Montgomery County west of 270.

The question was raised in the County Executive Green Forum ​- what actually grows in the Ag Reserve? Quite a lot! Here is our attempt to cram all the fruit, vegetables, livestock, herbs, dairy, fiber, spirits, partnership, resilience and joy that grows in the Reserve in just 2 minutes. (Rather just the dry data? We digest the most recent Ag Census results for the county here) 

But Wait! There is even more! There is a misconception that commodity crops grown in the Reserve are somehow "not food." Check out what happens to all that winter wheat. 

What are the candidates' views on the highest and best use of our protected farmland? Stay tuned for the results of our candidates' questionnaire in the coming weeks!

If you are itching to get outside this spring, look no further than the Ag Reserve - which besides the typical recreation opportunities has some farms offering open houses and plant sales at the start of the season plus art and the promise of cherries and berries soon (did we miss your event? Kristina@mocoalliance.org) 

Check out some Art!
April 22-24 Countryside Artisans are hosting their spring open studio tour - a self guided driving tour of the artisans that call the Reserve home. ​Offerings include paintings, blown glass, pottery, natural fiber arts, sculpture, woodworking and more. 

Our thanks to all those that worked to make the County Executive Green Forum a robust discussion of our County's pressing issues.
Thanks to our Partners: Conservation Montgomery, Sugarloaf Citizens Association,  One Montgomery Green, Rock Creek Conservancy, Audubon Naturalist Society, Friends of Ten Mile Creek, and the Storm Water Partners Network. 
Thanks to the candidates and our moderator Kathleen Matthews.
Thanks to Sylvia Tognetti for keeping time and Caren Madsen for her warm welcome. 
And thanks to all that were able to join both in person and online. In case you missed it the recorded forum is below: 

On the chat there were some questions about what is grown in the Reserve, the data from the most recent Ag Census for the county can be found here. 

​With the change in the election calendar we have delayed sending out our candidate's questionnaire as in past years. The filing deadline for candidates has been pushed to April 15, we will release our questionnaire to all active local candidates soon after and publish their unedited answers a few weeks later. In the mean time, your sample ballot can be found here. 

Montgomery County has committed to reducing the waste residents send to the landfill. Decreased waste will also allow the Waste to Energy incinerator in Dickerson to close.  A study by the county in 2018 showed that 21% of solid waste going to the landfill from County residents is food scraps. Channeling this food waste to compost will greatly reduce the need for incineration or more and more landfill space. Not everyone has the space to compost at their home or business. Enter startup businesses like Compost Crew who gather food scraps and turn it into soil through large scale composting. Compost Crew has come to our Land Link program in search of local land where they can compost gathered food scraps. 

To learn more about this opportunity (or any of the other land link listings)  email landlink@mocoalliance.org

Your Action Mattered! Thanks to the many hundreds that wrote in to the County Executive and Council in support of proper staffing levels for the County's Office of Agriculture. The funding made it into the County Executive's budget and is expected to remain there in the Council's budget.  We received the thank you note below from Office of Ag staff. We look forward to working with the OAG on even more proactive projects to support local farmers, the food system and rural lands. Thank You!

"​The Office of Agriculture and its staff would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to you both and to the Montgomery Countryside Alliance Membership.
We were pleasantly surprised to learn of the letter writing campaign you initiated in support of our office and were elated by the extent and outpouring of letters received by the County Executive requesting that he provide much needed resources to our office. The MCA campaign was a success – the CE included one position for the Office of Ag and one position for the Soil Conservation District in his FY23 recommended budget.
MCA and its members recognize and appreciate the County’s agricultural heritage and understand the vital role that it continues to play in terms of climate change, food and fiber production and quality of life for all county residents.
We are thankful for your leadership and for your members standing with us to ensure that our office has the resources it needs to support the rural community and the ag industry in Montgomery County. We look forward to continuing our partnership on ag initiatives for years to come."

