Two Issues at the Council Need Your Voice This Week

Take Action: Rustic Roads Update Needs Support

The Rustic Roads master plan is having its first update since its inception in 1996. We are asking all fans of Rustic Roads to write in to the Council with your appreciation of the roads and support the recommended updates from Planning.

The Rustic Roads program has many benefits. These roads are historic and unique, as are the bridges, structures and landscapes along them. They are narrow, slow, and safe, leading to places of wonder--to views of Sugarloaf Mountain, to historic communities, both Black and White, past a one-room schoolhouse, a favorite barn or a row of 100-year old cedar trees. Two minute of your time before 4/25 to personalize a letter to the Council will help make the case for these arteries of the Reserve.

PS - This growing season (and every season) let's be respectful of farmers moving equipment around. Thank You!

Take Action: Office of People's Counsel Faces Permanent End

Land Use is complicated - while the county and developers have a bevy of land use attorneys, the average resident may not even know what their zoning is. This imbalance becomes stark when residents have questions about planned developments or zoning changes in their neighborhood. Until it was quietly defunded in 2010, re-balancing this equation was the job of the Office of the People's Counsel (OPC)- an agency that is authorized by the County Code to represent the public interest in the County’s land use regulatory process.

Councilmember Friedson has introduced bill 18-23 that will permanently weaken the OPC - setting up a similar "community" office but removing the role of the OPC to identify master plan conflicts or even participate in public meetings. The public hearing about this bill this week was full of thoughtful testimony against this bill and for a return of the OPC - a move also urged by a new Office of Leg. Oversight report citing the equity impacts of not having this public advocate for residents.

Reestablishing the OPC in Montgomery County as envisioned and properly communicating its availability to all residents will help to restore a balance of trust and integrity to the planning and public engagement process. Take two minutes to write the Council before April 25.

More Spring News

• MoCo Council passes strong update to the Forest Conservation Law
• The Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan Needs Support
• Join us to hear more about the barriers for small farmers and how we work as a community to overcome them. MCA will be part of the MoCo Food Council Equitable Land Access Working Group Meeting on May 2, 9:30-11:00. Registration here.

Spring Brings PLENTY

Out now in a number of brick and mortar outlets and soon to be online - the Spring issue of PLENTY magazine - including an article about the push for a farm incubator, "Leave No Farmer Behind" and a dive into local CSAs.