As promised, County Executive Marc Elrich yesterday vetoed a bill that would establish a business improvement district in Silver Spring. In response, seven County Council members vowed to override the veto when the council returned in September.
The City of Takoma Park has begun the installation of sidewalks featuring poetry from local residents, as part of an interactive public art project organized by the City’s Arts and Humanities Division. The poems were chosen in a contest held earlier this year, with the winners receiving a $100 award in addition to their poetry stamped in sidewalks around Takoma Park.
The County Council, sitting as the Board of Health, yesterday voted unanimously to reinstate a mandate requiring all residents, regardless of vaccination status to wear masks indoors. The vote followed recommendations from County Executive Marc Elrich and County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles to take the action.
The county’s Department of Transportation is planning to create a crowd-sourced app that will give riders and DOT’s central dispatch real-time information on the status of bus routes and passenger counts.
The County Council, sitting as the Board of Health, this week will consider a regulation that would mandate mask wearing indoors under certain circumstances, as the delta variant of the coronavirus has caused an increase in the number of reported infected people.
The County Council yesterday approved a zoning text amendment intended to facilitate deployment of small-cell antennas to provide 5G wireless technology. Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 19-07, Telecommunications Towers – Limited Use, would allow antennas on utility and light poles that would offer 5G’s faster speeds, enhanced reliability and greater capacity for wireless users.
The county’s Department of Permitting Services will launch a pilot program designed to expedite the process of getting permits for residential solar installation. The program will pilot the Solar Automated Permit Processing (SolarAPP+), developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The county’s Department of Transportation will implement its Seniors and Persons with Disabilities Ride Free Program for the long term including after fares are resumed on the county bus system, which includes Ride On, Ride On extRa, Flex, and Flash buses.
The county’s Department of Environmental Protection has begun a program of inspecting residents’ recycling collections looking for items that shouldn’t be placed in those bins. The Recycle Right “Oops Tag” program is intended to reduce the amount of non-recyclable material going to the recycling center.