Statement of Montgomery County Councilmember Duchy Trachtenberg On the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan

Councilmember Trachtenberg adds language strengthening community engagement and health impact assessment in the newly named “Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan” formally known as the “Gaithersburg West Master Plan”

I am pleased that a majority of my County Council colleagues have today expressed support for the newly named “Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan.” With their approval, and with this plan, Montgomery County is poised to move into a bright future of technological innovation, economic growth, and environmental sustainability.

In the Great Seneca Science Corridor Master Plan, I believe that we have a plan that balances the growth we need with the quality of life we want; a plan that provides for important community amenities such as parks, walking trails, bikeways, athletic fields, and green spaces; and a plan that protects the environment, preserves our cultural and historic resources, and which, importantly, protects community health. And I believe that we have a plan that supports a community process that respects neighbors and neighborhoods, and the independent municipalities in the County.

I have worked hard to try to meet with, to hear and, importantly, to listen to the broadest range of stakeholders in the Great Seneca Science Corridor planning process. I have met with the civic community, and with the Mayors and Councils of Gaithersburg and Rockville. I have had numerous meetings with the Planning Board Chair and the Director of the Planning Department. I have had almost daily conversations with my Council colleagues.

As a consequence of these conversations, we now have a plan for the future development of the “Great Seneca Science Corridor” plan area that strikes a good balance between growth and quality of life.

Montgomery County needs a long term vision of economic growth. As a County, and as one who has been charged as Chair of the Council’s Management and Fiscal Policy Committee to be a steward of our financial health, we know the importance of devising and implementing a fiscal plan which will provide opportunities for growth, new jobs, and new and growing tax revenue in the future.

We can not stand back and hope that new jobs will just come to Montgomery County; we need to be proactive in our efforts to attract new capital. We need to be proactive in creating an environment of innovation, throughout the County, around life sciences and biotech, clean energy, and other industries.

I want to extend my thanks to all my colleagues and, in particular, the perseverance and diplomacy of Councilmembers Knapp and Andrews throughout this long process. I would also like to commend and thank all of the County Council staff, community groups, individual community members, and the university system representatives. I believe that this master plan is an integral part of our destiny as a County. The success of this plan is vital to our success as a County, in terms of not only providing services, but the legacy that we leave our children. Again I thank my colleagues, and now onto the next challenge of balancing this difficult budget.