Growth Policy Study: Appendix D – Sustainability Indicators

(Resolution 16-376 F11)

Lead Staff: Mary Dolan

____________________________________________________________________

Summary:
The areas of the County where greatest growth is forecast are also those with some of the greatest
accessibility to public resources such as parks and transit services. These developed areas also tend to
have the least forest cover and the highest percentage of impervious surface. The suburban pattern of
the last three decades has produced both a strong pattern of more densely developed areas with good
access and services, as well as a massive amount of lower-density development that consumed much
land and resources.

____________________________________________________________________

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On October 1, 2008, the Planning Board and the County Executive delivered a report on potential
indicators of Healthy and Sustainable Communities that could be used to help plan and monitor
sustainability in Montgomery County in accordance with Resolution 16-376 F11. Following that, the
Executive prepared a larger set of indicators to address other areas of interest that:

Reflect the “Results Areas” highlighted by the Executive in his Transition Report

Could be benchmarked regionally and/or nationally

Are collected by a single data source (such as federal agency or national interest group)

The Executive’s version of Healthy and Sustainable Communities Indicators includes several measures
of health that we did not include in our report:

Percent of adults with health care coverage

Infant mortality rate

Injury-related death rate

Chlamydia case rate per 100,000

Percent of adults who are heavy drinkers

Percent of adults who are current smokers

These measures have not been directly tied to community planning or growth policy and are not
discussed in this report. A few other indicators from other “results areas” such as transportation and
public safety are included where appropriate. This report focuses on the indicators from both efforts
that best help guide the Planning Board in Growth Policy and master planning efforts.

In addition, the state is measuring some indicators related to the Chesapeake Bay through the
“Baystat” program. The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education measures
transportation, environment, land preservation and other activities. They are using many of the same
indicators that we have chosen as well others that are more appropriate (such as blue crab abundance,
mid-channel clarity, bus miles travelled, etc) for statewide programs. Some indicators that are
included that may be useful to adapt for Montgomery County (at least countywide) are acreage of land
approved for single family homes outside the Priority Funding Area and amount of land protected by
easement.

D-2
Analysis of Results by Policy Area

All the indicators that had data for different areas across the county were analyzed, to the degree
possible, by policy area. The following issues were discovered and should be considered when
reviewing the results:

Year-to-year reporting or even reporting every two years for purposes of the Growth Policy may
show little or no change in some indicators, depending on the data source, how often it is
collected, and at what scale.

Data sources are from different years, depending on the most recent data available.
Unfortunately, the more detailed census data is available once a decade. Some information is
contained in the census updates, but not the full range of variables needed for some indicators.

Some data sources are based on modeling and estimates, while others have data from aerial
photos and more detailed monitoring.

The Policy Areas are of various sizes and some cover very large and very small areas of the
county. This means that indicators are generally factored by area or population in order to get
comparative data. In some cases, the data had to be geographically “sliced” to get data by
policy area assuming a unified distribution of population or acreage over the underlying
geography. For example, data by census block data had to be proportionately allocated to the
Policy Areas, when their boundaries were not within one Policy Area.

All these considerations mean that general patterns are to be observed, but some anomalies exist
either from the processing of the data or the boundaries of the Policy Areas. For instance, the transit
station areas are drawn so small, they may have few residences and no parks, but both may be in
abundance just over the boundary. Even with these considerations, some patterns emerge that are
worth discussing as part of the Growth Policy.

The following report shows the indicators chosen by the Planning Board, related indicators used by the
Executive, and those that could be further broken down to show distribution across Policy Areas. Time
did not permit detailed analysis, and some breakdowns are not yet available depending on other
timelines.

D-3
Number of “good” air quality days Percent of People Taking Public Transportation to Work
National Benchmark National Benchmark
Percent of children "fully ready" for kindergarten

100%
100
Percent of children "fully ready" for kindergarten

400
100 90%
90
350
90 80%
80
80
300 70
70%
Number of Days

70 60
60%
Percent

250
60 50
50%
200
50 40
40%
40 30
150
30%
30 20
100
20 20%
10
10
50 10%
0
0 0% 2005 2006 2007
0
2005 2006 2007 2005 2006 2007
2005 2006 2007
Benchmark range Median value Montgomery County
Benchmark range Median value Montgomery County

In 2007, 14.6% residents took public transportation to work in

In 2007, there were 148 “good” air quality days in Montgomery County. Montgomery County. The median value was 4.2 percent. Hamilton Co., IN
The median value was 259 days. Hamilton Co, IN had the lowest value; had the lowest value, and the District of Columbia had the highest value.
Monmouth Co, NJ and Nassau Co, NY had the highest value.
Source: Air Quality Index, EPA Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
CountyStat CountyStat
47 27

D-4
Air Quality has been improving (in terms of ozone) due to improved emission controls for vehicles and
power plants, however, at the same time the standards for declaring ozone action days have been
tightened. Carbon emissions continue to increase and will continue to rise unless vehicle miles traveled
and building energy use remain key factors. Clean air and climate protection are influenced by many
factors over which we have little control and are uniform throughout the county. The number of
ozone action days or “good air” days is measured across the region and is affected by activities both in
and beyond the region. Much of the energy we use is produced outside the region, and while more
choices for renewable energy are available to individual, corporate and government users via the grid
and on-site energy generation, there is little available data to allow a breakdown on who is using
renewable energy sources. Weather also plays
a role, increasing conditions that favor the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Per 100,000 Population
Regional Benchmark
formation of ozone.

