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Montgomery planners review tools — site plan review, lot‑size, green space, form‑based limits and permit allocations
Summary
Regional staff outlined a menu of tools—site‑plan review, larger lot standards, minimum green space, maximum building footprint, form‑based standards, and permit allocation system—that the Commission could combine with or instead of a unit cap.
Emily KloƯt of the Northwest Regional Planning Committee presented several alternative or complementary regulatory tools the Commission could adopt in lieu of a single high unit cap. Her list included proposals to "adopt site plan review," require larger lot sizes for buildings with higher unit counts, set maximum lot coverage or a specified amount of green space, limit building footprint in square feet, adopt form‑based standards focused on building form rather than unit count, or establish a permit allocation system (noting that a permit allocation system would require Montgomery to have a capital budget plan).
Commissioners discussed combining some of these tools with numerical caps (for example, permitting more units only where lot size or green space thresholds are met) and raised the need to consider administrative capacity to implement site plan review or permit allocation. The Commission asked Emily to provide supporting materials and examples for the DRB and for staff to assess how each tool would affect review workload and enforcement.
