Close scrutiny of Montgomery County's revised zoning code draft by the county planning board starts on Monday.

"[An] ambitious schedule of [work sessions] and public sessions [will] consider the proposed revision of the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance. [County planning] staff will present a consolidated draft of the Zoning Rewrite in sections to the [Montgomery County Planning] Board from September through the end of the year, with opportunities for public input along the way," according to a planning department news statement.

The last time that the county's zoning code was comprehensively rewritten was in 1977. "The revised code is expected to reduce the number of zones, clarify what uses are permitted in each zone, and rethink 1950s-era commercial strips and office parks," according to the statement.

Public sessions will be held throughout the fall on the zoning code rewrite. The public sessions will consist of a staff presentation followed by public testimony before the county planning board. Public sessions will be held on:

• Sept. 20 (on CR—commercial/residential—and employment zones)
• Oct. 4 (on agricultural, rural, residential and industrial zones)
• Nov. 1 (on floating and overlay zones)
• Nov. 15 (on general development regulations, as well as on administration and procedure)

The planning board also will hold a series of work sessions—open to the public (but with no public testimony)—throughout the fall.

A planning board work session to finalize the draft of the zoning code rewrite will be held on Dec. 20. The draft may be downloaded from the planning department's website, at www.zoningmontgomery.org. 

After the board completes its review, the draft will be sent to the Montgomery County Council for consideration in 2013.

To provide feedback on the draft online, visit the planning department's comment page.