Percent of children "fully ready" for kindergarten

1,600
100

Vehicle Miles Traveled per 100,000

90
1,400
80
Vehicles miles traveled can be measured and 1,200
70
1,000
60
influenced through land use planning and 50
800
40

zoning. The distribution of vehicle miles 600

30
20
400

traveled (VMT) across the county by Policy 10

200
0

Area shows the familiar of more miles travelled 0 2005

2005
2006
2006
2007
2007

Benchmark range Median value Montgomery County

by people living in the suburban and rural areas
In 2007, there were 803 million Vehicle Miles Traveled in Montgomery
of the county. County. The median value was 1.025 million. Montgomery Co, MD had
the lowest value. Howard Co, MD had the highest value.

Source: Maryland State Highway Administration; Virginia Department of Transportation CountyStat

28

D-5
This information is not yet available at the Policy Area level. We are currently analyzing this
information by watershed for the Water Resources Element of the General Plan. We also plan to work
with the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a numerical measure for local stream
quality that could be analyzed by policy area.

The results for nitrogen, sediment, and phosphorous are estimated from the land use factors as
determined by the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program model of Bay inputs. Indirect measurement through
modeling is likely to continue, although we will be developing more accurate estimates using local data
through the Water Resources Element of the General Plan.

D-6
While we have good data on farmland and LEED registered buildings, we are far from a good measure
of how “green” is our local economy and there is little national guidance as yet on this emerging field.

The Executive has started a certification program that recognizes businesses that conserve resources,
prevent pollution and protect environmental and public health. The program is expected to include
tiered recognition so that businesses can be certified in a specific environmental category, such as
energy conservation, pollution prevention or stormwater management, and then advance to higher
levels of certification for more comprehensive actions. As the Executive builds the program, we can
track the number of businesses in those categories across the County.

D-7
We will continue to explore ways to get better information for to monitor the green economy. The
graphic below shows the distribution of green building projects registered with the U.S. Green Building
Council. Only five projects have been built and fully certified, two in Silver Spring, two in Gaithersburg
and two in Rockville. However the large number of registered projects indicates that many more will
be built in the future. Most of the registered projects are in the 355 and Georgia Avenue corridors and
in the urban ring.

D-8
Montgomery County
is still very green,
with almost 30% in
forest cover. While
the forest cover has
been declining since
the 1970’s, it is
about the same
amount of forest as
it was in the 1950’s,
when much of the
county was farmed.
The forest in
Montgomery County
is clearly influenced
by the large blocks of
forest preserved in
parkland. The North Potomac, Germantown, Clarksburg and Damascus Policy Areas contain the
Seneca Creek State and stream valley parks as well a Little Bennett Park. Cloverly benefits from the
protection of forest in Upper Paint Branch and the Rural policy areas benefit from the Patuxent State
Park and the large federal holdings along the Potomac River as well as the large amount of forest
remaining on private land in the Agricultural Reserve.

D-9
Two indicators are still under development. One will measure urban tree canopy (which will recognize
the importance of trees in the built-up areas of the county) and the other is the Green Infrastructure
layer which combines forest with other important habitats that function as part of an interconnected
green network. Once the Green Infrastructure plan is approved and adopted, we intend to use this
indicator to provide a yearly accounting of how much of the Green Infrastructure is protected.

The second measure of green infrastructure is its opposite, imperviousness. This pattern clearly
follows the more developed areas of the county. Imperviousness dramatically increased in the 1970’s
to the 1990’s as the county rapidly developed in a suburban pattern.

While the goal is to

reduce impervious
surface, it is projected
to grow in total area,
however, all our
policies are aimed at
reducing the per
capita amount and
effect of paving and
building footprints.
Redevelopment of
older areas brings new
control of both the
amount of water that
runs off and the
pollutants it contains.

D-10
 Pedestrian Fatality Rate Per 100,000 Population
The Executive included an indicator for pedestrian
Regional Benchmark
fatality rate countywide. It is possible that this
Percent of children "fully ready" for kindergarten

4.5
100
4.0 information could be obtained at a more detailed
Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000

90
3.5
80
70
3.0
60
level if the Board feels it is a useful measure of smart
2.5
50
2.0
40 communities.
1.5
30
20
1.0
10
0.5
0
The breakdown of the relative mobility data will be
0.0 2005 2006 2007
2005

Benchmark range
2006

Median value
2007

Montgomery County
added later when the data is available.
In 2007, the median pedestrian fatality rate was 0.99 fatalities per 100,000
The graphics on the following pages depict the
people. Montgomery County’s rate was 1.72. Prince George’s County, MD
had the highest rate; and Arlington County, VA had the lowest.

