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News

Sugarloaf Area Zoning Changes in FredCo Cause Concern

8/25/2021

 
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click the photo to see it bigger
Good News Update- An Encouraging First Step
The Planning Commission has just voted that for purpose of discussion, the eastern boundary of the Sugarloaf Plan Overlay will be restored to the earlier boundary, i.e., running along the I-270 right-of-way - bringing the 500 acres carved out in the draft plan back under the protections being discussed for the Sugarloaf region. The Commission went further to say that any future cutout must be discussed openly.
The Frederick County Planning Commission has taken an encouraging step to restore confidence and ensure transparency going forward. Sugarloaf and the surrounding farms and open space are acutely important to the whole region and a legacy protection plan must represent that fact - offering strong protections in a transparent process.
Take 2 minutes to say thank you to the Planning Commission and encourage strong protections for the Sugarloaf region.
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.
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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"
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Op-Ed- Development Trumps Preservation in Sugarloaf Plan

Take Action: Planning Board Breaks Ten Mile Creek Protection Promise With No Public Input

5/19/2020

 
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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. 

Montgomery’s Planning Board, under the leadership of Chair Casey Anderson, voted to allow developers to increase impervious surfaces (concrete/asphalt) in the Ten Mile Creek Watershed in violation of the Master Plan. This vote was taken early during the Covid 19 quarantine shut down, with no public participation (an action criticized by the County Executive). We are grateful to Friends of Ten Mile Creek for alerting us to this issue.

Next the final vote will be taken by the County Council. Your action is needed to put this vote on hold until the Covid 19 pandemic is over to ensure full public participation. Further, urge the Council to reject this Zoning Text Amendment as a violation of the Ten Mile Creek Limited Master Plan Amendment and its main enforcement regulation – the caps on impervious surfaces in the Clarksburg Environmental Overlay Zones.
MCA has joined 13 other local civic organizations to urge the Council to reject this ZTA. See the Letter Here. 
Take Action
​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.

See background posts on Ten Mile Creek

Field and Fiddle July 23 - It's Baack!

7/1/2016

 

July 23 - 6pm - 1st day Montgomery County Farm Tour Weekend

After touring local farms and the Reserve - bring a blanket, an appetite and an ear to beautiful Linden Farm (thanks, Sugarloaf Citizen's Association!)

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2016 Ag Reserve Bike Tour

6/20/2016

 
by Kristina Bostick

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The Common Ground Market  Second Sundays in Beallsville

6/8/2016

 
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"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

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

Sewer vs. Septic - It's Complicated

5/5/2016

 
by Kristina Bostick
The pros and cons of public sewer treatment vs individual septic is a complicated subject. One thing is clear: Public sewer systems do leak and when they do, they leak big.

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CSA Spots Still Available - Who's Your Farmer? 

4/14/2016

 
by Kristina Bostick
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Source Food/Fiber Locally - How?

10/28/2015

 
by Caroline Taylor
We have been so pleased with the number of folks that want to ensure that they are supporting local agriculture. It isn't always easy to know where to start, we know, but well worth the effort.

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Mobile Ag Science Lab - Now At An Elementary School Near You!

8/25/2015

 
by Caroline Taylor
MCA is honored to be part of the Mobile Ag Science Lab effort with the Farm Bureau- every single MoCo elementary school will have a visit from this education resource on wheels. Read the press release below.
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Field and Fiddle: Oh, What a Night!

6/16/2015

 
by Caroline Taylor
​Saturday, July 25 was a day filled with farm tours, Native American festivities and Field & Fiddle to finish! Several hundred folks gathered at historic Button Farm to celebrate community and agriculture.  Afterall, as Wendell Berry wisely notes: "Eating is an agricultural act." And we did eat and we did celebrate
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Creating and Sustaining the Ag Reserve: Hanson Presentation 

4/4/2015

 
by Caroline Taylor
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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.

Buying and Exploring... Locally!

3/23/2015

 
by Caroline Taylor
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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: [email protected]. 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

Buying and Exploring... Locally!

3/23/2015

 
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: [email protected].
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Read More

Keep Sewers Out of Ten Mile Creek: A Photo Essay

3/19/2015

 
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.

Read More

Sewers in Ten Mile Creek?! Take Action!

3/19/2015

 
by Kristina Bostick
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Producers Meeting Held: Zoning Code Changes for Ag- Opportunities and Guidance

2/20/2015

 
by Kristina Bostick
That Happened: Friday, February 27 at 10am - St. Paul Community Church, 14730 Sugarland Road, Poolesville

Read More

Growing Legacy to be Featured in DC Enviro Film Festival 3/28

2/12/2015

 
by Caroline Taylor

Event

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.)

Don't Flush Ten Mile Creek Protections!

1/15/2015

 
by Kristina Bostick

​Sewer Plan Threatens Ten Mile Creek

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Important Sewer Meeting: Show your support for keeping sewers out of Ten Mile Creek by attending the first meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the WSSC Clarksburg-Ten Mile Creek Sewer Study on Thursday, Feb 12th from 7-9pm.  The meeting will take place at the Montgomery County Government Upcounty Regional Services Center, Room A (12900 Middlebrook Road, Suite 1000, Germantown, Maryland 20874).  The public is invited to attend and there will be time at the end of the meeting for public comment.  Three board members of the Friends of Ten Mile Creek are on the Citizens Advisory Committee and we welcome you to attend and show your support.  And if you can't make this meeting, don't worry -- there will be others so please stay tuned.

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MCA T-Shirts: We Protect What We Love!

12/26/2014

 
MCA now has T-shirts! Designed by our own amazing board member Dolores Milmoe and grown/sewn/made/ printed in the USA
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Round Two:  MC's New Farmer Program

11/24/2014

 
by Caroline Taylor
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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.


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ABOUT US
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Montgomery Countryside Alliance
P.O Box 24, Poolesville, MD  20837
301-461-9831  •  ​[email protected]
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MCA is proud to announce that we have been recognized for a third time as one of the best small charities in the D.C. region by Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington. A panel of 110 expert reviewers from area foundations, corporate giving programs, and peer non-profit organizations evaluated 270 applications.

​MCA is known as an effective and innovative non-profit whose efforts to preserve and promote Montgomery County’s nationally recognized 93,000 acre Ag Reserve have brought increased public and governmental support of local food production and farmland and open space preservation. Most importantly, MCA’s efforts are putting more farmers on the ground and keeping them there.
COPYRIGHT © MONTGOMERY COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE 2008