Montgomery Planning proposes new master‑plan homepages, clearer street‑classification links after OLO review

Montgomery Planning told the County Council's Planning, Housing and Parks Committee on Tuesday that it will add direct links and clearer explanatory material to area master plan web pages so residents can find up‑to‑date street classifications, bicycle networks and related development maps.

The change follows an Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) review and committee discussion that found a static master plan PDF can mask subsequent policy changes appearing in other plans or resolutions. Committee members and planning staff said better front‑end signposting and a new “modified by” table will help residents understand when a plan in effect was later amended.

Why it matters: residents, property owners and applicants often use an area master plan to determine what may be built on a parcel; planning and council members said the current presentation can leave the public unaware of later amendments or linked tools such as the county street classification and bicycle network maps.

Chris Pfeiffer, Communications and Engagement Chief for Montgomery Planning, presented a mockup and told the committee the department has added a planning resources component to neighborhood plan pages that links to the plan streets classification map and the county bicycle network. "This component that is highlighted on the right can be more expansive," Pfeiffer said, describing clickable links that take users to specific map views on the Germantown example screen.

Jason Sartore, Planning Director, said staff can add links to all of the roughly 80 master plan pages and create a table that lists which subsequent plans amended an adopted plan and provide links in chronological order. "The next step, though, is even harder and that's saying, well, how were these plans modified by these?" Sartore said, noting the work required to trace exactly how a prior plan's provisions were changed by later actions.

Committee members suggested low‑cost ways to improve clarity: include amendment dates next to zoning or development links, add brief explanatory text clarifying that the PDF is a static record of the document adopted in the resolution, and provide a "living" or layered version that aggregates subsequent changes. Councilmember Lukey urged staff to consult the council attorney to confirm what may be edited in a resolution‑approved document and suggested a separate living version be layered atop the legal record so users can see the original adopted language and the current policy context.

Vice President Jewanda encouraged the planning department to fold this project into its work plan and to use the department's new dashboard tools and recent communications preferences survey to design more usable public pages. Several council members praised the department's Community Planning Academy as a vehicle to test website clarity with residents.

Planning staff said immediate next steps include: (1) adding linkable resources and embedded development maps to master plan pages; (2) piloting a table format that shows which plans amend an adopted plan; (3) consulting legal on whether the adopted text on a resolution can be edited or whether a layered "living" presentation is required; and (4) considering visible amendment dates on site links. Sartore estimated the comprehensive mapping of amendments will be time‑intensive because many plans have been amended multiple times.

Committee members and staff agreed to return to the committee after those steps and, if appropriate, add the effort to the department work plan so that the changes are implemented more systematically.

The discussion proceeded to later agenda items after roughly 40 minutes of committee conversation about webpage improvements and legal constraints.