Housing and Community Development Office: 7500 Maple Ave. Takoma Park, MD 20912 301.891.7119 301.270.4568 FAX Hours: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday - Friday

Comprehensive planning is an ongoing process that helps residents and government leaders to shape growth in a way that makes the City a better place to live and work. It helps communities adapt to population and economic changes over time. Good comprehensive planning achieves the following goals:

• Protect environmental resources such as the Chesapeake Bay watershed and local streams, forests and parklands
• Link population growth to availability of resources: schools, transportation, and public safety
• Create opportunities for economic development
• Protect property values by limiting incompatible uses
• Guide character of new development

What comprehensive plans are available for Takoma Park?

The Takoma Park Master Plan (2000) provides a set of comprehensive recommendations and guidelines for the use of publicly and privately owned land. The document, adopted with community input and after an extensive planning process, reflects a vision of future development in Takoma Park that responds to the unique character of the community within the context of a broader, Countywide perspective. The major challenges identified in the Master Plan include the instability of some residential neighborhoods, struggling commercial centers, and disconnected pedestrian and bicycle routes.

The Master Plan supports development that furthers the health of existing neighborhoods, assures that commercial centers continue to meet community needs, provides adequate community facilities and parks, and improves linkages between neighborhoods and various centers. General development guidelines included within the Master Plan address the following community priorities:

• Community Preservation, Stability and Character supports development that promotes the preservation of existing residential character, encourages neighborhood reinvestment, and enhances the quality of life throughout Takoma Park.
• Commercial and Institutional Centers encourages the improvement and enhancement of existing commercial centers so that they better serve the needs of local and area residents and people passing through the area.
• Community Facilities, Parks, and Environmental Resources : Endorses development that supports existing facilities and parks, protects environmental resources that contribute to community identity, and/or provides valuable services and programs.
• Neighborhood Friendly Circulation advocates for development that accommodates local and regional traffic while providing safe, pleasant, and convenient pedestrian and bicycle access to places people want to go.

The Takoma Park Master Plan, endorsed by the City Council and approved by the County Council, was adopted by the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in December 2000. Though the document addresses development issues twenty years into the future, the plan is intended to be updated and revised every ten years.

In 1998, the City of Takoma Park undertook a series of focus groups designed to identify the goals and concerns of its residents. The result, Takoma Park 2010 , includes goals and recommendations that impact long-term planning for the City.

Montgomery County's Department of Park and Planning has prepared several comprehensive plans that are relevant to Takoma Park. The following documents are available online from their webpage.

• Takoma Park Master Plan 2000
• Pedestrian Routes and Bikeways
• General information
• Planning for the University Boulevard Corridor includes planning documents for portions of East Silver Spring, Takoma Park and the Four Corners area.
• Framework for Action in Takoma Park
• Survey of Silver Spring and Takoma Park residents (1998)
• Countywide Bikeways Functional Master Plan (2003)
• Community Improvement Initiatives in the University Boulevard area (2002)
• Long Branch Task Force

The following documents are available in print or to photocopy from the Department of Park and Planning. To obtain any of these documents, you will need to go to the Silver Spring Planning Office Information Counter at 8787 Georgia Avenue - 2nd Floor Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, (301) 495-4610 Environmental Resources: Eastern Montgomery County Master Plan Areas (1996).

• Historic Resources of the Eastern Montgomery County Master Plan Areas (1995)
• Eastern Montgomery County Master Plans Areas Population and Household Profiles (1995)
• Eastern Montgomery County Neighborhood Retail Study (1994)
• Transportation Report for the Eastern Montgomery County Master Plan Areas (1995)
• Commercial Economic Health Assessment, Takoma Park and East Silver Spring (1998)
• An Assessment of Housing and Resident Population in East Silver Spring and Takoma Park (1999)
• Urban Parks and Open Space Concept for Silver Spring and Takoma Park (1997)
• Takoma Park Old Town and Takoma Junction: Market Demographics and Commercial Space Inventory (2001)
• Takoma Park Historic District Master Plan (1992)
• Takoma Park Historic Preservation Amendment (1979)

The following organizations provide additional resources related to comprehensive planning.

• The Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning provides master planning, zoning, and other services for the County, with a number of projects related to Takoma Park in particular. The County has designated a group of planners to work with the Takoma Park/ Silver Spring area.
• The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is the umbrella organization that includes the parks and planning functions for both Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.
• Maryland Department of Planning includes demographic data, information about State-wide planning requirements, and mapping services.
• The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is an organization made up of local and state governments that provides regional-level analyses and action in areas such as transportation, the environment, affordable housing, economic development, public health, demographics and public safety.
• The District of Columbia's Office of Planning oversees plans related to Ward 4, the location of the Takoma DC neighborhood.
• The Prince George's County Planning Department includes plans related to the Langley Park area and other neighborhoods adjacent to Takoma Park. This link leads to the County's studies and data for the International Corridor, including sections of Takoma Park.
• The National Capital Planning Commission provides planning services for federally-owned land in the region.