Department of General Services

Notice

Request for Proposal Public Safety Training Academy (PSTA) - Rockville Request for Expression of Interest Progress Place Site - Silver Spring RFQ -- Redevelopment and Revitalization of the Wheaton Central Business District Wheaton Redevelopment BF Saul Wheaton’s New Downtown

Wheaton Redevelopment Program		B. F. Saul Wheaton New Down Town

Office of Planning and Development (OPD)

As the Department of General Services (DGS) is responsible for operational support of all County Departments and for the construction of most facilities, DGS plays a critical role in planning and land use development. This function is the responsibility of DGS’s Office of Planning and Development. OPD supports the DGS Director in the planning and programming of DGS projects, the meeting of County goals, establishing of project scope, and selecting of sites for projects. This function involves close coordination with the County Executive’s Office, other Departments, and outside agencies, in particular the County’s Planning Board (the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission).

Its functions are:

1. Coordinate Executive Branch positions regarding Master Plans, zoning and development;
2. Execute Redevelopment programs;
3. Manage site selection for County facilities; and
4. Undertake special development projects.

1. Coordinate Review of Master Plans, Zoning, and Development

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission provides guidelines and zoning for the pattern and pace of future land use and related governmental functions through the crafting of Master Plans, Sector Plans, and Functional Master Plans. As the Executive Branch is responsible for providing local governmental services, the policies and directions established by plans require close coordination between the Executive Branch and the Planning Board. Master Plans typically take two or three years from initiation to County Council approval. Each plan involves two stages at which formal Executive Branch comments are made: Staff Draft and Planning Board Draft. Occurrence with the transmission of the Planning Board Draft to the County Council, the Executive Branch initiates a fiscal impact assessment. This assessment done by the County’s Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Finance, estimates both the capital and operating impact of plan recommendations. These comments are coordinated by DGS’s Office of Planning and Development.

Below are links to the County Executive's Statement and Comments from Executive Departments on the following planning projects:

• Wheaton Sector Plan
• Gaithersburg West Master Plan
• White Flint Sector Plan
• Kensington Sector Plan

2. Execute Redevelopment programs

Currently, the Wheaton Redevelopment Program is the principal redevelopment program managed through DGS's Office of Planning and Development. However, OPD is monitoring redevelopment activities in Takoma Park, Silver Spring, White Flint, Germantown, and Glenmont.

3. Manage Site Selection

The Department of General Services is responsible for County buildings, such buildings include police and fire stations, libraries, and any other Executive Branch owned buildings. County School construction is the responsibility of the School Board and highway are the responsibility of the County’s Department of Transportation. Critical to the construction of buildings is their location. The process for selecting building sites is the responsibility of the Office of Planning and Development. This site selection involves working with the client Department, the applicable Regional Services Center Director, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the public and affected outside agencies. To initiate such projects, they need to meet readiness criteria as well be County Council approved projects. The process involves establishment of selection committee and the application of County site selection guidelines as meeting technical and process criteria.

4. Conduct special projects

As DGS supports most non-highway County Government construction projects, many of these projects are managed by DGS’s Office of Planning and Development. Recent projects are:

• Residential Development with the new Silver Spring Library;
• Redevelopment of the Shady Grove County Service Park;
• Second District (Bethesda) Police Station; and
• Germantown Police and Fire Stations.