InfoShare Newsletter - September 10, 2010

[Howard Hartman]

THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION PLANNING BOARD | DEPARTMENT OF PARKS | PLANNING DEPARTMENT September 10,  2010
In This Issue Brookside Gardens Wheaton Redevelopment Brookside Gardens Fall Speaker Series The Straight Line Blog Flea Market at Wheaton Regional County Trendsheets Sponsor a Porta-Potty Great Seneca Plan on Cable Brookside Gardens Go Ape at Rock Creek Neighborhood Walk-Abouts Find a Conservation Easement Easily Tips to be an Effective Speaker Reducing our Footprint Video Get Involved in Planning Cable Show Encapsulates Monthly Planning Board Activities Park Permits Online A Gift of Green... Quick Links    Planning Board homepage Planning Department homepage Department of Parks homepage NEW! Parks Event Calendar Park Police homepage   Planning - Career Opportunities Parks - Career Opportunities   Watch us on County Cable Montgomery Channel 6 Parks Show Montgomery Plans Growing Right   Find archives of Info-Share and more at Connected Communities		Greetings! Below is a listing of upcoming events, programs and meetings as well as important announcements from The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Montgomery County. Please pass the information along to others who may be interested.    Fiona Thomas Community Outreach  Planning Board Meetings Agendas will be posted on our website for:    Thursday, September 16, 9 a.m. Park and Planning Headquarters 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD  20910   Thursday,September 23, 9 a.m. Park and Planning Headquarters 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD  20910     Everyone who speaks at a Planning Board meeting must register with the board assistant unless he or she has already signed up in advance, which can occur only after the agenda is posted. Sign up online or register at the meeting by submitting a yellow form available in the auditorium or a business card. We now stream the Planning Board meetings online. Watch live on our website or view later from our archives. Was infoShare Sent to You by a Friend?  Anyone with an email address can sign up to receive our weekly newsletter. Advancing Historic Renovation With Tax Credits Featured on Director's Blog Planning Director Rollin Stanley's blog highlights concepts and strategies, using images, videos and examples from around the world to encourage people to think differently about how we plan communities. Latest post: using historic tax credits to renovate homes and buildings.
Montgomery Parks Public Meeting   Montgomery Parks (The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission) and the Montgomery County Recreation Department are seeking community input on how your parks and recreation dollars should be spent. Join us for one of two public meetings to help determine which Park and Recreation facilities and programs should be supported primarily by tax funds and which should be paid for by user fees.     Monday September 13, 2010- 7- 8:30 p.m. Gwendolyn Coffield Community Center 2450 Lyttonsville Road, Silver Spring   Tuesday September 14, 2010- 7-8:30 p.m. UpCounty Regional Services Center, Meeting Room A 2900 Middlebrook Road, Germantown For more information on the project, visit www.VisionMontgomery2030.org. If you have any questions, please contact Vision2030@MontgomeryParks.org Director to Speak on Wheaton Redevelopment Wheaton-Kensington Chamber of Commerce breakfast mixer Wednesday, September 22, 7:30- 9 a.m. Westfield Wheaton Mall Food Court 11160 Veirs Mill Road, Wheaton, MD 20902 (Upper Level Entrance #7, near JCPenney) Planning Director Rollin Stanley will present on successful revitalization efforts and the tools to achieve them, including proposed land uses in the draft Wheaton Sector Plan and the Commercial-Residential (C-R) zone. Cost: $10 Give Back! Volunteer in Montgomery Parks Staff at the Department of Parks seek to fill several volunteer positions, many of them approved for Student Service Learning credit, this fall. The Department is fortunate to have a very active volunteer program. To join us, consider volunteering for a day at one of the many fall special events or taking on a long-term volunteer job. Go to www.ParksVolunteers.org to find a good match for your interests. Some of the special events coming up:   Sept. 17: Apple Festival Sept. 18: Children's Day Sept. 25: National Public Lands Day Oct. 2: Harvest Festival Various dates in October: Haunted Train and Not So Scary Train Nov. 5-7: Maryland Emancipation Day Celebration   Questions? Ready to volunteer? Contact Lynn.Vismara@MontgomeryParks.org, go to www.ParksVolunteers.org or call 301-495-2504. Planning Department Seeks Ideas for Fall Speaker Series   This fall, the Planning Department will kick off its annual speaker series to look in more detail at how we can connect the dots between the elements of sustainability - health, knowledge, culture, energy and economy among them. We want to dig deeper into the elements to generate concrete ideas for planning a sustainable future in Montgomery County. Send us your ideas for subjects and speakers, and mark your calendar for Pecha Kucha night, 7:30 p.m. October 7 at the Silver Spring Civic Building. The series is co-sponsored by the Silver Spring Regional Services Center. Visit The Straight Line Our blog, The Straight Line, offers our take on planning -- the best (and, sometimes, the worst) features of local and far-flung communities. Our planners and architects look at buildings, sustainability, land use, energy consumption, and whatever quirky item catches their eye. Come back often to check out our posts. And, by all means, set us straight. Flea Market in the Park Back in Business 2nd & 4th Saturdays at Wheaton Outdoor Rink Buy or sell treasures at Flea Market in the Park, located at the Wheaton Outdoor Rink, right next to the dog park.    