Pooks Hill
Update: The Pooks Hill Minor Master Plan is not currently on our work program and is not currently being reviewed by Planning Staff.
Pooks Hill is located at the southwest intersection of the Capital Beltway and Rockville Pike in Bethesda.
View the Pooks Hill Minor Master Plan Amendment scope of work, which was approved by the Planning Board on October 4.
The one-year project will review current zoning, land use, transportation and other issues in response to an application received as part of the Planning Department's spring 2012 solicitation for minor master plan amendment requests.
The parcel at 5151 Pooks Hill Road is now zoned Hotel-Motel and is the site of a Marriott Hotel. The applicant has proposed three high-rise buildings on large surface parking lots. As part of this study, planners will evaluate the feasibility of the proposed uses in the context of the community.
The proposed development would be near the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed Medical Center, where new employees have created a demand for housing, particularly moderately priced units. Area uses include multi-family residential in high-rise buildings as well as single-family homes west of Wisconsin Avenue near the Capital Beltway.
Minor master plan amendments go through the same public review process as any master plan, and planners will reach out to the Pooks Hill community over the next few months to solicit their ideas and encourage feedback.
Background
While master plans create a community framework designed to last 15 to 20 years, minor master plan amendments are smaller and nimbler. Master plans, created for every community in Montgomery County, are revised every 15 to 20 years and set a framework for county decision-makers to decide on proposed development and growth issues. Minor plan amendments create a way for the Planning Board and Council to address current issues without waiting 20 years for a full plan review.
Property owners and community groups in Montgomery County were invited in April 2012 to submit applications for minor master plan amendments to be considered by the Planning Board and County Council. The amendment process allows anyone who would like the Planning Board and County Council to revisit certain aspects of a master plan to address current community priorities, changing circumstances, or issues that were not considered in an existing master plan.
In July, the Council considered the Board's recommendations and approved a minor plan amendment for Pooks Hill.
Project schedule
Following amendments from the County Council to the Department’s work program, planners have expanded the Pooks Hill Plan timeline. The updated project schedule will be posted when it is available.
- October 4, 2012: Planners presented the Pooks Hill scope of work to the Planning Board.
View the staff presentation (2.5 MB)
Staff Contact
Parag Agrawal
301-495-4621
Parag.Agrawal@montgomeryplanning.org
Date of last update: December 4, 2012