Germantown: a thriving greenbelt community
Enter this website to keep informed about planning and development in Germantown. Find the latest news on the process to update the 1989 Germantown Master Plan. You will also learn how to inform agency staff and Planning Board members of your views on Master Plan issues. Scroll down, and you will read about development applications to be heard by this agency, and those already considered. Read on to learn about Germantown planning policies.
Work underway on Master Plan update
Work is underway to update the 1989 Germantown Master Plan. The Germantown Citizen Forum, on May 31, 2006 at the Black Rock Center of the Arts, was the kick-off event for resuming work on revising the 1989 Germantown Master Plan. A panel of community leaders led residents and business and government representatives in discussing Germantown issues and their desires for its future. The schedule adopted by County Council sets fall 2007 as the milestone for a staff draft plan view the time frame for the remaining plan's completion. Germantown Forward includes a calendar of meetings, the results of work to date, and more.
Quick guide to Germantown projects - development activity
Look at our easy guide below for information on development projects in Germantown.
Germantown planning policies
Germantown is maturing into a thriving greenbelt community! Over three decades since first conceived as a “new town”, Germantown now features six residential villages with their own schools and Village Center, a Town Center, and a growing Transportation/Employment Corridor. Montgomery College and its biotechnology center, the Black Rock Arts Center, a nearly completed new library, and a greenbelt of parks provide education, culture and recreation for the community and enhance the quality of life for Germantown residents. Planned as one of the I-270 “Corridor Cities” in the 1964 General Plan, “On Wedges and Corridors”, Germantown 
has sprung from a 1970’s farming town of 2,000, to a community of 83,000 in 2003. The 1974 Germantown Master Plan provided the blueprint for the “new town”, one of several “Corridor Cities” along Interstate I-270. The 1989 Germantown Master Plan refined the vision of the “new town”, which by 1990 contained about 35,000 residents. As common for “new towns”, the residential section of Germantown grew at a much faster pace than the employment portion. Thus, the originally planned residential areas of the community are nearing capacity, while the planned employment lags. The updated Master Plan will emphasize growth and development of Germantown’s Transit/Employment Corridor in order to boost the community’s economic base, enhance the Town Center, and help residents find jobs closer to home.
Major policies in the existing Master Plan that have steered Germantown development are:
- Develop a "new town" of about 90,000 surrounded by a "greenbelt" of parks.
- Support the development of Germantown as a distinct community with its own identity.
- Develop residential neighborhoods with Neighborhood Centers, pedestrian and bike linkages; neighborhoods are grouped into six connected villages.
- Develop a Town Center as a focus for community, cultural and economic life, and Village Centers for each of the Villages, except Neelsville.
- Concentrate employment along Interstate I-270 and the future corridor cities transit alignment.
- Reserve right-of-way parallel to I-270 in the employment corridor for a future transitway connecting with other I-270 Corridor Cities and for the development of transit stations.
- Balance traffic generated by the land uses with the capacity of the transportation system. Reserve right-of-way for the planned transportation network.
- Improve the balance between housing and employment opportunities so that more people will be able to both live and work in Germantown.
- Promote a mix of housing types to accommodate households of varying age, income, and taste.
- Ensure the protection of natural resources in developing Germantown.
- Stage development based on the availability of water and sewer service and transportation capacity.
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Date of last page update: February 14, 2008
