OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rockville Mayor and Council Meeting August 4, 2025: Proclamations, Budget, MOU, Zoning Work Session

Meeting Portal — Monday, August 4, 2025
BodyRockville, Maryland
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, August 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:00

Good evening, Rockville.

0:01

Today is August 4th, 2025, and we're having a virtual meeting today.

0:05

We're convening meeting number 20-25.

0:08

Please join me as you're able in the Pledge of Alliance.

0:15

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God.

0:24

Nation under God, indivisible of liberty and justice for all.

0:33

Welcome.

0:34

So we have uh one proclamation this month, and it's a very important one for our 42nd annual national night out.

0:44

I want to give a huge kudos to Rockville City Police Department, our uh city staff, as well as the more than 25 communities all across Rockville who are planning events to bring people together, let labors get to know each other or get together after work and after uh summer activities and just get to know each other a little better.

1:07

With that, I will read the proclamation for National Night Out.

1:14

Whereas the National Association of Town Watch is sponsoring a unique nationwide crime and drug prevention program on August 5th, 2025 called National Night Out.

1:24

And whereas the 42nd annual National Night Out provides a unique opportunity for Rockville residents to join forces with thousands of other communities all across the country to promote cooperative police community crime and drug prevention efforts.

1:39

And whereas the residents of Rockville communities play a vital role in assisting the Rockwell City Police Department through joint crime, drug and violence prevention efforts in the city and are supporting National Night Out 2025 locally.

1:51

Now, therefore, the mayor and council of Rockville do hereby proclaim August 5th, 2025 as National Night Out and urge the entire Rockville community to be a part of this special event, participate in the fight against crime and drugs.

2:06

Do we have a motion?

2:09

Councilmember Valeri.

2:11

Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation.

2:14

Thank you.

2:15

Do we have a second?

2:18

Councilmember Jackson seconds.

2:20

Thank you all for participating.

2:21

We will see you out tomorrow.

2:23

Uh there are activities starting at 4 30 p.m.

2:25

and running all through the evening.

2:27

And uh please wave.

2:28

I think McGruff will be in your community soon.

2:33

All right.

2:34

Now we'll move on to agenda review.

2:42

Madam Mayor and Council members, there was one change to the agenda for today, 9C to reflect the change to Rockville Commission on Aging.

2:52

That was the agenda that has been reposted and online.

2:56

Excellent.

2:57

Thank you very much.

2:58

We'll now move to the city manager's report.

3:01

Welcome, Mr.

3:02

Mahalik.

3:04

Mayor Ashton, members of City Council.

3:06

Good evening.

3:07

Summer's wrapping up really well.

3:09

There's a lot of great things to report to you, but I'll just highlight uh three of them tonight.

3:13

First, I want to do a shout-out to our Department of Housing and Community Development and their linkages to learning program.

3:21

Part of that initiative is their sixth grader readiness camp.

3:25

I've worked all over the country as you guys know, but this is a best practice program where we're actually taking fifth graders that are about to transition into middle school, which can be traumatic for those kids.

3:36

And we're there in a camp really to learn some both um physical, mental, and emotional skills to make that important transition.

3:43

So we've had really great attendance, and in fact, we've had a 30%, again, a 30% increase in participation in the program.

3:51

So that's really great for youth in our area.

3:54

Second, I want to mention about the great opportunity for a number of kids in our tennis program.

4:00

We have a diverse group of 24 residents again, 24 ages 8 to 15 that get to not only attend the U.S.

4:09

Open in New York, but they actually get to go on the court itself just before the first match, and they get to do a bunch of skills assessment.

4:17

I don't know about you guys if you're a tennis players, but I mean if you're a baseball player, you go to Fenway Park.

4:22

If you're a football player, of course, you're gonna go to Lamble Field.

4:25

But if you're a tennis player, you're gonna go to um the U.S.

4:29

Open.

4:29

So we're really excited for those kids and it's a fantastic opportunity for them to go up there and kind of hope for their dreams and that in that amazing venue.

4:37

And lastly, I have great news about some money flowing into the city.

4:40

We're gonna receive a 24,000 grant from the Maryland State Arts Council to support our ballet concert band, chorus, and the Glen Blue Um Mansion Art Gallery.

4:52

So all good news to report, Mayor.

4:53

Thank you so much.

4:54

That's fantastic.

4:56

And you may not uh see it all because it's happening in different parts of the city, but there's lots of park improvement activities going on.

