Looking out along Second Ave, in Woodside, a neighborhood in Montgomery County. Image by the author.
Councilmember Nancy Navarro (District 4) also sponsored Bill 44-20, which passed and will require the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) to submit a racial equity and social justice impact statement for each Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA), a requirement that is already in place for bills. OLO expects the bill to help diminish racial and social inequities because such analysis may help mitigate further unintended consequences of zoning. A ZTA involves a change in the text of the zoning ordinance of the Montgomery County code. The Council may amend the text of the Ordinance to create new zones or delete existing ones, or more frequently to change standards governing the development and uses allowed in particular zones.