Can Later Bar Hours and 'Noise Areas' Make a D.C. Suburb Hip?
"Later closing times for bars, relaxation of noise ordinances and a 'concierge' service to help new businesses maneuver the Montgomery County bureaucracy are among the proposals of a task force charged with lifting the hipness quotient of a place many millennials find bland and inhospitable," reports Bill Turque.
"For six months, the 21-member group has discussed tweaking public policy to make the county — specifically Silver Spring, Bethesda, Wheaton, Rockville and Germantown — competitive with places such as the District and Arlington County as destinations for the young. Panel members hope that its series of 33 proposals, finalized at a meeting Monday evening, will let a thousand food trucks, brew pubs and live music venues bloom."