"This has been an outstanding process. This sets a standard for Master Plans and for community participation," said Meredith Wellington, commissioner on the Montgomery County Planning Board.
The Planning Board officially thanked Members of the Master Plan Advisory Group with certificates of appreciation on Thursday, March 21, the day the Board officially approved the County Council's Resolution of Adoption of the Potomac Master Plan, the 20-year blueprint for landuse in Potomac.
"The most outstanding thing to me has been the steadfast involvement of citizens in this process," said Arthur Holmes Jr., chairman of the Board.
Citizens worked over four years with Planning Board staff to develop the 2002 plan. Master Plan Advisory Group members included Elie Pisarra Cain, Ginny Barnes, Diana Conway, James Dove III, Steve Ellis, Gerald Foley, Pei-hwa Kung Foo, Thomas R. Gallagher, Robert Hanson, Nancy Lesser, Curtis H. Low, Linda Rentz Mayo, Janet Lee Ricks, Phyllis Shaw, Marilyn Van Degrift and Sheila Rickman Kessinger.
Callum Murray, Potomac team leader with Planning Board staff, worked with the Advisory Group to develop the first draft that both the Planning Board and County Council adapted to create the final version.
"Callum, you dealt with a group of very independent and independently spirited people. What I'm still surprised about is that you're still intact," joked vice chairman Alison Bryant. "Not only are you to be commended to work with such a diverse group, they are to be commended for putting in the time and commitment."
As a legal formality, the Master Plan is scheduled to be adopted by the bi-county Maryland National Park and Planning Commission on Wednesday, April 17. Following adoption, the Planning Board will print an Interim Reference Edition of the Approved and Adopted Plan, incorporating all changes from the Council Resolution.
This will be a temporary document, in black and white, until a Final Master Plan is produced following Council approval of zoning text amendments and the Sectional Map Amendment in late summer.