At Event on Monday, Sept. 23, in Rockville, They Will Address Importance of Voting Rights in Montgomery County, D.C. and Nationwide

ROCKVILLE, Md., September 20, 2013—Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro will be joined by U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and other community leaders at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, in support of action at all levels of government to improve and protect the right to vote of citizens in Montgomery County, Washington, D.C. and across the country. Council President Navarro will be highlighting her “Right to Vote” resolution that was recently introduced before the Council.

Council President Navarro’s resolution calls for creation of a task force that will review and offer recommendations to improve the election processes in Montgomery County. The resolution, which is co-sponsored by the other eight members of the County Council, also calls for Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Council President Navarro’s “Right to Vote” resolution would “affirm the Council’s commitment to expanding participation in elections and protecting voting rights for all of our residents.”

The event will be held on the front steps of the Council Office Building at 100  Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

Also expected to attend the event are Council Vice President Craig Rice and Councilmembers Phil Andrews and Nancy Floreen. State Senators Rich Madaleno and Jamie Raskin and Takoma Park Councilmember Tim Male also are expected to attend, as are representatives of FairVote, the ACLU of Maryland, Common Cause Maryland, the Montgomery County Young Democrats, the Montgomery County Muslim Council, the District 39 Democratic Club and the County Board of Elections. Representatives from the offices of Senator Barbara Mikulski, Congressman John Sarbanes and Congressman John Delaney also are expected to be in attendance.

Final approval of the Montgomery County resolution is set for Tuesday, Sept. 24. It was formally introduced before the Council on Sept. 10.

“With states like North Carolina and Texas rolling back voting rights and instituting draconian photo ID laws, the need for robust federal enforcement of election law is needed more than ever,” said Council President Navarro.

The resolution also calls on Congress to give residents of the District of Columbia full representation and voting rights in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. At the local level, the resolution urges the Montgomery County Board of Elections to select new early voting sites that are easily accessible by public transportation.

The text of the resolution can be found at: http://www.councilmembernavarro.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/RighttoVoteResolution_9-4-13.pdf

The complete text of Council President Navarro’s statement regarding the resolution:

The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, yet this fundamental right is not explicitly protected in the U.S. Constitution. While Governor O’Malley and the Maryland General Assembly have taken important steps to expand voting opportunities, several other states and the Supreme Court have made devastating decisions to move in the opposite direction. That is why I am introducing a resolution that will affirm the Council’s commitment to expanding participation in elections and protecting voting rights for all of our residents. I am pleased that all eight of my colleagues have signed on to this resolution as co-sponsors.

At the County level, we have limited authority in making election law. While Montgomery County funds the local Board of Elections, election rules are ultimately determined at the state level. However, County Government can be a catalyst for offering innovative proposals our state and federal officials can adopt. As chair of the Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee, which has oversight over the Board of Elections budget, I believe it is essential that Montgomery County has a strong voice in discussions about increasing voting rights and reforming our elections.

The resolution also calls on Congress to give residents of District of Columbia full representation and voting rights in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. The lack of voting rights for residents living in our nation’s capital is a disgrace. The United States is the only democracy in the world where residents of its capital are not represented in their national legislature. Beyond this issue of basic fairness, D.C.’s lack of representation also hurts surrounding jurisdictions, like Montgomery County. Without a voting member of the House and two Senators, the D.C. area has less of a voice on key regional issues—like transportation—than we deserve.

At the local level, the resolution urges the Montgomery County Board of Elections to select new early voting sites that are “easily accessible by public transportation.” Montgomery County will have several new early voting sites in 2014 and we need to make sure that all eligible voters, regardless of income or access to a vehicle, have an opportunity to cast a ballot.

Finally, this resolution creates a task force that will review and offer recommendations to improve our election processes in Montgomery County. I hope this citizen-centric approach will provide us with creative ideas to increase civic education and participation in our democratic process.

The Council issued the following press release yesterday, announcing that we will hold a second public hearing to hear from residents about the Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee’s proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite. The date of the hearing will be determined once the PHED Committee has completed its work. The latest draft of the Rewrite can be viewed at www.zoningmontgomery.org, together with an interactive map that allows users to view the current and proposed zoning on each property in the County. Written comments can be submitted at any time by emailing county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov.

The PHED Committee is holding its next worksession on the Zoning Rewrite tomorrow, September 13, at 9:30AM in the Council’s 7th Floor Hearing Room.

Montgomery Council President Navarro Announces Second Public Hearing on Proposed Changes to Zoning Ordinance

Residents Will Be Able to Comment on Changes Suggested by County Council’s PHED Committee

ROCKVILLE, Md., September 11, 2013—Montgomery County Council President Nancy Navarro announced today that the Council has decided to hold a second public hearing on proposed changes to the County’s Zoning Ordinance. The hearing will be held on a date to be determined once the Council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) Committee has completed its recommended draft of the document. This hearing will give residents a further opportunity to comment on Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 13-04 and District Map Amendment (DMA) G-956.

The Council’s PHED Committee, which is chaired by Nancy Floreen and includes Councilmembers Marc Elrich and George Leventhal, held worksessions every week in June and July on the County Planning Board’s recommended Zoning Ordinance Rewrite and is continuing its work in September. The committee is expected to recommend amending many aspects of the text and map, but until it completes its worksessions, its recommendations are tentative.

The Council introduced the Planning Board’s recommendations on May 2 following years of the Planning Board’s extensive work and discussion with community groups and other stakeholders. The Council heard from more than 50 speakers at a public hearing on the Planning Board’s recommendations in January and has received extensive email and other correspondence from County residents as the committee continues to do its work.

The Zoning Ordinance hasn’t been comprehensively updated since 1977 and has grown to more than 1,200 pages over the last 30 years. The goal of the Rewrite is to reorganize and simplify the Zoning Code. Rewriting the code in plain language and reorganizing it into rational sections will enable residents to more easily participate in key land use decisions, and courts and agencies will have clearer rules to apply.

Although the County Charter calls for only one public hearing, the Council decided to hold a second public hearing because it recognizes the significance of the proposed text and map changes. There are few changes proposed for single-family residential properties, but non-residentially zoned properties and their neighbors could be affected. ZTA 13-04 would implement the text changes to the Zoning Ordinance, and DMA G-956 would update the zoning for each property to apply a new zone. The proposed rezoning in DMA G-956 is designed to mirror each property’s current zoning as much as possible.

Residents can see the proposed Zoning Rewrite, along with the tentative changes being considered by the PHED committee, at www.zoningmontgomery.org. Residents also will find an interactive map that enables users to determine the existing and proposed zoning for every property in the County.  Clicking on a particular property will display the development standards (density, height limits and setbacks) for the existing and proposed zone.

Further details on the hearing will be available shortly.

# # # #