Rockville Mayor and Council Meeting - December 16, 2024

The Mayor and Council of Rockville, Maryland, held Meeting No. 29-24 on December 16, 2024. The agenda included a city manager's report, board and commission appointments, public comment, consent items, approval of a WMATA metro station resolution, and the second work session on the Rockville Town Center Master Plan. The council set direction on housing goals, building heights, and bonus height criteria, and deferred parking and some corridor-scenario details to January 6, 2025.

City Manager's Report

• City Manager Jeff Mahalek reported that Boy Scout Troop 1094 collected more than 50 bags of trash in seven hours while cleaning the King Farm Stream Valley area.
• The housing and community development department is collecting books and toys for the December holiday drive. The greatest need is books for tweens and teens ages 13 through 17 and toys for ages 0 through 11; the city expects to serve over 600 families and more than 1,500 children.
• Mayor Ashton thanked staff for the employee appreciation celebration, noted the Rockville Civic Ballet's 50th anniversary, and announced the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater closed that day for accessibility renovations, with the box office moving to Glenview Mansion.

Boards and Commissions Appointments

• The council unanimously reappointed Karen Galant Askin to the Cultural Arts Commission for a three-year term ending February 1, 2027, and Brian Rogers for a three-year term ending July 1, 2027.
• The council unanimously appointed Normal Ravi to the Human Services Advisory Commission for a full three-year term ending December 1, 2027.
• The council unanimously reappointed Susan Pittman to the Planning Commission for a full three-year term ending December 1, 2027.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Robin Prater, a Rockville resident and member of Jerusalem Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church, expressed concern that buildings across from the church on Middle Lane might be allowed to rise above the church. She asked the council to require a layback slope transition instead of a large height increase and thanked the city for a recent acknowledgement regarding Hebron.
• Larry Jackson, also speaking on behalf of the church, asked whether the congregation would receive notice and an opportunity to comment on plans across from the church. City staff answered that no such plans currently exist.

Consent Calendar

• The council unanimously approved consent items A through H. These included the Mid-Atlantic Waste Systems contract for three rear-loader refuse trucks; easements and a license for public improvements at Storm Dream on Lot 6, Block D; extinguishment of a 10-foot pedestrian path easement on Hardwick Place; a host agreement with Francis Energy for electric vehicle charging stations; sidewalk license agreements on Virginia Avenue; F. Scott Fitzgerald Theater ADA improvements awarded to Bob Andrews Construction; restrictive covenants for the Flats at Northside; and meeting minutes.

Discussion Items

WMATA Rockville Metro Station Concept Plan Resolution

• Staff presented a revised resolution approving WMATA's Concept One plan for the Rockville Metro Station, incorporating council feedback on community engagement, wayfinding, new housing, and joint development, and adding the concept map as an attachment.
• Councilmembers thanked staff, requested community group outreach, and asked that transportation, mobility, bicycle, and pedestrian advisory groups be updated. The city manager said the next step is to encourage WMATA to expedite the project and to bring back any required policy actions.
• The council unanimously adopted the resolution to approve the Concept One plan, with a motion by Councilmember Fulton and a second by Councilmember Valeri.

Rockville Town Center Master Plan Work Session

• Housing unit goal: Staff explained that a roughly 2,000-unit goal from January 2024 was developed from pending projects, about 600 Metro Station units, and about 400 units from other redevelopment sites. Updated estimates total just under 1,900 units from projects in review, plus additional redevelopment potential. Staff recommended an aspirational goal of 2,500 to 3,000 units. Mayor Ashton noted the vacant Town Center Apartments at 90 Monroe Street are not included. Council directed staff to set the goal at 3,000 units.
• Edge character area: Council agreed to remove the proposed transition zone and treat the entire North Washington Street edge as one edge area. Council set the edge's base height at 85 feet and bonus height at 50 feet for affordable housing, after discussing wood-frame construction maximums.
• 355 Corridor / Transit-Oriented Area: Staff proposed a transit-oriented character area along Maryland 355 near the Metro station, with scenarios covering a one-quarter mile radius, one-half mile radius, or the full corridor. Staff recommended the half-mile scenario plus some adjacent parcels. Council deferred the final geography to January 6, 2025, pending information on layback slope applicability, adjacent zoning, and impacts on the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Council did direct corridor heights of 235 feet base plus 100 feet bonus for affordable housing, totaling 335 feet.
• Bonus height qualifiers: Council directed that bonus height be awarded only for additional affordable housing, specifically additional MPDUs, rather than a separate green space or open space qualifier.
• Parking: Council deferred parking decisions to January 6, 2025. Staff presented research showing garage parking costs about $1,700 per year and can add about 17% to rent, and reported that since Montgomery County eliminated parking minimums, three entitled developments still plan parking, with only one proposing fewer spaces than previously required. Council requested additional data on garage occupancy forecasts for garages A, B, and C, a parking management plan, a social equity analysis, unit counts and facility types for the county examples, business impact information, and examples of developer parking plans.

Other Business

• Councilmember Shaw requested a Martin Luther King Jr. Day proclamation for the January 6, 2025 meeting; several councilmembers supported it, and the mayor noted the recognition would move into the proclamation instead of the city manager's report. The council also continued to plan a broader discussion of proclamations.
• Councilmember Valeri raised the employee housing program, asking for an update before new MPDU units come online; the mayor supported the request and also asked to promote the Rockville waiting list, including multilingual notices.
• Mayor Ashton raised the city's drone policy and the REAP program, noting potential impacts on Rockville residents and saying the council is open to emergency requests if needed.

Key Outcomes

• The council unanimously approved the WMATA Rockville Metro Station Concept One resolution.
• The council set the Town Center Master Plan housing goal at 3,000 units.
• The council directed an 85-foot base height plus 50-foot bonus height in the edge character area, with the bonus tied to affordable housing.
• The council directed a 235-foot base plus 100-foot bonus (335 feet total) in the 355 corridor/transit-oriented area, with scenario boundaries to be finalized on January 6, 2025.
• The council directed that bonus height be provided only for additional affordable housing/MPDUs.
• Parking decisions were deferred to January 6, 2025, with a list of additional data requests.
• The council agreed to add a Martin Luther King Jr. Day proclamation to the January 6, 2025 meeting and to continue discussions on proclamations, employee housing, drones, and the REAP program.