When the Montgomery County Planning Board meets on Thursday, board members will be in for a long day, according to the meeting's agenda.

In the morning, the board will consider a revision to a property plat in the Bethesda neighborhood of Bradley Hills, and a revision to a property plat in the Churchill Town Sector of Germantown.

Design guidelines for the Chevy Chase Lake Sector—a large development still in the planning stages—will be presented by county planners to the board. Planners are suggesting ways to make new buildings in the sector appear smaller through design tweaks, the use of traditional materials and other design methods, Patch reported.

Next, the board will discuss a preliminary plan to re-subdivide an existing 11-acre lot on the north side of Barnesville Road in Boyds Highlands (in northern Montgomery County) into three lots for three one-family detached houses.

And, the board will consider a preliminary plan for the Esworthy Estates. Two lots have been requested for two one-family detached houses and one outlot on 9.49 acres on the north side of Travilah Road.

Also in the morning, the board will consider the approval of the Burtonsville Crossroads Neighborhood Plan (covering about 72 acres of land north of White Oak).

In the afternoon, Richard Anderson, president of CQI Associates, will brief the board on energy and utility conservation cost savings for the county's parks and planning departments.

The board also will consider a Corporate Park Naming and Sponsorship Policy "to enable Montgomery Parks to establish mutually beneficial relationships with community organizations and area business to help expand, sustain and develop park facilities and programs for residents despite shrinking tax funding," according to the meeting agenda.

At 6 p.m., the board will hold a public hearing for the Long Branch Sector Plan. The county council has asked for a revision to the Takoma Park and East Silver Spring Master Plans, according to a staff memo to the planning board.

"The Long Branch Sector Plan envisions a mixed-use, pedestrian friendly, multi-cultural community that is served by the proposed Purple Line light rail transit system," according to a draft of the plan.

"This Plan also sets the stage for incremental change in Long Branch by protecting its existing community character and the quality of life that both residents and visitors enjoy today. Therefore, the Plan’s primary focus is on the commercial and residential areas along Piney Branch Road between Flower Avenue and University Boulevard. The two hubs at either end of Piney Branch Road will help anchor Long Branch and allow a continuous band of development along this corridor. Piney Branch Road will also serve as a gateway boulevard, providing a strong identity," the draft of the plan continued.

A board discussion on the county's Athletic Field Use Permit Policy originally was scheduled for this board meeting, but was postponed, as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The policy recently "[was] updated to reflect the transition of field permitting to the County's Office of Community Use of Public Facilities and [to] clarify the Department's policy on bulk permitting for leagues, allowable use of synthetic turf fields, the elimination of local park field closure periods, and non-designated use of park fields," according to the meeting agenda.