New Council President Offers Hope for Glenmont and Aspen Hill
Yesterday, District 6 Councilmember Natali Fani-González was elected President of the Montgomery County Council. We extend our congratulations to her on this new leadership role. As she takes the gavel, it is the perfect moment to reflect on a recent success story in Aspen Hill that provides a blueprint for the kind of responsiveness and action we hope to see define her presidency, particularly regarding the maintenance and future redevelopment of Glenmont and Aspen Hill.
The story begins last summer, when residents noticed a troubling trend in Aspen Hill. Box trucks and 18-wheelers began parking for extended periods, including overnight, in the expansive parking lot at the Floor & Decor store on Connecticut Avenue. Small groups clustered in the shadows around them, and a few sleeping forms were visible, slouched in the truck cabs.
In August, Aspen Hill residents reported seeing more than a dozen trucks parked in the lot overnight, some for days at a time. Photo Credit: The Montgonion.
On August 27, over coffee at the Starbucks across from the police station on Randolph Road, Councilmember Fani-González and I were comparing notes about our efforts to bring about change in Glenmont when I mentioned the trucks in Aspen Hill.
Fani-González shared that the Glenmont Shopping Center had suffered the exact same problem several months earlier, with vagrancy and crime rising after big rigs began parking overnight. It wasn't an easy situation to resolve, she explained, but by coordinating the right agencies the county can enforce zoning and permitting rules, ensuring property owners didn't look the other way. She asked me to email her the details.
Top, March 3, 2024, shows trucks and commercial vans using the Glenmont Shopping Center parking lot for long-term parking. Bottom, March 3, 2025, shows trucks and van gone as a result of stepped up enforcement. Photo Credit: Google Earth.
In mid-September, I sent Fani-González and her Chief of Staff, Tommy Heyboer, the specifics: fourteen big rigs parked overnight at Floor & Decor, occupied vehicles, and loitering groups.
In early October, I received a call from Greg Nichols, Section Manager for Zoning and Code Compliance at the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. He shared how his team had worked with Fani-González to clear the trucks out of Glenmont and confirmed that the same strategies to enforce prohibited truck parking in retail centers would be employed in Aspen Hill.
Since early November, the situation has improved significantly. Occasionally there are still one or two trucks. On a recent evening visit, the lot was entirely clear.
Floor & Decor in Aspen Hill, November 11, 2025, no trucks in parking lot after county enforcement. Photo Credit: The Montgonion
The Montgonion has been critical of Councilmember Fani-González regarding conditions in Glenmont, especially in 2024 when rubbish and blight spiraled out of control. However, credit must be given where it is due in that neighborhood too. While The Montgonion rallied state and county agencies to clear squalor last year, Fani-González helped ensure police and code enforcement resources kept the area relatively rubbish-free and heavily surveilled. Glenmont still faces the massive challenges of crumbling infrastructure, but 2024’s progress hasn't been reversed.
On the same warm November night when no trucks were seen in Aspen Hill, a sight unseen for quite a while unfolded in Glenmont just before 9:00 p.m. The parking lot lay open and clean: no trucks, no broken glass, no empty weed baggies. A police cruiser was parked in the center, an officer maintaining a visible presence while working on his computer. And on the sidewalk, families strolling, looking in store windows, kids snacking on treats from small shops. No drunks in the corner, no unhoused people pestering for change.
I have no false illusions. That was a bit of a unicorn, but refreshing nonetheless.
The challenges in Aspen Hill and Glenmont are interconnected. They stem from aging retail infrastructure in suburban areas where lax enforcement can accelerate decline. Planning documents, such as the Glenmont Corridors Opportunity Study and the Aspen Hill Minor Master Plan, call for redevelopment to transform these spaces into vibrant, transit-oriented communities.
Now that Natali Fani-González is Council President, there is optimism that she will use her elevated platform to champion these long-term goals for these long-neglected communities. Aspen Hill and Glenmont require more than just cleanup; they require a vision for the future pushed by a persuasive, connected dealmaker. Fani-González has vision. Let's see if she can make some deals.
