Historic District Commission Meeting 03-25: April 17, 2025
Historic District Commission Meeting 03-25: April 17, 2025
The Historic District Commission (HDC) of Rockfield met on Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 12:00 PM UTC. Chair Anita Neil Powell presided, joined by Commissioners Peter Falseman, Mercy Singhe, and Michael Goldfinger, along with preservation planner Sheila Pazeri and staff. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, with in-person and virtual participation. Topics included public comments on the Red Brick Courthouse, approval of a rear addition at 127 Bullard Circle, and extensive planning for the May Preservation Month event, as well as a discussion on future budget requests.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Craig Maloney, an architect with CEM Design Architects, reported on urgent restoration work at the Red Brick Courthouse, a locally designated historic resource with an easement held by the Maryland Historic Trust. He stated that scaffolding will be erected starting Monday, April 21, 2025, to take down three chimneys to the water table course, salvage brick, and fabricate new brick to match. The work is necessitated by unsafe conditions (crumbling mortar, missing sandstone caps) and has been approved by the Maryland Historic Trust staff. He noted the project is the first major restoration of the courthouse in its 130-year history. Commissioners and staff asked about the timeline (spring for chimney work, ongoing for other repairs depending on budget) and how the need was discovered (moisture issues leading to roof inspection).
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes – February 20, 2025: The commission unanimously approved the minutes from the February 20, 2025, meeting. Motion passed 4-0.
Discussion Items
- Certificate of Approval – HDC 2025-01184: Darren Lang and Winnie Umers at 127 Bullard Circle proposed a one-story rear addition to a house built in 2012 on the site of the historic Chestnut Lodge barn. The addition will feature a standing seam roof, reuse existing windows, and include vinyl siding to match the existing structure. The staff report found the proposal meets Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation standard #9 and technical guide for alterations #4. The commission approved the certificate of approval 4-0.
- Preservation Work Plan Update: Staff noted this is an ongoing placeholder item. No substantive update was provided.
- Grant Status: Staff reported on two recent grants: a Maryland Heritage Areas Authority grant (for investigative work at the nature preserve) with a final report due by June 30, 2025, and two new applications – one for $2,000–$2,500 for commission/staff training (decision expected May/June) and another for $15,000 for Maryland Heritage Areas Authority funding (decision expected July 2025). Staff noted potential federal funding uncertainties.
- May Preservation Month Event Planning: The event, titled "Sustainability and Historic Preservation," will be held on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Gray Courthouse (historic courtroom). The program includes a presentation by Rebecca Balo (Montgomery County director of historic preservation) on sustainability guidelines, and a panel discussion with local homeowners: Dan Nyquist (solar panels at 17 Martins Lane), Jack Deroff (EV charger at 100 Fourst Avenue), and a presentation by Commissioner Falseman on behalf of Dominic Argentary (solar panels on a garage). The panel will be moderated by Commissioner Peter Falseman, as nominated and approved by the commission. The group discussed the format (panel with prepared questions), logistics (no food, no recording, but photos will be taken), and outreach (save-the-date sent to other jurisdictions and organizations). A tour of the courthouse is planned but not yet confirmed; Peerless Rockville is assisting.
- Discussion on Future Budget Requests: The HDC did not have budget requests in the proposed FY26 budget. Staff submitted two enhancement requests: $15,000 for a historic property maintenance incentive program and $120,000 for a citywide historic properties survey, both of which were not included in the city manager's draft budget. Commissioners discussed the importance of early advocacy and visibility, including inviting the mayor and council to the May event to highlight the commission's work. Staff will provide guidance on future budget cycles, with planning expected to begin in the fall.
Key Outcomes
- Vote on Consent Agenda: Motion to approve February 2025 minutes passed 4-0.
- Vote on Certificate of Approval: Motion to approve HDC 2025-01184 (127 Bullard Circle rear addition) passed 4-0.
- Moderator Selection: Commissioner Peter Falseman was approved as the moderator for the May 17 Preservation Month event panel.
- Next Steps for May Event: Staff will finalize details, prepare questions for the panel, and coordinate with presenters. The commission will seek to invite the mayor and council.
- Budget Advocacy: The commission will begin early discussions in summer/fall 2025 for FY27 budget requests, with staff to provide timelines.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening and welcome to the City of Rockfield Historic District Commission meeting number 03-25. Today is Thursday, April 17th, 2025. I am HCC Chair Anita Neil Powell. I am joined by my fellow commissioners Peter Falseman, Mercy Singhe, and Michael Goldfinger. We're also joined by city staff. Sheila Pazeri, preservation planner. The Historic District Commission are conducting hybrid meetings. Applicants, and the public may join the meeting virtually via WebEx or in person in the chambers. The virtual meetings can be viewed on Rockfield 11 Channel 11 on County Cable and live stream at WW.RockfieldMD.gov slash Rockfield 11. Each meeting is also available for viewing soon after the meeting is held at www.rockfieldmd.gov slash video on demand. The first item on the agenda is committee and organization report starting with Peerless Rockville. Is there anyone here from Peerless to give a report? I can see them on the screen. Okay. Thank you. The next organization report on the agenda is the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation. I am the president of the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation. The foundation will be hosting the annual Lincoln Park 134th anniversary, Saturday, June 21st, starting with the historical parade at 9 30 and ending with the celebration at 6 o'clock p.m. The event will be held at the Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 608 North Hornets Lane in Rockville. Please save the date of June 21st from 9 30 to 6. Next month we will provide you with more information. And this concludes my report. This time is set aside for members of the public who want to comment on any non-agenda item. Is there anyone here who would like to speak on non-agenda item? Okay. Please come forward and state your name and address for the record. Good evening. Good evening. It's great to be here for open mic night. My name is Craig Maloney. I'm an architect with CEM Design Architects here in Rockville. I'm here to talk about the Red Brick Courthouse. As you know, the courthouse is a locally designated historic resource. Also, Maryland Historic Trust holds an easement on the exterior and on the interior in the grand courtroom. The courthouse is almost 130 years old, and it's starting to show some wear. I do. Actually looking for the uh email you sent me today with the photos. Do you know about what time it was? No. I don't know it was this afternoon, but I'm not sure why. Okay. So next week we're going to start putting up scaffolding in three locations around the courthouse. We're going to take the chimneys down to probably the water table course, which you can see in the photos if we ever get those back up again. Or whatever the stablest brick we can find up there is. We're going to salvage whatever brick we can and then we're going to uh have new brick fabricated to match the existing. There's some unusual profiles in the brick that we have to match. We're going to put some temporary covers over the holes, the the chimneys. And we uh expect to uh restore the chimneys sometime in the near future with restored brick and uh matching mortar and uh cap it with a stainless steel cap. Um the the chimney work has been uh approved by the Maryland Historic Trust staff. Um they do want to review and approve the brick that we're proposing to use and the mortar.
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