Survey of Faith-Based Institutions Details Services, Experience with Development Process in Montgomery County

Silver Spring, MD - On Thursday, July 19, the Montgomery County Planning Board will discuss the results of a recent survey of the county’s faith-based organizations, including who they are, the services they provide, and their experience with the planning and development process.

Planning staff conducted the survey at the request of the Montgomery County Council, which last year asked for a snapshot of the county’s faith-based organizations as well as their needs in a growing and urbanizing county.

The report found:

* The number of faith-based organizations in Montgomery County grew 37 percent. In 1997, when the last survey was conducted, the county contained about 500 faith-based organizations. A decade later, it contains nearly 700 – most of them in communities along the I-270 corridor and near the Beltway. 

* Only about 5 percent of faith-based institutions are located in the Agricultural Reserve.

* The greatest increase has been in small, relatively new faith-based organizations. Survey responses indicated that these are most likely to have plans to expand in the near future.

* The county’s faith-based organizations provide a variety of social services to congregants and county residents, from worship to counseling to day care. Demand for these services is likely to increase given expected population growth.

* Faith-based institutions would benefit from more clarity in land use processes and regulations among county agencies.

The survey comes as Montgomery County looks to accommodate a growing population of increasing ethnic diversity that will include larger concentrations of both elderly residents and children.

According to the report, faith-based organizations are “once-in-a-lifetime developers” who face unique challenges when they seek to build or expand. The Planning Board and its staff might help faith-based and other nonprofit organizations if they:

* Encourage greater representation by faith-based organizations in long-range planning efforts, such as creating master plans
* Improve coordination and communication among county agencies involved in planning and permitting to better clarify land use process and regulatory interpretation
* Create user-friendly flow charts and timelines to illustrate the steps and timeframes in the planning and development process
* Provide the “Directory of Faith-Based Organizations” to other county agencies and social service providers to better coordinate services
* Use new mapping technology to identify and reach out to faith-based organizations in the county during land use decision-making
* Create staff, either in the Planning Department or within a nonprofit organization, to support the County Executive’s new ombudsman in helping faith-based and nonprofit representatives better navigate the planning and development review process
* Use upcoming zoning revisions to evaluate requirements for faith-based organizations given land constraints, population growth, and their increasing social service activities

Following their discussion Thursday, the Planning Board will transmit the findings in the report to the County Council.

WHO:
Montgomery County Planning Board

WHAT:
Discussion of “Updated Survey of Faith-Based Organizations in Montgomery County”

WHEN:
Thursday, July 19, 2007 – approximately 9 a.m.

WHERE:
Park and Planning Headquarters
8787 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD

For more information, contact Valerie Berton, (301) 495-4602.