5:03

I know we all celebrated the opening of the swim pool and its fantastic slides, but throughout the city, there are at least five or six parts that are getting upgraded.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Land Use██████████████████████████26%
Zoning Ordinance Rewrite██████████████████18%
Urban Planning█████████9%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Parking And Loading████████8%
Transportation Safety███████7%
Procedural█████5%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Public Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Rockville Mayor and Council Meeting - August 4, 2025

On August 4, 2025, the Rockville Mayor and Council convened virtually for Meeting No. 20-25. The agenda included a proclamation for National Night Out, appointments to boards and commissions, community forum comments, a special presentation on Results Rockville dashboards, consent agenda, a budget amendment, a memorandum of understanding with Morgard regarding Town Square, and a work session on the zoning ordinance rewrite covering uses, parking, and development review processes.

Consent Calendar

  • Unanimously approved: authorization for MPDU homeownership program agreement, electric senior transit bus grant, renaming Senior Citizens Commission to Rockville Commission on Aging, and a sidewalk construction contract.
  • Also approved appointments: Eddie Friedman to Community Policing Advisory Board, Francis Bebington to Cultural Arts Commission, David Hill to Rockville Sister Cities.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Mark Prashela addressed the council regarding the King Farm Farmstead Master Plan, urging staff to include pricing for all options, analyze the need for a third kitchen, provide capacity details for dairy barn hall, assess competition with other venues, share projected uses of outdoor spaces, discuss historic preservation obligations, provide usage projections for Option 4, overall project cost, consider private partnerships, and post the agenda item two weeks before the September 29 work session.

Discussion Items

National Night Out Proclamation

  • Mayor read a proclamation designating August 5, 2025 as National Night Out. Councilmember Valeri moved, Councilmember Jackson seconded, unanimous approval. Police Chief West highlighted over 25 community events.

Boards and Commissions Appointments

  • Councilmember Jackson moved to reappoint Eddie Friedman as full member of CPAB; Councilmember Larry moved to reappoint Francis Bebington to Cultural Arts Commission; Councilmember Jackson moved to reappoint David Hill to Rockville Sister Cities. All approved unanimously.

Special Presentation: Results Rockville Dashboards

  • David Gottesman presented the launch of five public-facing dashboards tracking Mayor and Council initiatives, FAST Phase 2, housing strategies, Vision Zero, and Climate Action Plan. Dashboards go live August 5. Council members requested more geographic diversity in photos, inclusion of budget process, and clearer language (e.g., avoid "FAST 2"). Councilmember Jackson and others expressed support.

Budget Amendment 11A

  • Mary Sue Martin presented FY26 budget amendment #1, appropriating $2M from general fund reserves, grants for rooftop solar, IT software, CDBG projects, playground replacement, CSX bridge painting, town center wayfinding, King Farm utilities, REAP, water meter FTE, and reappropriations. Council introduced ordinance, waived layover, and approved unanimously. Councilmember Van Grack made the approval motion from an airplane, noted as historic.

Memorandum of Understanding with Morgard (11B)

  • City Manager Mahalik presented a five-year MOU with Morgard covering town square operations, signage improvements (murals, CSX bridge art, wayfinding, "Town Center" letters on pedestrian bridge), parking garage management (reduce reserved city spaces from 40 to 5, 90-minute free parking, study of impacts), free Wi-Fi at City Plaza, security cameras for police access, continued events, use of vacant retail space for recreation programming, and leasing incentives. Council discussion focused on parking concerns: residents upset about reduction from 2-hour free to 90 minutes, impact on businesses and nonprofits (Trader Joe's, VizArts, movie theater), ADA and expectant mother parking, signage inconsistencies, and the need for better communication. Councilmember Fulton moved to approve the MOU as a non-binding framework. Approved with 4 in favor; Mayor expressed concerns but voted yes, noting it is non-binding and further negotiations on parking will follow.

Zoning Ordinance Rewrite Work Session (Item 12)

  • Staff (Holly Simmons, John Foreman) presented recommendations on uses, parking, zone standards, and development review processes.

Uses:

  • Recommendation 1: Updated home-based business definitions (little/no impact, low impact, major) – supported unanimously.
  • Recommendation 2: Remove definition of "family" from zoning, move occupancy limits to Chapter 18 – supported with caveats to protect multi-generational and diverse households.
  • Recommendation 3: Convert many special exception uses to conditional or permitted; allow multifamily housing on nonprofit/faith-owned properties in all zones – supported with comments on senior housing and EV charging conversions.
  • Recommendation 4: Allow faith-based/nonprofit multifamily housing – supported.