"Like life, liberty and democracy, clean water is not something we can take for granted."
~ Scott Fosler, keynote address at  Regional Water Forum 2017 (transcript of keynote)

Ag Reserve architect and former planning Chair Royce Hanson recalls, "Scott was present and accounted for at the creation of the Agricultural Reserve. As president of the Montgomery County Council in 1980, he cast one of the five votes for adoption of the functional master plan for Preservation of Agriculture and Rural Open Space and the zoning map amendment that applied the Rural Density Transfer Zone, creating what became the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve. He played a critical role in the establishment of Little Seneca Lake as part of the emergency water supply system and in negotiation of the 1983 Low Flow Agreement governing regional water usage in drought emergencies. These interconnected interests as a council member continued in his role as a civic activist and mayor of the Town of Chevy Chase. He understood and promoted the value of the Reserve for the quality of life for whole county and as an example for the nation and put his passion for conservation to work, serving as vice-chair of the Montgomery County Ad Hoc Agricultural Policy Working Group, and as a member of the boards of the Montgomery Countryside Alliance and Friends of Ten Mile Creek, as well a board president of the Audubon Society. An exemplar of Montgomery County citizenship, Scott brought insight from his his broad national and international experience, his professional expertise and skills to the service of his community."

 MCA Board Chair Mike Rubin remarks, "Scott was one of a small group who not only helped create the Agricultural Reserve but fought to see that it survived. He was a voice of reason over many years. His legislative knowledge and conservation philosophy helped form policies that affected the preservation of the Reserve. 
He was always available for consultation and advice and an inspiration to me in my own efforts to play a part in the endeavor to assure the survival of this extraordinary creation. "

A remembrance in Maryland Matters

Great News from our Neighbor to the North - Kai Hagen, at large council member in Frederick County, shared the following on March 2:

"Much more later, no doubt...but I am thrilled to share a quick, "hot off the press" announcement that, in the last hour, the Frederick County Planning Commission made a couple of decisions and approved the draft of the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan...WITH the expansion of the planning area in both of the areas (see the photo below) that were the subject of so much attention the last few months, AND with the application of the conservation  district (overlay zone) over the entire area.

The approved draft will now go to:

1) The Maryland Department of Planning for a 60 day review, and...

2) The Frederick County Council

... simultaneously. In other words, the council can and will begin its review of the draft while it is also undergoing the state review.

Let me be as clear as I can be: This is a great plan! Before the recent changes (to expand the planning area and overlay district) it was already a great plan that happened to have a couple of flaws...that have now been fixed, so far, in my opinion.

The final word on this will be determined by four (or more) members of the county council.

Kudos to the administration and staff, the members of the Planning Commission, and the many many individuals and organizations that have actively and effectively engaged in the process to date!

The full plan is here. 

More from the Sugarloaf Alliance

Background: 
Fredco Planning Holds the Line on Carve-Outs that would weaken the Sugarloaf Region Protection Plan
​Sugarloaf Area Zoning Changes in FredCo Cause Concern

MCA is proud to collaborate with partner organizations in the Montgomery County's Forest Coalition. Our main goal is for the county to reach “no net loss” and a “net gain” of forests by prioritizing the protection of forest ecosystems. 

Between 2008 and 2016, development in the County cleared 1,383 acres of forests – the 5th highest amount of forest cleared among all counties in Maryland.

It does not have to be this way - other local counties are in the process of strengthening their forest conservation plans. Frederick County just passed the states most protective forest laws in the state.

​Here in MoCo the MoCo Forest Coalition’s short-term goal is to have a new bill introduced by the end of March to update the Forest Conservation Law (FCL). The advocacy of the coalition falls along the 10 top priorities of the coalition.  There are bright spots, the County has been making strides under the Reforest Montgomery program of the Planning department under Forest Conservation Planner Kristin Taddei - including a partnership with our Re-Leaf the Reserve program. Here is an in depth look at forest conservation laws already on the books in MoCo from Conservationo Montgomery. 

Take Action: Visit our partners at Audubon Naturalist Society  to learn more and add your name as an individual or organization to strengthen this law. ​

More:

• Love Forests? Check out Re-Leaf the Reserve  - our program to plant forever forests along stream buffers in the Ag Reserve. 
• How Forests share resources like a community 

MCA received a letter from the MC Civic Federation calling for a return of funding this important position.
You can also take a moment to make your voice heard: 
Emails can be brief:
To:
County.Council@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov
Marlene.Michaelson@montgomerycountymd.gov
(and please bcc: info@mocoalliance.org)
I call for return of the People’s Counsel. This is about good governance.

