MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT

THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION

June 12, 2008

MEMORANDUM

TO: Montgomery County Planning Board

VIA: Karl Moritz, Chief, Research & Technology Center

Roselle George, Research Manager, Research & Technology Center

FROM: Pamela Dunn, Planner Coordinator, Research & Technology Center

SUBJECT: FY2009 Growth Policy: Acceptance of School Test Results

Beginning in July 2004, the Montgomery County Growth Policy is not revisited by
the County Council on an annual basis. However, there continues to be an annual
component of the revised growth policy: a review of the results of the school
test. The school test determines if residential subdivisions in any school clusters
should be subject to either a school facilities payment or a moratorium.

Staff will be requesting the Planning Board’s acceptance of the attached school
test results for FY09. These results find that nine school clusters exceed the 105
percent program capacity ceiling; eight clusters exceed at the elementary level
and one cluster exceeds at the high school level. Thus, residential development in
these nine clusters will be subject to a school facility payment.

In addition, one school cluster exceeds the 120 percent program capacity ceiling;
the Clarksburg school cluster. Residential subdivisions will be under moratorium
for FY09 in the Clarksburg cluster.

During the preparation of the 2007-2009 Growth Policy, the Planning Board and
staff engaged in thorough discussions involving school forecasts and significant
capacity issues facing Montgomery County Public Schools. Thus, staff is not
planning to make a presentation at this time. However, if Board members would
prefer to have an expanded presentation staff would happy to prepare one.

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Acceptance of School Test Results

As in the past, the School Test analysis is prepared by Montgomery County Public
Schools staff using the methodology adopted by the County Council. Planning
staff has reviewed the results of the MCPS analysis and we endorse the findings
outlined above.

The school test compares projected 2014 enrollment with 2014 classroom
capacity for each of the 25 high school clusters at the elementary, middle and
high school levels. At all three levels, elementary, middle, and high school,
enrollment must not exceed 105 percent of program capacity and “borrowing”
from adjacent clusters is not permitted. If projected enrollment at any level
exceeds 105 percent of program capacity, residential subdivisions in the affected
cluster will be required to make a school facility payment.

In addition, at all three levels, elementary, middle and high school, projected
enrollment must not exceed 120 percent of program capacity and “borrowing”
from adjacent clusters is not permitted. If projected enrollment at any level
exceeds 120 percent of program capacity, residential subdivisions in the affected
cluster will be under moratorium.

According to the analysis, enrollment does exceed 105 percent of capacity in

eight school clusters at the elementary school level: Bethesda-Chevy Chase,
Kennedy, Richard Montgomery, Northwest, Quince Orchard, Rockville, Wheaton
and Whitman. At the high school level, there is one cluster where enrollment
exceeds 105 percent of capacity: Wootton. Thus, residential subdivisions in the
previously listed clusters will be required to make a school facility payment.

During FY2008, nine school clusters exceeded the 105 percent capacity ceiling.
The new enrollment projections also indicate that nine school clusters will exceed
the 105 percent ceiling. The difference between FY2008 and FY2009 is the
removal of the Blake cluster from this group and the addition of the Kennedy
cluster.

As stated earlier, the only cluster where development will be subject to a

moratorium in FY2009 is the Clarksburg school cluster. In FY2008, the Clarksburg,
Kennedy and Einstein clusters all exceeded the 120 percent capacity ceiling.

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Planning staff recommends that Planning Board accept the results of the school
test as calculated by Montgomery County Public Schools staff, for FY2009. These
findings are attached at circle 1.

Once accepted by the Planning Board, this table (along with the resolution
adopted by the Council in November 2007) will constitute Montgomery County’s
growth policy for FY2009.

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Excerpt from Resolution 16-376: 2007-2009 Growth Policy

Public School Facilities

S1 Geographic Areas

For the purposes of public school analysis and local area review of school facilities at
time of subdivision, the County has been divided into 25 areas called high school
clusters. These areas coincide with the cluster boundaries used by the Montgomery
County Public School system.

The groupings used are only to administer the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and
do not require any action by the Board of Education in exercising its power to designate
school service boundaries.

S2 Grade Levels

Each cluster must be assessed separately at each of the 3 grade levels -- elementary,
intermediate/middle, and high school.

S3 Determination of Adequacy

Each year, not later than July 1, the Planning Board must evaluate available capacity in
each high school cluster and compare enrollment projected by Montgomery County
Public Schools for each fiscal year with projected school capacity in 5 years.

S4 Moratorium on Residential Subdivision Approvals

In considering whether a moratorium on residential subdivisions must be imposed, the

Planning Board must use 120% of Montgomery County Public Schools program capacity
as its measure of adequate school capacity. This capacity measure must not count
relocatable classrooms in computing a school's permanent capacity. If projected
enrollment at any grade level in that cluster will exceed 120% of capacity, the Board
must not approve any residential subdivision in that cluster during the next fiscal year.