Parking:

  • Proposed changes to further Vision Zero (pedestrian/bike facilities, bicycle parking for accessory uses, pedestrian visibility at parking entrances).
  • Right-size minimums and maximums, introduce by-right adjustments for EV charging, MPDUs, bike commuter facilities, pickup/drop-off spaces.
  • Eliminate parking minimums within ½ mile of Metro and ¼ mile of BRT.
  • Revise process for parking reductions (de minimis 10% reduction by approving authority, additional reductions with parking demand analysis).
  • Council generally supportive. Mayor and Councilmember Valeri raised concerns about medical office parking needs; staff will follow up. Others supported going further on eliminating minimums citywide.

Zone Standards:

  • Increase base height in MXNC from 45' to 65' by right (supported).
  • Adjust comprehensive map amendment to reflect BRT 95% design shift from Broadwood Drive to Twinbrook Parkway (supported).

Development Review Process (FAST 2):

  • Streamline PD amendment process to mirror project plan process with planning commission recommendation.
  • Allow administrative site plan approvals in most intense mixed-use zones (MXCs, MXEs, MXTs, AZC) when not within 300 feet of residential zone.
  • Allow administrative site plan for R&D/life science in MXE and for certain housing types (small-scale infill, residential conversions, etc.).
  • Simplify residential area impact points calculation using straight-line distances.
  • Council discussed balance between streamlining and maintaining council oversight. Many supported administrative approvals but Mayor and Councilmember Valeri expressed desire for continued council involvement and notification of major projects. Planning commission unanimously supported. Council provided direction with request to notify planning commission and other advisory bodies of administrative approvals.

Key Outcomes

  • Proclamation and consent items approved unanimously.
  • Budget amendment approved.
  • MOU with Morgard approved as non-binding; further parking negotiations to come.
  • Zoning ordinance rewrite recommendations largely endorsed; staff will proceed with drafting and return with updates.
  • Future meeting schedule adjusted: proclamations moved to September 15, start time for September 8 meeting moved to 7:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, Rockville. Today is August 4th, 2025, and we're having a virtual meeting today. We're convening meeting number 20-25. Please join me as you're able in the Pledge of Alliance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God. Nation under God, indivisible of liberty and justice for all. Welcome. So we have uh one proclamation this month, and it's a very important one for our 42nd annual national night out. I want to give a huge kudos to Rockville City Police Department, our uh city staff, as well as the more than 25 communities all across Rockville who are planning events to bring people together, let labors get to know each other or get together after work and after uh summer activities and just get to know each other a little better. With that, I will read the proclamation for National Night Out. Whereas the National Association of Town Watch is sponsoring a unique nationwide crime and drug prevention program on August 5th, 2025 called National Night Out. And whereas the 42nd annual National Night Out provides a unique opportunity for Rockville residents to join forces with thousands of other communities all across the country to promote cooperative police community crime and drug prevention efforts. And whereas the residents of Rockville communities play a vital role in assisting the Rockwell City Police Department through joint crime, drug and violence prevention efforts in the city and are supporting National Night Out 2025 locally. Now, therefore, the mayor and council of Rockville do hereby proclaim August 5th, 2025 as National Night Out and urge the entire Rockville community to be a part of this special event, participate in the fight against crime and drugs. Do we have a motion? Councilmember Valeri. Madam Mayor, I move the proclamation. Thank you. Do we have a second? Councilmember Jackson seconds. Thank you all for participating. We will see you out tomorrow. Uh there are activities starting at 4 30 p.m. and running all through the evening. And uh please wave. I think McGruff will be in your community soon. All right. Now we'll move on to agenda review. Madam Mayor and Council members, there was one change to the agenda for today, 9C to reflect the change to Rockville Commission on Aging. That was the agenda that has been reposted and online. Excellent. Thank you very much. We'll now move to the city manager's report. Welcome, Mr. Mahalik. Mayor Ashton, members of City Council. Good evening. Summer's wrapping up really well. There's a lot of great things to report to you, but I'll just highlight uh three of them tonight. First, I want to do a shout-out to our Department of Housing and Community Development and their linkages to learning program. Part of that initiative is their sixth grader readiness camp. I've worked all over the country as you guys know, but this is a best practice program where we're actually taking fifth graders that are about to transition into middle school, which can be traumatic for those kids. And we're there in a camp really to learn some both um physical, mental, and emotional skills to make that important transition. So we've had really great attendance, and in fact, we've had a 30%, again, a 30% increase in participation in the program. So that's really great for youth in our area. Second, I want to mention about the great opportunity for a number of kids in our tennis program. We have a diverse group of 24 residents again, 24 ages 8 to 15 that get to not only attend the U.S. Open in New York, but they actually get to go on the court itself just before the first match, and they get to do a bunch of skills assessment. I don't know about you guys if you're a tennis players, but I mean if you're a baseball player, you go to Fenway Park. If you're a football player, of course, you're gonna go to Lamble Field.

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