NEXT DATE: Saturday,  October 9, Vendors, register for a spot (just $25) at ParkPASS.org. Montgomery County Trends To inform our planning work, our Research and Technology Center identifies and tracks demographic, household and economic trends. To provide at-a-glance indicators of Montgomery County's changing environment, the Planning Department began producing trendsheets to package our statistics. Knowing the people who live in Montgomery County and how they live helps policy makers be fully informed as they make decisions that shape the future. View the latest on population trends. Montgomery Parks Seeking Sponsorships to Keep PortaPotties in Parks Due to severe budget cuts, park users face a season without portable restrooms. You can help. By sponsoring a portable bathroom, you can promote your organization while providing an invaluable service to the thousands of park patrons who visit us every day. In return, Montgomery Parks will place a "Provided By" sign next to each portable toilet you sponsor with your organization's name so your support is recognized by the public. The cost to sponsor one portable toilet is $780 per year ($65 per month). All funds will be used to restore portable restrooms throughout Montgomery Parks. Latest Community Plan Featured on Montgomery Plans Cable Show Learn more about the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan and what the future holds for this slice of Montgomery County west of Gaithersburg. The plan, which calls for a new, lively mix of jobs, housing and services -- all built around the life sciences and connected by a proposed light rail or rapid bus system -- is highlighted on the latest episode of Montgomery Plans. Happenings at Brookside Gardens: Wings of Fancy Live Butterfly Exhibit, Summer Concert Series   Brookside Gardens 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton 301-962-1400 www.brooksidegardens.org   Wings of Fancy May 1 through September 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily $6 adults; $4 ages 3 -12; Frequent visitor pass available   The focus in this year's Wings of Fancy will be butterflies in your backyard, and the host plants local caterpillars need to survive. Learn about the life cycle of these amazing creatures, and be surrounded by hundreds of North American, Costa Rican and Asian butterflies flying freely inside a the Conservatory.   Brookside Gardens and the Montgomery County Department of Recreation present the Summer Twilight Concert Series sponsored by the Friends of Brookside Gardens. Performances take place every Tuesday evening in June outside the Gude Garden, or inside Visitors Center in case of rain.  Bring a blanket and chairs! For the latest information, please call 301-962-1400. Preview the new e-newsletter for Brookside Gardens and sign up to receive this valuable resource. Go Ape in Rock Creek Regional Park Go Ape Rock Creek Regional Park 6129 Needwood Lake Drive, Rockville.  Join the two million people who have monkeyed around in the trees in Go Ape courses from the United Kingdom to Rock Creek Regional Park. The Planning Board approved the nation's first Go Ape public/private partnership last December. Planning Director Rollin Stanley, Staff Offer Neighborhood Walkabouts Invite County Planning Director Rollin Stanley and selected staff on a tour of your neighborhood as part of our new walkabouts exploring design, diversity, connections, and the environment in your part of Montgomery County. Here's your opportunity to:   Tell us about your community Highlight community strengths and weaknesses Identify issues Learn more about planning initiatives   Request your tour. Find a Forest Conservation Easement Do you have a forest conservation easement on or near your property? Easements protect forests on private land by limiting certain activities, part of the Planning Board's emphasis on forest conservation. Now you can locate easement areas using our online tool. Tips to be an Effective Speaker before the Board Interested in plans for your area? The Planning Board appreciates hearing from you. To give the best testimony, browse our testifying tips. Reducing Our Footprint View the 2009-2011 Montgomery County growth policy video, Reducing our Footprint. The 4½-minute video, which won a platinum Ava award, provides an overview of the concepts presented in the Planning Board draft of the 2009-2011 Growth Policy. Ava awards recognize outstanding work by creative professionals involved in the concept, writing, direction, shooting and editing of audio/visual materials and programs.  Learn How to Get Involved in Montgomery County Planning To increase resident involvement in the planning process, the Planning Board, in concert with County Cable Montgomery, has produced a CD that reviews the many ways county residents can have a voice in planning their communities. The episode won a "gold" Ava award from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. Request a free copy of How to get Involved in Montgomery County Planning. Monthly Cable Shows Feature Planning Board Activities  Learn more about Planning Board activities each month on our cable program, Growing Right. In partnership with County Cable Montgomery, we launched Growing Right to highlight the Planning Board's main actions in a news show format. Learn more about development applications, parks initiatives and county-wide planning studies. The lively show includes interviews with board members and planners as well as onsite location shots. Other CCM-produced educational programs about parks and plannning include The Parks Show and Montgomery Plans.  Park Permits Website Faster and Easier! www.ParkPermits.org has a new look with new features. Now park users can find, check the availability of, reserve and pay to permit popular park facilities such as picnic shelters, campsites, park activity buildings and others with ease. The recently upgraded Park Permits website offers park users 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week access. A Gift of Green: Trees, Benches and Other Amenities Friends and family members can be honored by having a tree planted or a bench or picnic area installed in a Montgomery County Park. This gift keeps on giving! For more information and suggestions, visit GreenGifts.  For information on planning your gift, contact Tin-Mala in the Grants and Donations Program at 301-650-5676.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission | 8787 Georgia Ave | Silver Spring | MD | 20910