Montgomery to Hold Town Hall on 'Science City'

The Montgomery County Council plans to hold a "Town Hall" meeting 8 p.m. Wednesday for residents of Gaithersburg West, North Potomac and Darnestown. Among the expected topics is the proposed 20 million-square-foot "science city" recently endorsed by the county planning board.

"In many ways, our County is facing one of its most difficult periods in a very long time. We are all in this together and we want residents to tell us about their most important concerns as we approach making important decisions about growth in this area," said a statement from Council President Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg, Rockville).

Andrews has expressed reservations about the "science city" proposal, which is being spearheaded by Johns Hopkins University. The Council has begun to review the plan for possible action later this fall. He is concerned that there will be substantially more commuters than residents, exacerbating congestion in an already-high traffic area.

This will be the second Town Hall meeting hosted by the Council this year. Last year, the Council held sessions in downtown Silver Spring, Clarksburg, Bethesda and Burtonsville, often attracting more than 200 residents for the open-forum style discussions.

The town hall will be held at the Universities at Shady Grove, 9630 Gudelsky Dr., Rockville, in Building No. 2. A reception will be held at 7:30 p.m.

The meeting will be taped for later broadcast on County Cable Montgomery (CCM--cable Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon). Susan Kenedy, a producer for the county station, will moderate the meeting.

For more information about the Town Hall Meeting or about broadcast times, call 240-777-7931.