MCA stands with our colleagues in Frederick working towards transparency and public process as they endeavor to find out why a 500 acre area has been left out of the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan section of the larger Master Plan revision for some as yet unspecified development. A Public Information Request has been filed by Envision Frederick. 
As you can see above - the 500 acre carve out is west of 270 - the highway has historically the defining eastern border of the Sugarloaf planning zone  just as the Monocacy River difines the zone to the west.
​ 
More Background here from Kai Hagen, former County Commissioner in a piece titled "Hold the Line"

Frederick News Post (8/23): "Frederick County residents voice concerns with Sugarloaf preservation plan"
​Op-Ed- Development Trumps Preservation in Sugarloaf Plan

Update: For the second time in as many weeks, the Planning Board has again taken up a developer requested proposal to weaken sound planning rules. All while the pandemic is stifling public participation. This time it is adequate school capacity- a metric that keeps new development at levels that will not overcrowd classrooms. A bitter irony as school officials are trying to find around 65 square feet per student to open safely under Covid regulations.  Please take action by 5pm on July 10th. 

​ Planning Board Breaks Promise to Protect Ten Mile Creek Watershed and our Back Up Drinking Water Supply With No Public Input-Take Action Now

Update: A coalition of civic organizations has again banded together to seek science based protections for the Ten Mile Creek watershed, the backup drinking water supply for 4.3 Million in the DC region. This draft proposed "Clean Water ZTA" has been transmitted to the Council in hopes that the critical minimum water quality protections promised in the 2014 Clarksburg Master Plan are not altered. 

MCA has joined 13 other local civic organizations to urge the Council to reject this ZTA. See the Letter Here. 

​Backstory:
In 2014 MCA, Audubon Naturalist Society and 30+ other local civic organizations partnered with local leaders to pass a Clarksburg Master Plan to guide development in Clarksburg while protecting fragile Ten Mile Creek - a pristine stream that is part of the backup water source for 4.3 Million in the DC region. This plan set hard limits on the amount of impervious surface allowed in the development near the creek based on water quality science.

Hard fought science based protections for Ten Mile creek are being eroded by the Planning Board and Developers: A cap on impervious (paved) surfaces was set as part of the Clarksburg Master Plan in 2014 but now the developers are coming back and asking that the cap not apply to the bike lanes they are required to build. In response, on March 26 the Montgomery County Planning Board voted to recommend that the County Council amend the Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) in order to exempt impervious surfaces of planned bikeways from the Ten Mile Creek protections. Scientists tell us that each addition of pavement to this sensitive watershed threatens both the quality of Ten Mile Creek, and the health of our region’s only nearby back-up drinking water supply, Little Seneca Reservoir.

Both the science based caps that limit runoff to the creek and the requirement for bike lanes to benefit local residents were established in 2014 by the County Council and Planning Board. Because Ten Mile Creek is a unique, high-quality stream and drinking water supply, the amount of runoff the stream can take remains unchanged and last we checked, water continues to run down hill. The caps on impervious surfaces must remain in force as well.


The choice is not between clean water and bike paths. We can, and must, have both. The mandate of the 2014 Clarksburg Master Plan Amendment set clear caps to protect the creek. Another mandate  was to install bike paths. Developers have known this from the very beginning, but are pushing back to increase their bottom line. We must insist that they achieve both goals while staying under the impervious cap.

In Montgomery County, we demand that development proposals honor Master Plan mandates especially regarding important environmental and community safeguards. There should be no end runs for developers. Any proposed weakening of these protective limits should be rejected.

Take a moment to add your name to a letter to the Council right here.

"The Common Ground Market" opened on June 12. Market Wrap-Up Here. A great time was had by all, hoping you can come back again every Second Sunday through October. The market is looking for more vendors- apply here.

The Press Release announcing the market debut is here.

Montgomery County Park's has kindly agreed to host the market at Owen's Park in Beallsville.  The new market represents the joyful fact that the number of small, diversified and sustainable family farms are growing in the Reserve. A number of the farms are owned/operated by women who have come to the Reserve to employ their craft. And now they are coming together to share their work with you and in the Reserve so that consumers can shop and experience this remarkable place. Licensed food trucks will be there too as well as some cute critters for kids to enjoy!

Website: thecommongroundmarket.com

​Supporting local farms and local food is the core of MCA's mission. Support Montgomery's Ag Reserve Donate Here.

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

by Caroline Taylor

by Caroline Taylor

by Caroline Taylor

by Caroline Taylor

No one explains how the Reserve came to be and what it is all about better than Royce Hanson... For anyone who has ever wanted to understand Transfer of Development Rights and, most importantly, the difficult path to the Reserve's creation. Watch and learn. Video and Power Point here.

by Caroline Taylor

The Ag Reserve is a big place, about 100,000 acres, and there is much to explore.  We will populate this post with as much as we can, when we can.  Shoot us an email with suggested additions: info@mocoalliance.org. If you just aren't sure what the Reserve is all about and what it has to offer, may we suggest checking out our film Growing Legacy? Our goal to to inspire exploration and consumerism of the wonderful places and goods the Reserve has going on.
2015 Montgomery County Farm Directory

by Caroline Taylor

by Kristina Bostick

Friends of Ten Mile Creek Board Member (and Audubon Naturalist Society Water Quality Monitoring Program Coordinator), Cathy Wiss, has produced a brilliant photo essay (Part 1 and Part 2)  detailing the short and long-term damage that would be caused by the sewer options that WSSC has proposed.

by Kristina Bostick

by Kristina Bostick

by Caroline Taylor

GROWING LEGACY - Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital
1:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 28

Presented with the inaugural Montgomery County GreenFest, a free event for all ages to enjoy while learning about going green.

GROWING LEGACY (USA, 2014, 30 min.) The most successful farm protection effort in the country is just 20 miles from the White House. This film profiles the challenges of growing food and cities in harmony. Directed by Mark Leisher and Caroline Taylor. Produced by Pat Ratkowski and Montgomery Countryside Alliance.

Panel discussion, moderated by Caroline Taylor, Executive Director, Montgomery Countryside Alliance, follows screening. Panelists: Anthony Cohen, President, The Menare Foundation; Tanya Spandhla, Participant, New Farmer Project, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development and Gene Kingsbury, Owner and Operator, and fifth generation farmer, Kingsbury Orchard, Dickerson, Md.

FREE. Reservations encouraged.

​Montgomery College (Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus), Cultural Arts Center, 2nd Floor Theater, 7995 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Md. (Metro: Silver Spring, then transfer to Ride On Bus Route 17 or 18.)

by Kristina Bostick

by Caroline Taylor

The Ag Reserve's promise grows with the success of new farm ventures.  Montgomery County's New Farm Program, now past the pilot point with a number of successful ventures launched, is ready for Round Two! The New Farmer Project provides mentoring and specialized business training like marketing, accounting, business planning and advanced sustainable farm practices. By matching new farmers with private land owners (with assistance from MCA's Land Link program) throughout the Agricultural Reserve, the program's participating farmers are singularly focused on growing their businesses instead of finding new real estate.