Spring Break
Plans in progress for "Science City" at satellite campus
Issue date: 12/4/08
According to Jones, a handful of different development scenarios are being considered - there are high, medium and low-density development plans. The Montgomery County Planning Board plans to make recommendations, with the County Council making the final decision on the proposed plans.
The plan seeks to organize the development of the Montgomery county area, which already includes the Hopkins Belward Campus, the Universities of Shady Grove and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.
"We're presenting the concept of what it's like when more scientists move in," Elaine Amir, director of the Hopkins Montgomery County Campus, said. "We're going to build it as it seems appropriate so people will have a place to live, work, be entertained and have a really integrated community."
One of the major differences, according to Amir, is that this proposed plan will bring a method to the madness.
With collaboration, developers can plan the area as a whole instead of by parts, as would be done if the schools, hospitals and biotech companies had developed the land independently. "This [plan] is bringing the whole area together and looking at the whole picture so we won't replicate things and will build things that fit together," Amir said. "We're looking at more reasoned planning and more collaborative planning so that we build something that looks as if it were planned. Our objective is to capture the creative class. We want people to come here."
Public facility regulations would also be imposed. The plans would need to consider mass transit and infrastructure as a priority. According to Amir, water supply, air quality, green space and traffic are all considerations in the process. These factors are to be considered by the Planning Board and the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Planning during the whole process.
Some differences in opinion also have yet to be resolved.
"People agree [on the] need [for] development controls to make sure the pace of development is matched by supporting infrastructure," McDonough said. "The only area where I think we don't have a common vision is the level of density."
Despite the extensive work ahead, the plan is still in progress. According to McDonough, the county planning agencies will release a new master plan report in late spring.
This plan will go to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the county executive in Montgomery County and finally to County Council, where it will be deliberated upon and possibly approved by the fourth quarter of 2009.
"Specifically, we have a coalition in Montgomery County about how we can advance education, research, healthcare and commercial of bioscience research," McDonough said. "Nationally, to figure out how we can accelerate the pace of discovery in health care and then we think you need to have ambitious goals. We are hoping to eliminate disease by the end of the 21st century."
The plan seeks to organize the development of the Montgomery county area, which already includes the Hopkins Belward Campus, the Universities of Shady Grove and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.
"We're presenting the concept of what it's like when more scientists move in," Elaine Amir, director of the Hopkins Montgomery County Campus, said. "We're going to build it as it seems appropriate so people will have a place to live, work, be entertained and have a really integrated community."
One of the major differences, according to Amir, is that this proposed plan will bring a method to the madness.
With collaboration, developers can plan the area as a whole instead of by parts, as would be done if the schools, hospitals and biotech companies had developed the land independently. "This [plan] is bringing the whole area together and looking at the whole picture so we won't replicate things and will build things that fit together," Amir said. "We're looking at more reasoned planning and more collaborative planning so that we build something that looks as if it were planned. Our objective is to capture the creative class. We want people to come here."
Public facility regulations would also be imposed. The plans would need to consider mass transit and infrastructure as a priority. According to Amir, water supply, air quality, green space and traffic are all considerations in the process. These factors are to be considered by the Planning Board and the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Planning during the whole process.
Some differences in opinion also have yet to be resolved.
"People agree [on the] need [for] development controls to make sure the pace of development is matched by supporting infrastructure," McDonough said. "The only area where I think we don't have a common vision is the level of density."
Despite the extensive work ahead, the plan is still in progress. According to McDonough, the county planning agencies will release a new master plan report in late spring.
This plan will go to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the county executive in Montgomery County and finally to County Council, where it will be deliberated upon and possibly approved by the fourth quarter of 2009.
"Specifically, we have a coalition in Montgomery County about how we can advance education, research, healthcare and commercial of bioscience research," McDonough said. "Nationally, to figure out how we can accelerate the pace of discovery in health care and then we think you need to have ambitious goals. We are hoping to eliminate disease by the end of the 21st century."
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