Jobs/Housing Ratio by Traffic Zone and the Access to CountyStat

71

Parks and Access to Transit indicators. These

graphic clearly illustrate the pattern of jobs, mobility and access to parks that follows from the General
Plan. Services and facilities are greatest in the 355 and Georgia Avenue corridor and the urban ring,
tapering off in other areas.

D-11
 In our original countywide
analysis we analyzed both
park access and transit
access by block groups
with average low and
higher incomes as attempt
to examine environmental
justice issues. Countywide
access to parks was the
same for all groups, but
block groups with lower
average incomes tended
to be closer to transit than
those with average higher
incomes. We were
unable to break down the
data by policy area
because so many block
groups were split by policy
area, fragmenting the
data.

In addition, the income

data is only available for
block groups and only in
the ten-year census data.

D-12
Conclusions:
The areas of the County where
greatest growth is forecast are
also those with some of the
greatest accessibility to public
resources such as parks and
transit services. These
developed areas also tend to
have the least forest cover and
the highest percentage of
impervious surface. The
suburban pattern of the last
three decades has produced
both a strong pattern of more
densely developed areas with
good access and services, as
well as a massive amount of lower-density development that consumed much land and resources.

More discussion is needed about what indicators are useful to track both for the Growth Policy and
master planning. The following questions arise:

Should we continue to monitor all these indicators?

Should we analyze the data by policy area or by other geographies?

Are other indicators more appropriate?

Is data that can only be obtained every ten years really useful? Is there any way to get this
information more frequently?

Should additional staff effort be devoted to tracking indicators that the Executive is not and to
analyze them on smaller geographies to assist growth policy and master planning?

Staff looks forward to discussion of the data and these issues with the Planning Board.

D-13
Growth Policy Study: Appendix E- Addendum to the 2008 Master Plan
Implementation Status Report
(Resolution 16-376 F11)

Lead Staff: Glenn Kreger

_____________________________________________________________

Summary:

The addendum to the 2008 Master Plan Implementation Status Report contains the
following information:

Status Report for the December 2008 Twinbrook Sector Plan

Shady Grove Sector Plan Implementation
Clarksburg Staging and Buildout
Policy Areas Map
Status of Capital Facilities (matrices)

The report, in its entirety, can be found on the GrowingSmarter.Org website under
Resources.

http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/research/growth_policy/growth_policy09/agp_g
rowing_smarter.shtm

E-1
Growth Policy Study: Appendix F – Biennial Highway Mobility Report
(Resolution 16-376 F11)

Lead Staff: Justin Clarke

__________________________________________________________________

Summary:
The Highway Mobility Report contains information and data about patterns of mobility in the
County. The current report, confirms many of the findings in the 2008 report; congestion is
generally most severe in down-county areas, the “priority corridors” continue to experience the
most significant levels of congestion and should be targeted for congestion relief, and between
15 and 20 percent of the intersections in the County have congestion levels that are worse than
their current LATR Growth Policy standards. See Figure 2 for a chart of the CLV/LATR ratio for
the intersections in this year’s report. The remaining notable findings in the 2009 HMR report
are listed below.

National and regional trends indicating a decline in travel and congestion since 2006 are
less prevalent on the Montgomery County arterial system than they are for national
data, due in part to the fact that the County has weathered the economic effects of the
recession better than many other parts of the region and the County.

The overall level of arterial system traffic volumes, travel speeds, and intersection
congestion in spring 2009 is essentially unchanged from 2008 (observed reductions of
up to one percent per year).

Priority corridors for mobility improvements include the radial routes MD 355,
Connecticut Avenue, Georgia Avenue and US 29 throughout the County. East-west
priority routes include Veirs Mill Road and MD 28. Eight of this year’s “top ten” most
congested intersections are along these routes. The ICC is expected to provide relief for
MD 28.

The Growth Policy definition of a three-hour peak period remains appropriate.

While auto travel has decreased slightly during the recession, transit travel has
increased, with total Metrorail boardings in Montgomery County 5% higher in 2009 than
in 2006. See Figure 4, Metrorail ridership 2006-2009.

F-1
 Observed pedestrian activity on the arterial system is concentrated along roadways with
high transit ridership, particularly in the Veirs Mill Road and University Boulevard
corridors connecting Rockville, Wheaton, and Takoma Park. Nearly every transit rider
needs to cross the street at least once in their daily commute.

The value of the Highway Mobility report series becomes most evident in examining
travel and congestion trends over time. The discussion of data variability at the July 20
T&E Committee meeting underscores the need to provide sufficient data collection
resources for the 2011 edition of the Highway Mobility Report.

Priority corridors and top intersections identified as containing high levels of congestion in the
2009 Highway Mobility Report have been included in the ranking system for public facility
improvements described in Appendix G. The final Highway Mobility Report can be found on the
MNCPPC –MC website at the following link:
http://www.montgomeryplanning.org/transportation/index.shtm

F-2