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The Montgomery County Council will hold full-day worksessions on Jan. 14, 15, 16 and 21, starting at 9:30 a.m. on the first proposed major changes in the County Zoning Ordinance since 1978. The worksessions begin at 9:30 a.m. each day at the Third Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.

Worksessions are scheduled to be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM — Cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). The broadcasts also will be streamed through the County Web site at www.montgomerycountymd.gov

On May 7, 2013, the council, at the request of the Planning Board, introduced a new Zoning Ordinance and a District Map Amendment. The text of ZTA 13-04 (in excess of 300 pages, compared to some 1,100 pages in the current code) may be found on the Planning Department's website: http://www.zoningmontgomery.org.

The council’s Planning, Housing and Economic Development (PHED) met during the fall and has given the full council its recommendations. The updated proposed Zoning Rewrite draft, which includes changes made by the PHED Committee, can be viewed at www.zoningmontgomery.org

A final vote on the zoning rewrite is expected by the end of February, according to council documents.

1-14

Councilmember Nancy Floreen was scheduled to introduce Bill 1-14 Tuesday, Jan. 14 at the Council’s regularly scheduled board meeting. The bill would “prohibit smoking in certain outdoor dining areas except while actively passing on the way to another destination,” according to Montgomery County Council documents. The Council has scheduled a public hearing for March 4 at 1:30 p.m.

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Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will present his recommended five-year capital construction budget on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 at the Executive Office Building at 101 Monroe Street in Rockville. The day before Leggett was scheduled to join Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Prince George County Executive Rushern Baker III in Annapolis to testify before the General Assembly on the need for additional funding of public schools and school construction needs.

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Valerie Ervin (D-5) announced on Dec. 10, 2013 that she will resign from the Montgomery County Council this month. The council is scheduled to conduct interviews to appoint a replacement on Jan. 17, 22 and 24 at 2 p.m., according to council documents. Ervin will become the executive director of the Center for Working Families and will work on policy issues that impact working people.