Table 3 shows the result of this test for November 15, 2007, to July 1, 2008. Table 3 also
shows the remaining capacity, in students, at each grade level in each cluster. Using
average student generation rates developed from the most recent Census Update
Survey, the Planning Board must limit residential subdivision approvals in any cluster

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during the fiscal year so that the students generated by the housing units approved do
not exceed the remaining capacity for students at any grade level in that cluster.

S5 Imposition of School Facilities Payment

In considering whether a School Facilities Payment must be imposed on a residential

subdivision, the Planning Board must use 105% of Montgomery County Public Schools’
program capacity as its measure of adequate school capacity. This capacity measure
must not count relocatable classrooms in computing a school's permanent capacity. If
projected enrollment at any grade level in that cluster will exceed 105% of capacity but
not exceed 120%, the Board may approve a residential subdivision in that cluster during
the next fiscal year if the applicant commits to pay a School Facilities Payment as
provided in County law before receiving a building permit for any building in that
subdivision.

Table 4 shows the result of this test for November 15, 2007, to July 1, 2008. Table 4 also
shows the remaining capacity, in students, at each grade level in each cluster. Using
average student generation rates developed from the most recent Census Update
Survey, the Planning Board must limit residential subdivision approvals in any cluster
during the fiscal year so that the students generated by the housing units approved do
not exceed the remaining capacity for students at any grade level in that cluster.

S6 Senior Housing

If public school capacity in inadequate in any cluster, the Planning Board may
nevertheless approve a subdivision in that cluster if the subdivision consists solely of
multifamily housing and related facilities for elderly or handicapped persons or
multifamily housing units located in the age-restricted section of a planned retirement
community.

S7 De Minimis Development

If public school capacity in inadequate in any cluster, the Planning Board may
nevertheless approve a subdivision in that cluster if the subdivision consists of no more
than 3 housing units and the applicant commits to pay a School Facilities Payment as
otherwise required before receiving a building permit for any building in that
subdivision.

S8 Development District Participants

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The Planning Board may require any development district for which it approves a
provisional adequate public facilities approval (PAPF) to produce or contribute to
infrastructure improvements needed to address inadequate school capacity.

S9 Allocation of Staging Ceiling to Preliminary Plans of Subdivision

The Planning Board must allocate available staging ceiling capacity in a high school
cluster based on the queue date of an application for preliminary plan of subdivision
approval.

S9.1 Assignment of queue date

The queue date of a preliminary plan of subdivision is the date:

a complete application is filed with the Planning Board; or
6 months after the prior queue date if the prior queue date expires under S9.4.

S9.2 Calculation of available staging ceiling capacity

The Planning Board must determine whether adequate staging ceiling capacity is
available for a project by subtracting the capacity required by projects with earlier
queue dates from the remaining capacity on Table 3 as updated periodically. Based on
this calculation, the Planning Board may:
approve a project for which there is sufficient capacity;
approve part of a project for which there is sufficient capacity, leaving the
remainder of the project in the queue until additional capacity becomes
available;
deny an application for a project for which there is insufficient capacity; or
defer approval of a project and leave the project in the queue until sufficient
capacity becomes available for all or part of the project. If insufficient capacity is
available, the Board must not schedule a hearing on the application unless the
applicant requests one.

If sufficient capacity is available for a project based on the queue date, the Planning
Board must not deny an application based on pipeline (but not staging ceiling) changes
while the queue date is in effect.

S9.3 Applicability of School Facilities Payment

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The Planning Board must determine whether a project is required to pay a School
Facilities Payment by subtracting the capacity required by projects with earlier queue
dates from the remaining capacity on Table 4 as updated periodically. Based on this
calculation, the Planning Board may:
approve a project for which there is sufficient capacity;
approve part of a project for which there is sufficient capacity, requiring the
remainder of the project to pay the applicable School Facilities Payment until
additional capacity becomes available; or
defer approval of a project and leave the project in the queue until sufficient
capacity becomes available for all or part of the project. If insufficient capacity is
available, the Board must not schedule a hearing on the application unless the
applicant requests one.

If a project must pay a School Facilities Payment, the Planning Board must not deny an
application based on pipeline (but not staging ceiling) changes while the Payment
requirement is in effect.

S9.4 Expiration of queue date

A queue date for an application for preliminary plan of subdivision approval expires:
6 months after the queue date if sufficient staging ceiling capacity was available
for the entire project on the queue date and the Planning Board has not
approved the application or granted an extension of the queue date; or
6 months after sufficient capacity becomes available for the entire project.

The Planning Board may grant one or more 6-month extensions of a queue date if the
applicant demonstrates that a queue date expired or will expire because of
governmental delay beyond the applicant's control.

8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 Director’s Office: 301.495.4500 Fax: 301.495.1310
www.MongtomeryPlanning.org