MARYLAND, November 2 - For Immediate Release: Friday, October 31, 2025

Committees will receive a briefing on police department staffing and overtime; review a bill to eliminate photographic evidence for gas-powered leaf blower complaints, receive an update on transit services, and continue review of the University Boulevard Corridor Plan

The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet on Monday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 a.m. to receive a briefing on Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) staffing and an update on police department overtime.

The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.

The Transportation and Environment (TE) Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. to review Expedited Bill 30-25, Noise Control - Leaf Removal Equipment - Enforcement Procedures and receive an update on transit services, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Ride On Reimagined, and fare-free buses.

The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Council President Kate Stewart.

The Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet at 1:30 p.m. to review the University Boulevard Corridor Plan.

The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson, Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmember Natali Fani-González.

More detail on each agenda item is provided below.

Police Department Staffing and Overtime

Briefing and update: The PS Committee will receive a briefing on MCPD staffing and an update on police department overtime. The briefing will include an overview of the preliminary findings from an upcoming consultant study on the Investigative Services Bureau and an internally developed patrol staffing analysis. Currently, the police department has a total of 1,085 filled sworn officer positions, which represents a 15 percent vacancy rate in available sworn positions.

Expedited Bill 30-25, Noise Control - Leaf Removal Equipment - Enforcement Procedures

Review: The TE Committee will review Expedited Bill 30-25, Noise Control - Leaf Removal Equipment - Enforcement Procedures. Expedited Bill 30-25 would modify enforcement procedures by repealing the requirement for photographic evidence in complaints of gas-powered leaf blower use and clarify that a single complaint may initiate enforcement of the gas-powered leaf blower ban.

The ban on the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the County took effect on July 1, 2025. At a meeting held on July 24, the Transportation and Environmental Committee discussed and deliberated Bill 19-25, Noise Control – Leaf Removal Equipment – Seasonal Exemption, which was introduced on June 17. During deliberation of the bill, the Committee raised concerns about the unintended consequences of requiring a photo to accompany a leaf blower noise complaint. Residents taking photos of workers presents a chilling effect for many landscapers. The bill is intended to address this concern.

Currently, under Section 31B-9(j) of the Montgomery County Code, an individual who witnesses a violation may send a complaint to the Director of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), but the complaint must include photographic evidence of the person violating the noise law. The DEP director has the discretion whether to proceed with any penalty or citation against the violator.

The lead sponsors of Expedited Bill 30-25 are Councilmember Glass, Council President Stewart and Councilmembers Balcombe and Gabe Albornoz. Councilmembers Luedtke, Katz, Laurie-Anne Sayles, Fani-González and Friedson are cosponsors of Expedited Bill 30-25.

Transit Services

Update: The TE Committee will receive an update on transit services from representatives of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT). The MCDOT BRT team will provide a briefing on the status of various construction projects and policy issues related to the County’s BRT program. In addition, Division of Transit Services representatives will provide a briefing about the implementation of the Ride On Reimagined study and fare-free buses.

University Boulevard Corridor Plan

Review: The PHP Committee will continue to review the Planning Board draft of the University Boulevard Corridor Plan. The plan makes recommendations within an approximately three-mile stretch of University Boulevard (MD 193) from the edge of East Indian Spring Drive, just south of I-495, to Amherst Avenue in Wheaton. The recommendations include a new range of residential housing options for existing detached residential properties and new infill development on larger institutional and commercial properties.

At meetings held on Sept. 29 and Oct. 20, the committee reviewed the context for the draft’s recommendations, including the plan’s vision, the demographic and geographic setting of the plan area, and the framework under which the plan is organized. The committee also received a briefing about existing and planned transportation facilities and infrastructure from MCDOT representatives. In addition, the Committee reviewed existing and proposed zoning and evaluate land use, zoning, and urban design recommendations.

At this meeting, the committee will review the plan’s transportation recommendations. In addition, the committee will review chapters on housing; parks, trails and open space; environmental sustainability; community facilities; historic resources, and Racial Equity and Social Justice. A fourth meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 10 to cover the remaining chapters in the plan and any follow-up items.

The University Boulevard Corridor Plan amends the approved and adopted 1989 Master Plan for the Communities of Kensington-Wheaton, 1996 Four Corners Master Plan, 2001 Kemp Mill Master Plan, and 2012 Wheaton Central Business District and Vicinity Sector Plan.

The Council held public hearings on the University Boulevard Corridor Plan on Sept. 10 at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring and Sept. 16 at the Council Office Building in Rockville. More information about the University Boulevard Corridor Plan is available on the Montgomery Planning website.

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The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website.

Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream.

Release ID: 25-369
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884