Here is our note sent today:
Fund the Office of the People's Counsel - FY 2023 Operating Budget
​
Dear County Executive Elrich,
There are compelling reasons to include this in the FY 2023 budget as cited in a strong letter sent to your office yesterday from MCCF. Chief among the reasons listed:
“Furthermore, the County Code requires that prior to introduction, any proposed Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) be reviewed by a ZTA Advisory Group that includes the OPC. One of the reasons often cited by the Planning Department for the complete rewrite of the County's Zoning Ordinance (which was a seven year process) was to discourage the use of Zoning Text Amendments that bypass the master planning and land use public processes. However, since the Zoning Rewrite was adopted, there have been over 100 ZTAs proposed by a small number of Councilmembers. All of the ZTAs were proposed without the benefit of the OPC review.”
The call for return of the People’s Counsel is not new. I had, for example, included it in this 2019 piece in Maryland Matters

In truth, if looking at this from purely a dollars cost, the reestablishment of the position will save much in governmental time and money spent churning over poorly conceived ZTAs etc.
Above all… this is about just and equitable governance.
Respectfully,
**********

Years of planning, many of them overshadowed by the pandemic, have led to the final stages of approval for the Thrive 2050 plan. The final plan before the Council clearly still has a number of major flaws that make it simply not ready for passage. In the worksession on February 15, the Council struck a thoughtful tone and agreed to expand outreach to reach wider populations on the plan as suggested by the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) when OLO staff found the plan not yet ready for the Racial Equity and Social Justice (RESJ) analysis required of all bills and ZTAs under consideration by the County. (An RESJ review is not required to approve a master plan but Council President Albornoz asked that one be done - a sound decision given the sweeping impacts and timeline of this plan). 

And so, the Council will conduct more outreach and work to amend the plan. Council President Albornoz said it would be passed in this current council session but also that there would be no artificial timeline as the plan was "too important to rush through". Councilmembers seemed committed to taking more time despite protestations from Planning Chair Casey Anderson that the plan as written was fine. Throughout the meeting Chair Anderson's spotty audio on the zoom sounded like the echo chamber reflected in the Planning Board's approach to policy making, producing slides of the many civic groups who approve of Thrive. Councilmember Katz responded by asking where the slide was of all the many civic organizations that still have serious concerns. "People need to be comfortable that we are listening to all sides, " he said. (Video snippet of CM Katz's comments here) 

So- the Councilmembers are listening, Thrive will get the careful review it clearly needs. What should change to make this plan one that brings Montgomery County forward? 

MCA along with our partners have been advocating for a number of changes to Thrive through this process. It is time to pare down and simplify the the changes. 

The following are a selection of some of the common-sense changes that the Council must make in order to improve the Thrive document. This is only a partial list of key changes that are needed to make this document behave like a general plan should. We must re-integrate items from the working draft written by planning staff informed by hours of public comment that were inexplicably stripped from the draft sent to the Council. While the first draft plan was not perfect, it contained the action items necessary to address critical issues needed to protect our environment and move our County forward. 

Read on for the background on the changes we propose, and take action before work sessions begin on March 1st. 

1. Comprehensively Address Concerns Raised by the Office of Legislative Oversight's (OLO) Racial Equity and Social Justice review (RESJ)
In 2019 the Council established a process of racial equity and social justice (RESJ) analysis for each proposed legislative item submitted for council approval. In undertaking the RESJ analysis for Thrive 2050, the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) has identified ways that the Thrive plan must be edited before a proper RESJ analysis can take place. The full report from the OLO from 2/11/22 is here and is worth a full read. Video of Dr. Bonner Tomkins going over the memo at the Council worksession gave a great background on how equity must be built into plans from the beginning, not- as some proponents of the current plan have been saying- added to this otherwise incomplete plan by amendment.  Some highlights of the OLO's improvement recommendations: 

• Better engaging community members of color and low income residents on Thrive deliberations. (As reported, Councilmember and PHED member Will Jawando among others felt a number of important communities of color were not consulted, neither were residents of the Upcounty's historic Freeman's communities, despite public testimony  urging this outreach in 2020.)
• Specifically returning deleted chapters from the working draft, identifying the current draft as a "amalgam of aspirations, goals, policies and practices that do not follow a consistent format." The report says that the final draft lacks the detail of the working draft that would make the in-depth analysis the OLO is charged with even possible. 
• -Adding chapters that specifically detail the racial equity and social justice problems the plan seeks to solve - along with metrics for the baseline that can then be improved by the plan. 
• Thrive needs to prioritize not just economic development but equitable economic development and utilize the RESJ tools created by the county to analyze the plan as it is re-written to make sure it is hitting these crucial points. 

Analysis of this report from Seventh State is here. 

2.  A Return of the Removed Environmental/Climate/Agriculture Chapters
The first draft of Thrive released for public comment in October 2020 better resembled other general plan amendments from neighboring municipalities. It set goals for water protection, climate resilience, forest protection and more common-sense goals that help Montgomery County achieve all it's other stated goals, particularly those of the Climate Action Plan. Once public comment was received on this working draft, entire chapters and sections on environmental, food system and climate resiliency were completely stripped from the draft and relegated to a list of suggestions in a non-binding appendix to the plan that Planning Chair Casey Anderson in his conveying letter made clear were not part of the main document.  A plan for the future with many environmental goals on the cutting room floor. One would ask, who asked for these chapters to be removed and to what end? Proponents of the deficient current draft insist that the environmental chapter content is woven throughout the plan. The word counts between drafts quantify a different story. The current stripped down plan has fewer action items and is less focused on equity and environmental protection. Of particular concern - no meaningful mention of the Potomac River and other water resources. Our partners at the Agricultural Advisory Committee also saw the sections on the Ag Reserve they worked with Planning Staff to carefully craft completely stripped from the draft (as detailed in a letter to the Council here). 

We heard a proponent of the current draft say, "Well, the environment chapters of Thrive were taken out as it is more of a housing plan." This is a stunning misunderstanding of the process. Thrive is not a housing plan - it is an update to the general plan and needs to tackle all topics. 

Check out the table of contents of Thrive compared to the 1993 Master Plan update and more recent APA award winning plans from cities as varied as Plano, TX, Richmond, VA, Oklahoma City and the Hawaiian county of Kaua'i along with recent plans from our surrounding counties closer to home. Something they share: robust environment and economy chapters in the main document. These are critical pieces that Thrive also must have.  The OLO had identified the Portland, OR general plan as a template for that city's thoughtful chapters on equity - another standalone chapter Thrive must have. 

3. Return of Master Plan language to the Main Thrive Document
While perhaps a wonky sounding request at first - the implications are serious. The staff-created working draft included the following: 

"Many of Thrive Montgomery 2050's recommendations cannot be implemented with a one-size-fits-all approach. Area master plans will help refine Thrive Montgomery 2050 recommendations and implement them at a scale tailored to specific neighborhoods."

Like so much of the plan - this part was stripped in the final draft.
This deleted language was a good start but alone is not sufficient; it needs to be restored to Thrive, along with the following essential text:
"Before any zoning changes implementing Thrive are approved, Montgomery County Planning Department will:

+ Establish Community Advisory Groups for all potentially affected communities to facilitate citizen input concerning the specific details of those proposed zoning changes;

+ Mandate that all proposed rezoning allowing development of multi-family housing types in single-family neighborhoods and in other zones including the Agricultural Reserve Zone, use the traditional master and sector plan processes, in order to increase public support and avoid harming the very communities that Thrive intends to help."
​
Without this language it is not clear that Thrive won't supersede the local area master plans that control land use that protects farms, forests, water resources, historic assets etc. This is a particular problem in the Ag Reserve - the protection of which is underpinned by carefully crafted zoning and local master plans. Every other facet of County planning, be it the Climate Action Plan, re-forestation efforts, farm protection and food system strengthening becomes more difficult when these efforts are not tacitly supported in the master plan. 
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4. Fully Explore The Ramifications of Residential Upzoning on Both Equity and Environmental Quality
 If Thrive is mostly concerned with housing policy, it needs to examine the strategies it employs. Upzoning is changing the zoning for a particular area to allow for more mixed-use denser development in areas and more multi-family homes where currently only single family homes are allowed. This part of Thrive has proved the most controversial as residents who agree that affordable housing is a critical need but disagree about how to achieve it have been verbally attacked (and threatened with worse), a climate that has stifled open discussion.  Luckily Thrive 2050 is not the first plan to consider broadly setting the stage to apply upzoning as a land use tool. In 2018 Minneapolis applied upzoning city-wide, along with parts of New York City, Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. Since then, the data has come back  and "Use Upzoning Sparingly" is the consensus. In Minneapolis, low income advocates have seen upzoning have little impact on affordable housing seekers but big benefits to developers.  

“While I totally agree that single family zoning is by its nature part of our country’s history of racial segregation and exclusionary housing policy, it’s more nuanced and just eliminating it does not, in fact, actually repair the harms of it. If you just undo that but leave everything else the same, the research is laying out what we know to be true—the same winners and losers in the current market will win and lose based on this.” -Will Delaney, associate director of Hope Community, Inc., a neighborhood group based Mineapolis' Phillips Community (In NextCity)

In short, upzoning should not be applied as a blunt instrument. Without strong policies to ensure the resulting new density is kept affordable, upzoning can instead harm the low income people it was meant to house. Upzoning is also not compatible with all areas of the county.  When upzoning is seen myopically as a panacea for affordable housing, you end up with provisions in Thrive like the section that identifies Darnestown (and other rural places) as a "growth area" when these areas  are on well and septic by design - not the ideal place for concentrated compact development.
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The OLO Racial Equity and Social Justice recommendations also apply to upzoning in that the OLO has asked for more detail on how the policies of the plan will directly impact people of color and low income residents and the plan as written fails to quantify this and many other points. 

Much more on this: 
‘Build More Housing’ Is No Match for Inequality (Bloomberg CityLab)
Minneapolis' Vice Planning Chair on "Minneapolis’s Residential Upzoning Risks Unintended Consequences" (Planning Report)

In the background of Thrive's final approval process is a reckoning on the continuing disregard for public participation and transparency shown by the MoCo planning board, prompting a letter from Council President Albornoz to the Board calling for improved operations.  Albornoz wrote: ​“Taken together, it creates an impression that the Planning Board’s procedures are lacking in transparency and public participation.” An undertaking as consequential as Thrive 2050 must have transparency and trust at the center. However, in the Chair's own words, that trust is not necessary.

There is still time to make Thrive 2050 a general plan that can properly guide the county in the coming decades. Take action here before the Council begins deliberations on March 1.

Maryland Matters ran an op-ed from our talented board member Diana Conway, also immediate past president of the MoCo Women's Democratic Club. 
Some snippets: 
"The option for remote participation was an extraordinary expansion of democracy. What a civic gift.
This new window into how our government works, and how our elected, publicly-funded officials carry out the people’s business is the best civics course of all.
Virtual participation and observation also let students and working parents and mobility-limited residents, all be ACTIVE participants in our state’s democratic governance.
So let’s not go back to the “Only paid-lobbyists need apply” model. Please don’t go back to the model of requiring people to drive to Annapolis and cool their heels for hours waiting to testify for two minutes."

When ZTA 20-01 passed in winter 2020, the provision balanced large scale solar generation with viable farms. Among the changes - farms can now install solar arrays generating up to 200% of their use (up from 120%) as well as larger arrays to provide community solar.  Office of Agriculture has compiled the specific stipulations for solar on farms. But you may  have specific questions as to whether new opportunities for solar generation make sense for your farm, but may not know where to start- we are here to help.

MCA is teaming up with the Montgomery County Green Bank and County's Office of Agriculture to help you navigate decisions on solar installation. This is our second in a series of three webinars covering solar installation for different types of residences. Be sure to pick the webinar that best applies to you:

• Our first webinar back in May covered solar installations on single family residences and businesses. 
• This session covers solar generation as an accessory use on farms. 
• The third webinar, date TBD, will cover the provisions for large scale community solar. 

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Farms looking for an in-depth look at community solar information, stay tuned for a future webinar focused exclusively on this topic.